Copyright scenario

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Edit My Images
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I was just contamplating a hyperthetical scenario regarding copyright.
Suppose you were away on holiday in some far away land (say China for instance) and as you were flicking through some local publication you come across on of your photos which you had posted on the web somewhere. The photo was used by the publication without your consent or knowledge, I know that you retain all rights to the image and are entitled to payment for its use but how would you go about persuing the matter? (If you were of a mind to) What are your chances of success? and finally, has anybody had it happen to them? Please discuss.

Cheers Paul
 
Happens all the time sadly - I always pusue and always had success. They have all been UK examples though - not sure how much value there'd be if the publication was in China.
 
Sorry for not replying sooner but have been away. I was wondering how you would go about persuing the case and if there was a worldwide governing body who could help and how successful you would be?

Cheers Paul
 
Can't imagine you'd have much joy in China.

What are fees like there anyway?

I suspect its up to you to do the chasing wherever the theft of copyright ocurred. I saw a picture of mine in an Italian magazine but decided it just wasn't worth it. Think of the language difficulties!

A UK publication would be different. I'd always chase that up.
 
My cases have always been UK ones - you send an invoice for twice the going rate. They know they've done wrong and pay. Not to pay would be more hassle and bad publicity and no-one wants that. You'd be surprised at the high profile people and companies I've caught.
 
I wonder how many members on here has images / work in magazines worldwide that they dont even know about. Even if it was in the UK, unless you bought that mag or item or had it brought to your attention, it would be quite hard to keep track of everything.
 
I'm sure there are some I don't know about but there are ways to find out what is being used - and it's usually worth the effort!
 
I came across a link to a website called tineye.com (think it was on this site somewhere)
which lets you upload an image and it searches the web for other sites that are using it in whole or part, but as it's still in its infancy it doesn't yet cover the entire web but its aim is to one day. It's free to join and seems a good idea in principle.

Cheers Paul
 
Tineye is a great idea - just doesn't work yet. I've searched for images I know are out these multiple times and it doesn't find them. One day it might be great - not yet!
 
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