DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Is It Ethical To Sue Over Copyright Infringement?

Sep 23, 2017 by JP Danko 49 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Is It Ethical to Sue Over Copyright Infringement

I have been using an online service called  Pixsy to identify and secure payment for the unauthorized use of my work for a while now – with some significant success.

In most cases, Pixsy’s team of licensing experts and global network of law firms are effective in recovering monetary compensation for unauthorized use of a photographer’s work without the need to actually sue or go to court.

A strongly worded letter from a lawyer and the expertise to follow it up are usually all that is required.

However, in some cases the infringing party refuses to pay – or simply ignores Pixsy’s efforts to negotiate a settlement.

The next step is a lawsuit – but this brings up an interesting issue: is it ethical to sue over copyright infringement?

Pixsy Website

Since we’re all photographer’s here, the obvious answer is yes – of course it is ok to sue over copyright infringement.

But when you look at specific cases I sometimes have my doubts – not to mention that a lawsuit is serious business that can have unintended consequences.

I think when we’re talking about corporate copyright infringement by big business or a supermodel posting an image on social media without permission, suing is obviously a legitimate option (but not without serious risks).

It’s also pretty hard to turn down a potential paycheck that even with Pixsy would likely be in the several grand range.

But in many cases the infringing party is a small business, home based business or just a basement blogger – not a global corporation or rich famous person.

Generally Pixsy won’t bother pursuing a case unless they have confirmed that the infringing party has the ability to pay – but in many cases a settlement of even a few thousand dollars could impose a significant hardship on the infringing party.

Once a lawsuit with lawyers and courts are involved the magnitude of the required settlement goes up exponentially.

Is it really ethical for my lawsuit to ruin someone just because they used one of my photos for some random basement business website?

Sure, they probably realized what they did was illegal, but lets be honest – we’ve all pirated music, movies or software – because we didn’t think that there were any real consequences.

If the shoe was on the other foot and say Adobe sued me for $10K for that cracked version of Photoshop that I may or may not have used when I was just starting my business and couldn’t afford anything else – I’d be pretty upset.

On the other hand, legit stock photography (or even hiring a photographer) isn’t exactly expensive. Plus, I think that it is very good for the industry when photographers aggressively pursue monetary compensation for the unauthorized use of their work. Far too many photographers are willing to settle for a simple apology and acknowledgement. Nuts to that – I want to be paid.

Then there are the risks involved with going to court – the biggest risk being that there is no guarantee you’ll win.

Even with ridiculously obvious infringement cases – like with Richard Prince or the Selfie Monkey – once it’s in court there is no telling which way a judge might rule – and the costs of lawyers are way higher than whatever the original copyright infringement might be worth.

The bottom line is if you are on the loosing end in court – you could be on the hook for the defending party’s legal fees – or you could be counter-sued (although Pixsy is somewhat of a buffer between the photographer and the infringing party if things don’t go your way).

Is It Ethical To Sue Over Copyright Infringement?

What do you think – is it ethical to sue over copyright infringement?

Is it ethical not to sue!?

Is is always ethical to sue or do you think there are limits to who should be sued and who shouldn’t?

Is copyright infringement always illegal – or is the “everyone does it so I didn’t know it was wrong” excuse valid?

Is it worth the risk to get tangled up in a lawsuit?

Is copyright dead?

Do you have a story about trying to pursue copyright infringement?

Leave a comment below and let us know what you think!

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Profoto threatens to sue Godox for patent infringement claiming they stole the A1 design Competitive swimmer in breast stroke glide from underwaterBest Practices To Protect Your Photography Copyright and Pursue Infringement Pixsy fight photo theftI Just Made $2500 From A Single Copyright Infringement – And You Can Too Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram remove Trump’s video over alleged copyright infringement

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: copyright

JP Danko: from diyphotography.net

About JP Danko

JP Danko is a commercial photographer based in Toronto, Canada. JP
can change a lens mid-rappel, swap a memory card while treading water, or use a camel as a light stand.

To see more of his work please visit his studio website blurMEDIAphotography, or follow him on Twitter, 500px, Google Plus or YouTube.

JP’s photography is available for licensing at Stocksy United.

« I shot my first wedding and didn’t mess it up – Here are some thoughts
It’s not really a camera, yet this Canon invention will record video from any vantage point in a sports field »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Learn photography

Recent Posts

  • Samyang adds 100mm T2.3 to its compact autofocus cine prime lineup
  • Build your own DIY night vision camera with a Raspberry Pi
  • This adorable LEGO retro camera set hits the stores soon
  • Here are the cameras that shot Flickr’s best images
  • Meta AI image generator Imagine gets its own website

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy