Don’t Make The Same Stupid Mistake I Made… Seriously!
Well, it’s been one heck of a week so far, and that’s putting it very lightly.
It all started last night when I received an envelope in the mail. Now, the funny thing (at that moment, anyway) was that the envelope was addressed to the Legal Department of ReplaceYourSalary.com. What I thought was humorous about that is that this little ‘ole operation is ran by myself. You know, a one-man team.
I don’t have a Legal Department of some kind. I don’t even have a lawyer. Why should I? It’s not like I’ll ever get into any legal problems, right?
Oh wait, we haven’t gotten to the “funny” part yet. Let’s continue…
Curious as to what it could be, I opened the envelope which happened to contain about six pieces of paper. I notice it’s from Getty Images. Maybe you’ve heard of them? I vaguely knew the name… I just knew they have something to do with images or something… lol.
About five words into the first paragraph of the first piece of paper I read, my heart sank to the floor. Literally.
It turns out that one of the images I was using on my site violated the copyright, seeing as how they couldn’t determine that I owned a license to use the image for my own use.
Obviously this was a complete shock to me… and still is. The image in question had been in use on my site for at least two years. So you can imagine my surprise when, after all that time, I get a cease and desist notice.
BUT…
It doesn’t end at that. If you know anything about what I’m talking about, or maybe have experienced something similar, you’ll know that companies seek monetary damages for the time that the image was used without a proper license. There are many factors that determine the total amount they demand.
The settlement demand for the image I was using came to a whopping total of $450. That may not seem like a lot to some people, but to me it’s a big deal. I was just relieved in knowing it wasn’t much more than that… which is what I was expecting when my heart fell to the floor.
As I already mentioned, I had no idea that there was a copyright issue. I can’t even remember where I got the image from, but that’s irrelevant.
You see, you could get an image from some third party site which couldn’t give two craps about copyright law. You see the image and think it’s cool… and before you know it, it’s uploaded to your server and shown to the world.
The problem with this is that you’re still liable even if you didn’t knowingly violate the image owner’s copyright. A perfect example of my current situation. That was my stupid mistake.
Here’s what you can take from all of this…
Make 100% sure that any images you post on your site are royalty-free or don’t have any copyright associated with them. Because, as I found out the hard way, eventually someone will notice, and they will make you pay.
Now, I could have decided not to pay and contend the matter. But, I understand I was wrong and am willing to take responsibility for my actions, or in this case in-actions. Plus, there’s no possible way i could afford to fly out to Seattle, Washington for a court hearing.
Simply put, copyright infringement is a crime, whether you’re aware of the crime or not. I wasn’t aware that I had did anything wrong, but I’m still held liable, or rather, my “Company” is held liable.
This is a tough lesson for me. One I hope I never have to learn from again. With that said, I plan to go through my entire site, including my blog posts, and making certain that any images I have do not have a copyright associated with them. This will take a considerable amount of time, but I’d rather take the time than pay another $450, or more, for another unknowing infringement.
Just a warning that you may notice some images have disappeared from my site. Don’t be alarmed… it’s not your browser or anything like that. It means I found an image that I don’t feel comfortable displaying, and until I find a more appropriate image, it’ll be left blank.
All I can say at this point is… Lesson learned!
Okay… bad part’s over, right?
Hardly…
Sadly today my awesome car decided to crap out on me. And, I wasn’t being sarcastic when I said awesome. I love my car… it’s been reliable beyond belief for the past 5 years, and believe it or not, it’s 13 years old. You’re probably thinking, “well no wonder it crapped out. It’s freakin’ ancient!”
Well yes, it’s old. But, it’s a great car and has a ton of life yet. From what I can tell it’s just an electrical problem at this point. Nonetheless, it’s going to cost a good bit of money to fix. Not to mention the towing expense.
What can you learn from this? Hmm… that maybe cars get old and weak, just like us? Yes, we’ll go with that.
Seriously, though, don’t be stupid and make the same mistake I made. Double, triple check your image sources, and make sure you’re not infringing on anyone’s rights.
Also, if you’re feeling generous, or just feel plain bad for me, here’s a PayPal Donate button. Feel free to click it and enter any amount you would like to donate towards my stupidity. Your generosity will be very welcomed and unforgettable.
I hope you have a better week than mine is turning out to be.
On a bright note… tomorrow is my Birthday. Seriously!
No, no. Don’t rush to get me a Birthday present or anything like that. Simply click the PayPal button above so I can buy myself a $450 settlement demand with Getty Images and a new car. That will be more than sufficient.
Tags: copyright, copyright infringement, getty images, image use violation, lawyer, monetary damages, ReplaceYourSalary
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Tagged with: copyright • copyright infringement • getty images • image use violation • lawyer • monetary damages • ReplaceYourSalary
Filed under: blogging • Credibility • Entrepreneurship • home business • online business • Personal Development • Small Business • Wordpress • Work From Home
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Twitter: DennisEdell
says:
Been there, done that, paid it forward; hope it helps my friend.
Yea man, remember last year when I almost lost hosting due to stupidity and not thinking ahead?
I got bailed out big time, so there ya go.
Just don’t buy a $450 car! LOL
.-= Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..Warning: 8 Posts Coming Back to Back =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing,
Oh yes, I remember. Truly appreciated, Dennis. You are a saint! I will return the favor for sure. Speaking of… Send me your affiliate link for Flex Theme. Once things settle down, I’ll probably give it a go.
[Reply]
Dennis Edell from Direct Sales Marketing
Twitter: DennisEdell
@Alan Mater,
Thanks! That’s awesome man, seriously, thank you.
Now where did I put that…..
.-= Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..Web Income Experiments DotCom Wins Hands-Down! =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing,
It’s the least I can do. I still have some questions about it, though, when you get a moment.
[Reply]
Dennis Edell from Direct Sales Marketing
Twitter: DennisEdell
@Alan Mater, Shoot me an email.
.-= Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..Oops I Lied-HAHA =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing,
Actually I did… lol. I sent you a reply to your previous email and haven’t heard back.
Should I re-send it?
[Reply]
Dennis Edell from Direct Sales Marketing
Twitter: DennisEdell
The email I comment with? Yes please resend.
.-= Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..10 Social Share Sites Chosen – Do You Agree? =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing,
Yes. Just re-sent it. Looking forward to your reply.
[Reply]
Twitter: amabaie
says:
Happy Birthday (a day late). This is so common, I am sure. I doubt there is any way to be 100% sure, unless you take the photo yourself.
.-= David Leonhardt´s last blog ..White Paper – why small business needs SEO =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@David Leonhardt, Thanks!
You’re probably right. I just wonder how many others this happens to and how companies have the time and resources to go after people since there are millions of sites across the web.
[Reply]
Thanks for the good advice!
.-= Kevin M.´s last blog ..A process for finding your churches full kingdom potential =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Kevin M., No problem. Hopefully it will cause others to be more aware the next time they go looking for an image to use. It definitely opened my eyes.
Hope you’ll stick around.
[Reply]
Twitter: element321
says:
That’s bad…
I try and follow image and stock video footage copyrights. I use images and videos that have a creative commons license on them from places such as Flickr or Microsoft Office’s clip art and free images. Most allow you to use them free of charge. When I find an image I link back to the original source. – Just read the fine print on Microsoft’s webpage. Can only use clip for personal stuff. To be on the safe side. I need to go through about 20 or 30 posts and remove images… Luckily I haven’t used clip for a while.
As for Getty Images orders to pay them. How would they know if you purchase the picture form them or not? 2 years ago is a long time ago and most images are sold to 100s of people.
I see a lot of pictures all over the internet that could have been purchased from getty images. How would you even prove that you purchased the image from them?
.-= element321´s last blog ..Hootsuite Versus TweetDeck =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@element321, I’ll be doing it that way from now on.
Those are good questions, and from my understanding they would have some sort of record that I purchased a license for the image in question. What gets me is the time and research that must have been involved to even find the picture and determine I don’t have a license to use it.
From the literature I received, I would have had to produce a receipt from when I bought the license to prove that I do have a license to use the image. But, what’s the chances that someone is going to find a receipt from 2 years ago? I would had I had one, but I imagine there are a fair number of people that wouldn’t have kept it or threw it out after that period of time.
The image wasn’t anything special really, so it’s just a shock to me that someone from the company landed on that page, saw it and decided to investigate the matter.
Ah well. It is what it is.
Hope you’ll stick around.
[Reply]
Twitter: aldric_chang
says:
Thanks for sharing your experience Alan. Do you have advice on where to find good royalty free pictures relevant to the IM market?
.-= Aldric Chang´s last blog ..Picking the Right Keywords for SEO Success =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Aldric Chang, Welcome!
Yes, it’s actually in my latest post: Images For Your Website.
Feel free to leave your comments.
Look forward to seeing you around more often.
[Reply]
Twitter: aldric_chang
says:
Hi Alan,
Many thanks for your reply and link
Aldric
.-= Aldric Chang´s last blog ..How to Make Money on the Internet? =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Aldric Chang, Anytime.
Hope you find the resources helpful.
[Reply]
Hi Alan,
Actually, most cease and desist letters just tell you to remove the infringing item. I’ve been a legal secretary for many years and have yet to see a true cease and desist letter with a settlement demand. Usually the demand comes later, ie, when whomever is infringing knowingly ignores the cease and desist letters. Of course, I’m not a lawyer and am not giving legal advice, but I’m just saying the letter you described sounded a bit off to me and I have been working in intellectual property now for 4 years. I sure hope you ran the letter past an attorney before you just upped and paid the $450. Just in case it was not aboveboard.
Anyway, thanks for the reminder to make sure images and text are copyright and royalty free before using them.
To your online success,
Debi Konnerth
.-= Debi Konnerth´s last blog ..“GBG” Is The Right Company For This Time And Place =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Debi Konnerth, Nice to see you here, Debi!
I appreciate your input and expertise. I really wish in this case it was just a cease and desist letter, but unfortunately there was a settlement demand as well. I had 14 days to take down the image and pay the demand.
Apparently the settlement was due to the amount of time the image was on my site in which the owner wasn’t being compensated for it, since you’re supposed to buy a usage license.
That would have been great if I just had to remove the image and not pay a fine. Would have made my week ten times better.
No problem, and thanks for stopping by.
[Reply]
Twitter: imstrategies
says:
Man Alan, that really sucks, scary too, I am going to now go through all my sites as well to check all pics.
.-= JR @ Internet Marketing´s last blog ..Google Mayday Update, Caffeine and Tanked SERP Ranks =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@JR @ Internet Marketing,
Yeah… lesson learned…
Hopefully your pics are all good.
[Reply]
JR from Internet Marketing
Twitter: imstrategies
@Alan Mater,
I don’t think they were, I removed a bunch just to be safe. Also, there is a plugin for flicker photo insertion for WP posts, that only pulls creative commons pics, auto inserts them into your posts, also provides a link back to the flickr pic, but well worth it, it’s called, Photo Dropper.
.-= JR @ Internet Marketing´s last blog ..Google Mayday Update, Caffeine and Tanked SERP Ranks =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@JR @ Internet Marketing, Better safe than sorry.
I actually downloaded that plug-in thanks to a recommendation from Neil on the followup post I wrote.
I haven’t gotten around to installing it yet, but I plan to use it.
[Reply]
JR from Internet Marketing
Twitter: imstrategies
@Alan Mater,
Use it, it’s a good one
.-= JR @ Internet Marketing´s last blog ..Google Mayday Update, Caffeine and Tanked SERP Ranks =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@JR @ Internet Marketing,
I plan to.
[Reply]
Twitter: clickonportal
says:
I don’t even think about the images I use. Mostly it’s movie posters from all over the place, is that okay? But if it’s an artwork or whatever I cite it.
Sucks that you have to pay that much
.-= Mici @ Click On Portal´s last blog ..Get a Chance to Win 1000 EC Keyword Link Love for Top Entrecard Droppers- =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Mici @ Click On Portal,
Don’t know about movie posters. I don’t see why not, but I’m not an expert.
[Reply]
Twitter: graemepearce
says:
Thanks for the warning, I found a cool image the other day that cost $95 to buy then found it again for free so put it on my site, I later has a fault on my site and took it off again, Glad I did now.
.-= Jetpack´s last blog ..Who is AffiloJetPack for =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Jetpack, Scary stuff, man. Better safe than sorry.
I learned the hard way, and I’m happy to warn others before they learn the hard way, too. I’d hate to see it happen to anyone else.
[Reply]
Hi Alan,
Gosh, sorry to hear about this and Murphy’s Law giving you a bad week. So far it’s the first time I’ve heard about such incidents. I used to put up lots of images in the past but not so much now because they affect the load up time. But I’ll probably be more careful for the few images that I used. Thanks for sharing.
Peter
.-= How to Make Money Blogging´s last blog ..Discover 1 Easy Google Keyword Research Trick =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@How to Make Money Blogging,
Thanks, Peter. Yes, Murphy’s Law was working hard that week lol. I only get images from trusted sources now when I do use an image, and all are free to use. You may want to check out this post on where you can get images for your blog: http://www.replaceyoursalary.com/work-from-home-blog/blogging/where-do-you-get-images-and-photos-to-use-on-your-website-or-blog.
Thanks for stopping by.
[Reply]
Twitter: writingc
says:
Wow, this is depressing. I guess it would be 100% safe by snapping our own images. I better start cleaning up my blog in case I have accidentally used any copyrighted images to avoid legal issues.
.-= Sarah Lam@Writing Consultation´s last blog ..Quit Unemployment and Start Freelancing =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Sarah Lam@Writing Consultation,
Yeah, unfortunately taking our own pictures isn’t always feasible for each post. You may be interested in this follow-up post I wrote about various resources where you can get free images for your blog: http://www.replaceyoursalary.com/work-from-home-blog/blogging/where-do-you-get-images-and-photos-to-use-on-your-website-or-blog.
Feel free to add your own as well!
[Reply]
That is seriously scary! I think I gotta check on the images I added on my blogs. These past few weeks though, I’m linking back (credit) to the sites where I got those photos. Not sure if that will help avoid an image violation…
Anyway, thanks for the advice and also thanks to JR for the Photo Dropper plugin recommendation.
.-= Nej@Work at Home Jobs´s last blog ..Designer for an Automotive Marketing Company =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Nej@Work at Home Jobs,
You bet. My goal was to make people aware (if they weren’t already) about the danger of publishing copyrighted images.
Linking back is definitely wise. Not sure if that will help either. Better to use images you know full well can be used on your blog. Also, if your blog is commercial in nature (like mine), double-check that the image can be used on commercial blogs.
[Reply]
Ouch! $450 hurts big time, well its great that you share your experience with us which is a good warning to people who are using images on their website/blogs. By the way happy birthday Alan!
.-= Jay @ legitimate online jobs´s last blog ..How to Earn at Home by Blogging =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Jay @ legitimate online jobs,
Yep, it did. LOL
Thanks, Jay!
[Reply]
WOW I did not know that was possible. Thanks for the post I will have to do some changes at my blogs so as the same thing does not happen to me.
.-= Nicole@Life Coaching Courses´s last blog ..Self Help – Natural Balance =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Nicole@Life Coaching Courses,
Oh yeah… There are very strict rules for this kind of stuff. Glad this was an eye-opener for ya!
[Reply]
That’s terrible, I mean, of course, it isn’t as terrible as a war or an earthquake or a terrorist attack but still. When I use images from the web, I’m afraid of being penalized. But I think that if you don’t want others to use your image just put some watermark on it and they will know that this particular image is forbidden for downloading. I don’t think that it is too difficult. But I guess the owners do it on purpose and don’t leave watermarks and then threat us with penalties. it’s unfair.
Sorry for commenting an old post but it’s very acute.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Anna Gile,
Yeah, in my case I had no way of knowing. But then, I should have did my due diligence. Guess you have to pay the price when you don’t.
Don’t be sorry. I’m glad you did, and I hope you learned a valuable lesson.
[Reply]
It is crazy that no one notified you until two years later. I should be careful of images I used for my site too.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Ed,
I thought the same thing. They estimated the image had been on my site for around 8 months, even though it was much longer than that. I’m definitely not complaining about that, though. I can’t even imagine what the fine would have been if they knew it was 2 years or more.
[Reply]
Such an informative post! I guess I have been lucky so far as to not have been hit with a penalty for unauthorized use of images. I never really thought about it before now. I will definitely be more cautious in the future. Thanks.
Jeremiah´s last [type] ..Samsonite Silhouette Spinner Review
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Jeremiah,
Glad to help make you more aware of the real possibility.
[Reply]
Yes, have gotten a nasty gram also. Luckily, no money was owed but the image was removed. Better to be safe than sorry!
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Michelle,
You’re very fortunate you weren’t fined. Did they make you remove the image, or did you remove it just in case?
[Reply]
Thank you for the post. Really it will b helpful for me. I will make sure that i didn’t do the same mistakes…
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Soma Sarkar,
You’re welcome!
[Reply]
I too, received a note from Getty. I cant believe it. They are asking $1175. AND, if that wasn’t bad enough, we removed it from our website 8 months ago. There must be something we can do. Shouldn’t there have been a warning letter first???
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Jackie,
YIKES! Very sorry to hear that, Jackie. I suppose the only option would be to fight it, but it may end up costing you more in legal fees than if you were to just pay the fine.
[Reply]
A lot of products that tell you how to make websites and find images suggest poor practices or seem to skim over things such as this. I get quite refund happy as soon as I notice something like that. Sorry you had such a rough experience.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Anthony@acne diets,
It was so long ago I don’t even remember what site I saw it on. At least I now know to be much more careful in the future.
[Reply]
I think this is a very good reminder to everyone since most of us used images from the Internet. But from what I learned, to stay out of trouble we should only look for images which are royalty free or free images.For royalty free images you pay for use of the images multiple times but free images are well free. So I usually used free images.
JaneP@Hip Replacement Surgery Video´s last [type] ..Multiple Sclerosis (MS) – A Chronic Disease Of Unknown Origins!
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@JaneP@Hip Replacement Surgery Video,
I also now look for royalty free images, or images in the Public Domain. That’s the safest route.
[Reply]
True, getting notice specially about copyrights can be a very bad shock because we are not the bad guys. Its really so unprofessional on the part of these sites which sells images violating copyrights. Its really a bad feeling to pull down the image after showing it to the whole world. I learned a lesson too after which I tried to learn more on image copyrights.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Brian@denver condos,
I was definitely bummed to have to take the image down, but I’d happily do that than suffer even more serious consequences.
[Reply]
getting notice specially about copyrights can be a very bad shock because we are not the bad guys. Its really so unprofessional on the part of these sites which sells images violating copyrights. Its really a bad feeling to pull down the image after showing it to the whole world. I learned a lesson too after which I tried to learn more on image copyrights.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@smoke 51 cigarettes,
They weren’t even selling it, which makes it even worse. I wasn’t too bothered about pulling the image. It could easily have been replaced with a different one.
[Reply]
Twitter: IllnoisBizAtty
says:
Unfortunately what happened to you Alan happens more and more often. There are a lot of people who don’t understand the copyright law.
Getting a picture from a royalty-free source is great, if you can be certain that the person that uploaded the picture wasn’t violating someone’s copyright. If the person who uploaded the photo didn’t have authority to do so, the fact that you assumed they did will not get you off the hook.
You should always keep a log of where ever image came from. Yes, I know it is a real hassle, but the software available to scout out images on the web is making it easy for the copyright owner or its agent to sniff out violators.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@David@ Chicago Attorney,
Thanks for the input, David. It’s nice to get feedback from an actual attorney. That’s most likely what happened in my case. I understand that the “end-user” like myself is still responsible and that they have no way of knowing how I ended up with the image. Thanks for the tips… I’ve definitely been keeping a closer watch on any images I use.
[Reply]
I think that learning from the previous mistakes differentiates a successful man from an unsuccessful one.Wrong decisions should be used as a stepping stone.
Robert´s last [type] ..Reverse Phone Lookup- What Is Exactly Reverse Phone Lookup
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Robert,
Thanks for those words of wisdom, Robert.
[Reply]
Such an informative post! I guess I have been lucky so far as to not have been hit with a penalty for unauthorized use of images. I never really thought about it before now. I will definitely be more cautious in the future. Thanks. thanks a lot
-sara angel
sara angel@ Magnifying glass with light´s last [type] ..Magnifying Glass with Light
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@sara angel@ Magnifying glass with light,
You’re welcome! It helps to be cautious, as fines can be pretty high.
[Reply]
Thanks for this post, we were worried about this so we did a monthly deal at Shutterstock to get about 700 images for roughly 25 cents a piece, all in advance to use over the next year. Thanks for being so transparent with the suit!
Jordan@Where to buy an engagement ring´s last [type] ..Who Keeps The Engagement Ring If We Breakup?
[Reply]
Man, that is rough. I have several sites myself and I do exactly what you described. I’m not real sure how to tell if there is a copyright on photos. I search google images sometimes, I wonder if those images are ok? I have hundreds of posts, articles and pages. Checking all of them is just not something that I can see myself doing, but maybe I should consider it?
Joe@ at home business ideas´s last [type] ..Can You Make Money From Home With Blogging?
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Joe@ at home business ideas,
I used to get my images through Google Images as well. Many of those images do have copyrights, so if you’re not careful, you could be using an image without permission. It would take an enormous amount of time, but it wouldn’t hurt to go through your images and check, or at least replace them with images you know are safe.
[Reply]