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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
International Copyrights
Jesse Beals, Photographer
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Tracyton | WA | USA | Posted: 7:18 PM on 01.21.10 |
->> Ok a question came up and I am not sure how to answer it. In the USA we have copyright laws on all our work. But what happens if a person snags one of your photos and posts it on their website, magazine or book and they are based in another country?
How far does the photo copyright go? Is there any steps to recover lost revenue? |
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Ian L. Sitren, Photographer
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Palm Springs | CA | USA | Posted: 7:24 PM on 01.21.10 |
->> "Is there any steps to recover lost revenue?"
As a practical matter.... No. |
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Jesse Beals, Photographer
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Tracyton | WA | USA | Posted: 9:23 PM on 01.22.10 |
| ->> Is there any ways to stop this from happening legally? |
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Alan Walsh, Student/Intern, Photo Editor
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Tucson | AZ | | Posted: 10:35 PM on 01.22.10 |
->> The entertainment industry, with the millions of dollars it's worth, can't stop it.
If they can't do it I don't see how one of us could. |
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Chuck Steenburgh, Photographer
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Lexington | VA | USA | Posted: 12:39 AM on 01.23.10 |
->> Send in the Marines!
Jesse, of course there's a way to stop it legally...it's just hard. Even in the best of circumstances, it's damned hard to enforce your copyrights here in the U.S.
I am not a lawyer, and it has been a long time since I even did any (academic) research on the topic, but there IS international copyright law. It is also possible to obtain a judgment against an infringer in U.S. courts and attempt to go after any assets they might have within U.S. jurisdiction.
Hopefully Witte will chime in with one of his "I used this guy once..." stories, most helpful. :)
But if you're little photographer guy with shallow pockets and some guy on a Russian porn site is using one of your photos...well, maybe you can parlay that into some free porn. But otherwise you're pretty powerless, yes. Unless you have some Marines under your command. |
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Thomas E. Witte, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Cincinnati | OH | USA | Posted: 6:25 PM on 02.06.10 |
->> LOL. I do have a story. :)
Eons ago when the Mark 2 was all the rage, I ran across an image of mine being marketed on EPA's (European Pressphoto Agency) website. The loophole for us was that EPA has North American offices so we communicated and filed against the NA office even though the London office was the one that injected the photo in to the system. (Turns out it was a completely innocent mistake, the image was pushed to their site by a subscriber who snatched the image, but they're liable none-the-less.)
So basically, your best bet is to find a satellite office here in the states or their parent company (which might have US offices) and start the ball rolling with them. |
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Steve Allen, Photographer
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John Korduner, Photographer
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Baton Rouge | LA | United States | Posted: 1:08 AM on 02.07.10 |
->> I always thought my Int'l law prof summed it up best when he said "int'l law's an oxymoron."
When you figure the laws of each U.S. state are meaningless outside the courts of each particular state...how much respect would you imagine courts of other sovereign nations afford to U.S. law? |
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TD Paulius, Photographer
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Orland Park | IL | USA | Posted: 10:08 AM on 02.08.10 |
->> As a practical matter, you should consult with a copyright attorney in your area. I know of one in Seattle that has very good track record as a plaintiff's attorney so ping me for it. An attorney that practices extensively in and is practical and knowledgeable in copyright, of the existence of the Berne Convention, to which the US is a signatory and has been for some time, though not as long as the "eons" of which Witte speaks. The Berne Convention provides that an author's rights in one country are respected in another country as if the author were a citizen of that other country. Simply put, a work by a US author is protected by Australian copyright because both Australia and the US are signatories to Berne. Hence it is not an issue of comity and interpretation of the law of the US by a foreign signatory to Berne. Rather, it is the enforcement of an action under the copyright laws of that signatory country that is enbaled by Berne.
Berne is an international convention that enables you to bring an action for enforcement of any of the rights granted under it in another, signatory country. You are bound by the particular laws of the country in which you choose to file your claim under Berne. Us courts have dismissed claims against foreign entities under Berne based on lack of jurisdiction or inconvenient forum, noting that the foreign jurisdiction is the appropriate place to resolve the claim.
A practical and knowledgeable copyright attorney will have a series of foreign associates with whom he/she routinely deals with on other IP matters, whih they can enlist in your cause.
Good luck with your issue. |
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