CNN "used" my photographs

Oh it really sucks that a rich company like CNN try to steale picture from one photographer… to give you what they have to or at list credit will not make tham poor :-/
Don’t know what to suggest you but don’t give up… it’s so unfair!

Don’t write them any more letters.

Send them an invoice.

Georgia is party to the Berne Convention, which establishes you as the copyright holder.

You shot the pics? You own ‘em. They use ‘em? They pay you.

CNN’s iReport is their unregulated ‘User Generated Content’ portal, so whoever placed the images on the site had no right to do so unless they were the copyright holder.

Save copies of the YouTube pages and the iReport listing, send them a letter saying you’re the copyright holder of the material, that they’ve committed multiple copyright violations and unauthorised use of your material.

Calculate an invoice – based on the dollar or the Euro, not your local currency – because the primary audience has been in Europe of the US, and bill them.

If they don’t pay the invoice, get in touch with the European Federation of Journalists to see if they would be willing to take up your case legally in a local court.

The European Regional Office (EFJ/IFJ)
Residence Palace
Rue de la Loi 155
B-1040 Brussels
BELGIUM

Telephone: 32-2-235 22 02
Telefax: 32-2-235 22 19
E-Mail: efj@ifj.org

The bottom line is they’ve already used the material so any any further approaches should be simply based on an expectation that they will pay you what YOU, not they, have estimated as the license fee, which as you’ve established, is multiple uses.

http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/newswire/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003725145

German,

Your photos are also being used at the main cnn.com site

In this video, an exchange between someone at Atlanta and the Armenian was aired and your photos are shown.

that’s so fucken sad. cnn? such a massive corporation and they do this? in situations like these i always ask myself what’s next… but till when?

As Sion said, send them an invoice.

They have breached your copyright and that is out of order. It doesn’t matter who posted the images, the copyright belongs to you.

If they don’t pay up get the IFJ to get in contact with the CNN law department and threaten them directly.

Goodluck and take care.

This just illustrates why the “iReport” model is unsustainable. What’s to prevent any of our pictures from being stolen and uploaded by some moron? CNN isn’t going to verify any of the materials, and they’ll just say “oops, sorry” when pressed. The pictures get aired without penalty and will remain on youtube forever. Even if Time Warner pays, what are they paying for? A license to use the images? They need to be sued for fraud.

Hi, German

Please keep us posted on progress and I have also asked some of friends and got some advice. I’ll send you those through PM.

Solidarity!

youme.

Sion nails it. Be polite, and be firm. I’ve always had positive experiences selling picture licenses to CNN. They’ll pay.

Hi German,

As others said, no more letters, just an invoice in dollars or euros.
They have to pay and they will. Thinking of you!

Rosa

Also see http://www.lightstalkers.org/what-to-do

Although in this case it’s much more straight forward as it’s CNN your dealing with.

The good thing about both these posts is not only are they getting good advice we are alerting each other about copyright violations.
There a good money spinner as you are virtually guaranteed to succeed.

Robert,

I have been trying to set up a good Google alert for my images, but so far I have been unsuccessful.

Do you have separate alerts for your name variations and domain name? Are “images/photo” keywords you have chosen? Currently Google does not have a image type for alerts. They have News, Blogs, Web, Comprehensive, Video, and Groups.

Thanks, Robert.

I have set up similar alerts with my name and domain name.

Dear Colleagues,

I am very grateful to your and very touched with your attention. It is very pleasant to feel that you are not alone.

Today I have received an on-line message from CNN informing me that my
e-mail will be forwarded to their legal department and someone will
contact me shortly.

Hope everything will be all right.

Once again – thank your very much.

Best regards,
German

Good luck German,

Edo

This stupid problem is not just with CNN.

http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/newswire/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003725145

Edo, Vokhchuyjn!!! I hope to see you in Armenia:-)
Just let me know..

German jan,
I hope so too! I’ll keep you posted :-)

Take care,

Edo

Dear friends

Last time I wrote, I told you about how CNN started to investigate how my photographs appeared on air without gaining permission from the author. They promised to contact me in the nearest future. I sent the CNN lawyer a letter to inform her that my friend in New York will represent me, and I sent her an invoice. After some time the CNN representative called my representative and said that the sum of money I have requested as compensation is much too high, and that CNN is ready to pay a much smaller sum. My representative asked them to state a concrete figure. After several days, CNN asked to know what kind of pay I have received for photo assignments (ie what is my average income from photography). We sent a curt reply, stating that my average salary is not relevant to the discussion, because the matter at hand is violation of my copyright and illegal use of my photos. We stated that we are awaiting a concrete response from CNN by April 1st, and if no response is received, we will seek legal counsel. Naturally, CNN has not answered, and so now I would like to find a lawyer, asap, in the U.S. Unfortunately, my friend who has represented me is about to leave on a trip abroad (about which we informed CNN). So, I am seeking a lawyer who is willing to take this case free of charge with the understanding that she/he will receive a portion of the settlement from CNN. I have requested from CNN in compensation for violation of my copyright and honorarium (for 2 clips, slide shows lasting 45 seconds and 25 seconds) the amount of $N.
Now, following CNN’s silence, I believe the amount that should be sought from CNN should be much higher, as the lawyer’s fee must be factored in to the final settlement amount. Furthermore, I believe that CNN’s silence is causing me moral harm.

If you know of a good lawyer in the USA who would be interested in this case, let me know.

PS. I’m The USA residend (I have green card)..

Hello German,

You might try to contact Ed Greenberg in Manhattan—he represents a lot of cases for ASMP/EP.

Good Luck
Seth

Were they low resolution and watermarked images as they should be? Or …do you put your pics out there to be stolen by multi million dollar corporations with big buck lawyers to defend their crimes? Sorry about your situation but when will photogs wake up and smell the new business BS? Just a thought.

Try Volunteer lawyers for the Arts they have offices all over the States http://www.starvingartistslaw.com/help/volunteer%20lawyers.htm

and here’s a slew of info on Copyright http://www.starvingartistslaw.com/copyright/copyright.htm

A photographer recently won a case against a huge company so stay with it, don’t back down. Hoping the best for you.

Although I don`t know the situation in every state, volunteer lawyers for the arts in Maryland requires membership application with detailed info on your financial status before you can get their lawyers to help you. Because I own a house, I did not take the time to try their membership. The US Copyright Law is helpful to those who register their images and is kind of weak on the inherent copyrights granted to creative individuals in other countries. With two copyright infringements in the past year, I was able to get more from a UK company compared to an American company. Negotiating on my own with some helpful hints on negotiating techniques, I was able to get three or more times more than their initial offers. I have a green card, too, but since my copyright protection is better in Japan, in the future I would emphasize the fact that I am Japanese, and as such my copyright should be respected without any registration.

German

What CNN is attempting to do is pay you a derisory amount because
a. They know you are in Armenia and assume you will not have the finances to pursue them legally.

b. This is how all large corporations operate and stay wealthy.

I suggest you try and find a lawyer who would represent you on a CFA basis. CFA (Conditional Fee Arrangement) are more commonly known as No Win No Fee. They are lucrative for lawyers because the lawyer gets an upsurge in his fees for taking a case on a risk basis.

If you can get a lawyer to fight you case on this basis you on to a winner. It means the lawyer is confident you will win(I mean this is a straight forward case of infringement and therefore there are no mitigating factors involved) CNN would be concerned if they received a letter from a lawyer knowing you are being represented on a CFA because your financial circumstances are no longer a factor. The likelihood is CNN will settle before the lawyer can clock up loads of billing hours and most definitely before it goes to court.
The lawyer should ask for compensation and his fees/costs be paid by CNN.

As Angela has said DO NOT give this up. You will win it’s just a matter of time and you finding the right lawyer.

I know all this shit because I was involved in a legal dispute a year ago and you would not believe the bullshit the company I sued tried to pull.

I wish you the best of Luck.

BTW Gregory give German a break!

It’s amazing, isn’t it. The bastards.

I ask myself how much the lawyer who is sending you letters is charging CNN. One hell of a lot more than you’re asking for, I’d bet. The bastards.

Cheers, PHC.

Try this Lawyer Philip Mann – Mann Law Group Phone (206) 224-3553 he has been successful in winning lawsuits & compensation for photographers against powerful companies for copyright violation. The more of us let big companies get away with this bull the more likely more companies will follow suite. BTW Gregory All they will need once we give them the silent go ahead is an unpaid intern to do some PS retouching over watermark/copyright info and some genuine fractal work and even a low res. stuff becomes usable for their declining standards. Happened to one of my low res watermarked images which was used on a 24” poster – looked good too!

German,

If you try to get a lawyer in the US, the word equivalent to CFA here is contingency lawyers. They work on contingencies and you never have to pay them upfront. A photographer I know uses a contingency lawyer regularly since his images are stolen often. Since your case is against CNN, a settlement award can be larger. I`ll try to get in touch with this photographer and see if he gives me the lawyer contact.

Not like my cases which involved companies, which you never heard of and only operate on the Web.

Folks! Thanks a lot!
With your help I will start the fight against “poor” company named CNN
G

German,

I have found a lawyer who is interested in your case. I`ll PM you.

Good luck.

Tomoko