How to initiate action- copyright infringment? Coffee table book with my pictures

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angelat

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I will try this again - but it's irksome that new threads don't seem to get posted here.. especially after spending so much time on them!

I am a commercial photographer (more in the past than now) but have just come across a coffee table book with my images published in them. The works were originally licensed and shot for a very well known los angeles architect. They were supplied with a document explaining the rights of usage - which did NOT include publishing by third parties.

Not only were the reproductions of the works unauthorized - but the more bothersome problem for me, is that they were of very poor quality - making my work look terrible (!). This is one of the primary reasons that I insist that third party reproductions are under my control - so I can ensure that high quality reproductions are made.

At any rate - I'm not sure whether to approach my client or the third party (publisher) about this - or if the case would be worth consulting a lawyer for(??). I'd love it if someone could tell me what best practices are regarding this issue... six of my pictures were used in the book.

Thanks... hope that's enough info
 
Contact the one who actually published the book. Yow want to send a letter demanding they stop the publishing. They may not have gotten permission of any kind from your client. Just be careful and don't say that you WILL sue but rather you MAY excercise your rights to legal action of they don't stop.
 
thanks for that initial response. Well there's no cease and desist about it. The quarter million or whatever copies that were already printed - were printed five or six years ago. I think damages for copyright violation and mishandling original works would be in order...(?)
 
They may have been printed that long ago but are they done distributing them? In the mean te given that many copies I would contact a lawyer. And someone correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that distributing more than 5000 copies of copyrighted works moves th into criminal charges. In any event it would be best to have a lawyer help determine what the damages are to demand they pay.
 
I'm trying to find out how many copies were in the publishing run... but maybe they keep it at 5K or under just because of such liabilities - usually these things are printed ONCE (this was also part of a larger series - i.e. 'volume 5' etc) and then that's it. Keeps printing costs down that way.
 
Angelat - you need an attorney.

You probably would want someone with a trained, expert eye to verify your position. I'm not doubting your understanding of the agreement but many times I've found that contracts don't always say what a party thinks they may. I alo don't think that you want to sue for what could be considerable damages on your own. If you're right, the attorney may be able to recover attorneys' fees as well. 250,000 copies is a large number. If you need assistance finding an attorney, we're glad to help if you send a request to support or take out a case review. But let me ask you this - have you even spoken with the other party about this issue? You can speak with them directly to find out what they were thinking. If you can negotiate a reasonable settlement, which may not be the case (but worth trying), it will certainly be a preferred solution to a lawsuit.

PS - You're the only one who has issues with posting. Perhaps it went into our "spam moderation queue" but this doesn't seem to be the case. Let us know if you have any further technical issues as well.
 
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