Blogging and have questions. Contract with Blogger?

[SandestinCue]

Ok, we have an HVAC company.  Currently, I hired a blogger for my second site which is a WP site. She will be blogging and attaching pictures to those blogs.  I asked her specifically that she sign a contract that stated she is responsible for all content and pictures, videos, etc.  If I should receive a getty image letter regarding an image that she posted on my site (as she has access to the posting).  Do I have a case against her?  Will I have to fight GI myself? And most importantly, should my contract with my blogger specifically state something else?? Thanks!

[SoylentGreen]

Contracts like this can be a good idea.  It certainly keeps people on their toes when it comes to what's published online.

One downside is that the contract only gives you legal recourse against your blogger in the event of an infringement.
Companies such as Getty usually go after the "end user" (your HVAC company for example).
They're quite persistent, and your contract wouldn't likely induce them to pursue the blogger instead of your company.

Therefore, if you paid a settlement to Getty, or if a court decided in Getty's favor in the event of a dispute, you'd have to then collect from your blogger to recoup your losses.
In the event of a lawsuit, you may be able to bring the blogger into the suit as a "third party".  You'd have to check your local laws.

I'm sure that other folks here will comment as well.

S.G.

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

I would try to steer GI toward your blogger you have the contract with, worst case as SG points out, if you end up paying Getty, you'd have to go after the blogger for the amount paid, probably in small claims court, being as you have a contract you should get the judgement, payment on the other hand is a different story..

[SandestinCue]

Thank you both for your response. 

I am wondering if I should just let her blog/post and then I will pay fotolia or another company for the pictures?  I know with a contract I would be covered, but like you two stated.. I really don't want a letter at all to begin with. I would have to fight GI first and then recoup.. nightmare.

In the contract she wrote that she would use "royalty-free" images with each post, but I read.. maybe on here.. that it still needs to be a paid photo?? Is that correct?

[Mulligan]

Why not tell her to use a bit of bold and indenting and other formatting instead of images? Then the potential problem is solved (as long as she's not lifting posts from copyrighted sites).

I stopped using all images on my blog when I got my letter from the ugly trolls at Getty, but blog traffic has continued to go up, which was my only concern when I adopted the "no more images" policy.

[SoylentGreen]

The ironic thing about all this is that there's no guarantee that any image that we use is "infringement free" even if we legitimately purchase it from a company.
We really have no way of knowing where the company got the image in the first place.

For example, Getty is being sued by Ron Raffaelli for reselling his Jimmy Hendrix photos.
Raffaelli could also go after any end users who purchased the photos from Getty.
In such a situation, the best outcome for the person who bought the photos is a judgement of "innocent infringement", and a payment of $200.
But, who knows?  Who wants to go to court even if they're in the right?

This is the sort of thing that's killing the stock photo industry.
Dealing with any of these companies is risky, as their business model is now based on monetizing infringements (alleged or otherwise).
There's no "goodwill", even for paying customers.

S.G.

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

Please be aware that "Royalty Free" does not mewan free, so many people get tripped up on this.. It's just a different pricing / usage scheme...Options to consider.

1. You yourself purchase the license for any images ( still risk of getting letter as SG points out.
2. Have your blogger "link to images/video ect.. still a risk of getting a letter, as we have a couple users dealing with this currently
3. Use images in the public domain, limited options, but there are sites listed in another thread.
4. Take your own images with your own camera.
5. Use zero images.

I currently my clients to supply me any images, I tell them to purchase, whether they do or not I don't follow up on, they generally sign a "hold harmless agreement, so if they get the letter, they cannot stick me with it.