Image used was part of our Portfolio

[Rusty Shakelford]

Hey everyone.  I just got my first Extortion Letter for a tiny image on our site, and have a clarifying question.  The Getty image was used in an Ad we designed for a client over a year ago, and we displayed that Ad in our portfolio of previous work,,  Would this still be considered a copyright violation?

Thanks for your time!

[brianjclark]

I would expect them to claim it is, as you "stand to make money or benefit from it".

They will probably also pursue the customer of yours as well claiming he is benefiting from it too.

If its any consolation, I just think of that pine tree shaped air freshener they got sued over.  Poetic justice...

[Jerry Witt (mcfilms)]

The way MOST of the industry works is that images you license for a larger project ARE allowed to be displayed as a portfolio piece. I think there is actually a legal precedent for this (But I'm not 100% sure and not a lawyer). However, I also know that Getty's record on this is rather sketchy. When you inform them that this image WAS licensed and you have permission to use it in your portfolio, I would be very interested to hear how they reply.

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

I'll take  a stab at their reply: "This image is "Rights Managed" and a licence must be purchased for each use" or something along those lines. I " think" (I'm no lawyer either) if there were some commentary along with the image, one "might" be able to argue fair use in this instance..

[SoylentGreen]

It's actually very common for these companies to claim infringements with regard to works in a "portfolio".
Masterfile is well-known for this practice.

As usual, the real concern is not speculative lawsuits in most cases.  They would be unlikely to sue.
It's all the harassment and threats along the way that are a real pain.

S.G.

[Oscar Michelen]

It really all depends on the license you paid for when you licensed the image originally. But the current use is so minimal, part of an ad that is part of your portfolio, that any damages would be miniscule. Getty will not likely pursue this in court.