ELI Forums > Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum
Who really owns the claimed image?
313speed:
..
Ethan Seven:
Agence France Presse is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
Hgbee & Associates is a well established law firm who files lots of copyright lawsuits.
So, I would not expect either would engage in shenanigans, like trying to enforce rights they do not possess or claim to represent parties they do not represent.
If Agence France Presse is who is doing the enforcement, instead of Getty, you should make sure the release agreement indemnifies you against any copyright claim arising out of the past use of that image.
As far as the POA, it seems like a non-issue, unless you really have a basis to believe that Higbee & Associates is not representing the client. If Higbee is signing the release agreement, maybe then you ask for a POA that meets legal requirements. But again, these are not fly-by-night players.
Ethan Seven:
The only advice I give is to get an attorney who understands your situation, especially if you have a profitable business to protect. Your time, sanity, focus and assets are at risk.
If it were me, assuming I used the image and did not have a license, I would cry hardship and make a modest offer. Maybe they take it and I get this behind me for cheap. If they don’t take it, at least I won’t look bad in front of the judge if they file a lawsuit because at least I made an effort to resolve the claim. The less attractive option for me is to not give it another thought and move on in hopes they do not sue, I like piece of mind.
I do not know many lawyers who send things certified anymore, especially in the age of email, when it is easy to verify if an email was received and opened. Likewise with the POA, it is not even needed unless they are signing the release on behalf of the client.
Best of luck to you.
Matthew Chan:
Ethan,
What happened in this thread? Did the person who started this thread orphan out your responses? That is rude because it leaves the rest of us stranded. They got their answer and suddenly no one knows what they asked?
Might I suggest that with newbies who have no posting track record, we "regulars" quote the underlying post as part of the response so that if they decide to pull this stunt, we still have a copy of what was being responded to.
No one likes orphaned threads because the naked responses lack context.
313speed:
Sorry Matthew tried to send a PM to explain but I couldn't.
Short answer is that I reached out to Getty to clarify who owns the rights here in the U.S. for a photo a demand letter is requesting. I used an email that has this screen name in it. I didn't want Getty to forward any info along. That and I'd be fairly certain Higbee monitors this site.
That being said, if Getty has exclusive U.S. rights to manage an AFP license, can AFP go outside of their partnership agreement for collections? The Getty EULA states that "You may not assert any right to revenue from a collecting society in respect of photocopying, digital copying or other secondary uses of the licensed content". I would assume Getty would want to have their hand in the pot for any image it licenses based on this language. Getty's email response to me inferred that they were in control of the image rights.
Of course, I'm also curious as to how AFP would verify if their partner licensed an image. Can PicRights/Higbee even access Getty records? Based on my experience with large corporations acquiring ones I've worked for, I'd be surprised to see Getty and AFP so transparent with each other. I'll keep reviewing the site here and let you know how things turn up.
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