Hi there, had an instance today where Getty Images have written to one of my clients saying they have used one of their images on the website and now must pay £900 and have it removed.

 

Now the image was put there about 6 years ago and was put there by a different designer, not me, so the client can't remember if they provided the image or they did. I was always careful not to use images that were not supplied so I am pretty sure they provided it.

 

This has led me to panic, thinking of all my other sites that I may have used stock images on.

 

I have used 123rf.com before and found it very useful. If I had an account with them, as the designer, and then used an image from there for a clients website that is OK isn't it? I mean, I wouldn't need to download the image in the clients name?

 

I am currently looking at my T&C's to mention this. Would having a link to my T&C's on my own website be enough or should I ideally need to email each client with the new T&C's?

 

Thanks for any advice.

Hi there, had an instance today where Getty Images have written to one of my clients saying they have used one of their images on the website and now must pay £900 and have it removed.

 

Now the image was put there about 6 years ago and was put there by a different designer, not me, so the client can't remember if they provided the image or they did. I was always careful not to use images that were not supplied so I am pretty sure they provided it.

 

This has led me to panic, thinking of all my other sites that I may have used stock images on.

 

I have used 123rf.com before and found it very useful. If I had an account with them, as the designer, and then used an image from there for a clients website that is OK isn't it? I mean, I wouldn't need to download the image in the clients name?

 

I am currently looking at my T&C's to mention this. Would having a link to my T&C's on my own website be enough or should I ideally need to email each client with the new T&C's?

 

Thanks for any advice.

 

I webchap, it's unfortunate that your client is being harassed in such a way by the company, and I'm sure legally they don't have a leg to stand on if the image was purchased legitimately, which I'm sure it was. As far as I know, when you purchase a stock photo, you get the licence to that image for life, and can be used only once for a certain website, as long as there is no breach of the terms and conditions.

 

Don't panic, I've done the exact same thing, as a designer, it's our job to use the internet as a source of finding ways of improving our clients websites, whether it be through stock images, scripts or content managements systems, so if you set up an account, just make sure they're aware that you're a web designer, and on your clients site where you use it, have a "designed by", and they'll check it out. You'll be fine.

 

As for your client, if they can't prove that he hasn't paid for it, then they've got no leg to stand on, they're probably having financial difficulty and being horrible about it.

I've recently done a fair bit of research into this field myself. Getty uses a bot to scan sites for image use that infringes their licensing arrangements. However, this has apparently proved to be a bit hit or miss, with Getty cracking the legal whip left, right and center - often in error.

 

Also, there are lots of public domain image resources available, although the content isn't great compared to the fee-based stock sites.

 

Here a couple of good articles about this topic:

 

http://www.publicdomainsherpa.com/index.html

 

http://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2008/04/11/...mage-licensing/

Hello,

If your client has proof of purchase, then they're good. But however, you've said that they can't remember if they put it there or not. If your client does not tend to edit the site, the chances are that it may of been put there by the previous designer.

However, some companies do get it wrong occasionally, so ask your client to confirm with the company and check as to whether or not they've made a mistake.

If the previous designer has placed the image on the site, and they had no license for it, they may be (Not necessarily) liable. However, there is no way to prove this. Which basically means that they're not liable for anything. It's an unfair world. But if the company haven't made a mistake, your client is liable.

However, If the situation is as you described, I don’t image that you are liable for anything.

 

Sorry to be the bearer of Bad News,

Kindest Regards,

 

B.

 

NOTE: You understand and accept that we are not a legal agency of any kind and do not provide legal and/or professional advice of any kind, and so we are thus not responsible for the use or acting on of such the above advice or any other information and is entirely undertaken at your own risk. We will not be held responsible or liable.

You may find this article interesting.

 

Copyright Infringement - Getty and Corbis

I have been in the exact same situation.... the old designers got an image from another site. Client had 3 letters for which they replied to the third one with a strong worded solicitors letter basically telling them to f*ck off and they've not heard anything since

 

Dont panic... do your research and you'll see they rarely take it to court because they know they'll lose.

 

See that letter? Notice the IR VAT on it?