Photographers: What to Do if Someone Steals Your Photos

Are you someone who makes money with personal photographs on the internet? Does your hard-earned cash come from Instagram, Flickr, or your own personal website? Have you ever come across someone else using your photographs without permission?

Photography is an ever-expanding business, taken to new heights in this burgeoning era of sociality. With that being said, there are hundreds of thousands of new photographers getting their own businesses off the ground, or promoting their personalities. It’s easier than ever to take someone else’s photos and pass them off as your own.

So what, exactly, do you do if you find yourself a victim of such theft?

Well first off:

Always Make Sure You Have Proof

It’s super easy to take a screenshot with a phone, laptop, or tablet. In order to make sure that the offender is held responsible, you need to be able to have proof that they have indeed stolen your intellectual property. Also, take the time to find out their contact information, or any other way to get ahold of them. Once you have this, it’s time to proceed to the first option.

Option 1: Ask Politely

Your photographs are your intellectual property. They belong to you, and as such, are protected under the Copyright Act of 1976. If someone is using your photographs without asking, send them an email, or another form of contact, asking them to take it down and reminding them that it is yours. If you decide to let them use the photograph, make sure that they credit the image as yours, if you don’t decide to seek payment for it.

Option 2: Tough Love

If you’ve tried contacting them and heard nothing back or got a flippant reply, it’s time to pop your knuckles menacingly and start up on a DMCA Takedown Notice. The DMCA protects copyrighted images, videos, text, and music found online. Filing one of these bad boys can help to protect your copyrighted brand. You can find templates for the form online.

The only downside to this option is that the Takedown Notice works for only one location. If your photograph is being used in more than one place, you’ll have to file multiple notices.

Option 3: Lawyer Up

This is definitely the most expensive option, but lawyering up will provide a wider safety net than trying to do it all yourself. Your lawyer will file a Cease-and-Desist letter on official, scary looking stationary. A Cease-and-Desist should scare them enough to stop using your property, and it threatens bigger action if the photograph isn’t taken down.

Option 4: Hit Them Where It Hurts

If the offender has refused to take down your photographs, even with all of the abovementioned actions in place, it’s time to take them to court. If they aren’t going to play nicely then you won’t either.

If you’re able to provide proof, you should have a solid case built up in your favor.

Here at Berify, it’s our job to help you throughout this process. Using our Reverse Image Search will help you find out where your images are being used and who has the gall to steal from you. We understand that photography is a hard, but potentially lucrative business and we’re here to make sure you get every ounce of credit that you’re due.

Before taking any of the above steps, take the time to search here for your images: https://berify.com

Happy Searching!