Hi everyone,
I’m a photographer from Belgium. I discovered one of my photos has been printed illegally and is on one of the walls in a cruise ship. It’s a major US company. I discovered this because a passenger recognized my work and sent me a photo of it.
Does anyone now what’s the best thing to do here?
Thanks!
Cruise ships are an intentional mix of national origins and providers. They are amazing at diffusing responsibility as anything needing liability isn’t just a different company, it is a different company in a different nation subject to different laws. Taxes, employment rights, and anything they don’t want to deal with is a legal maze.
Most likely they don’t even know. One of the many groups involved probably licensed it in bulk, and they do have an agreement paying for use. Very often it is licensed and sublicenced and several levels down somebody submitted the art claiming to have rights they didn’t have. Sometimes people do it to make quick money knowing odds of discovery are low and odds of consequences are even lower. Other times it is merely ignorance, submitting art they like without knowing or caring about money or rights.
You need to figure out exactly what you want. Do you want a license payment? Do you want it removed? Do you want something else?
After you know what you want, if it makes sense to get it, go hire a lawyer. They can help you navigate the tangle of corporate entities and international agreements you will be facing.
It is absolutely your right to demand payment.
Enforcing that right is often expensive, far more costly than money you would receive, and the risks for people on the infringement side very often have near-zero risk, and low cost in the rare case they are caught. Casual infringers don’t think about it, and willful criminals weigh the balance, taking the low risk money.
it would be pretty easy of them to just remove it and disregard any further complaints
It is not as simple as a single image in a single room.
It would not be in a single room, but bulk. They would need to replace it in hundreds or maybe thousands of rooms, putting up other art. Then they would need to destroy the hundreds of prints they have, and remove it from the pool of artwork.
It will likely cost several thousand dollars, and they won’t do it without reason. Certainly not just because someone asked.
This is the correct comment, and also why a legal solution is less ideal than outright shaming them on socials and mobilizing an army of people bad mouthing them on insta and twitter.
Its not ideal, but copyright is so complicated you may have no choice.
I came here to bring this up specifically. Tony Northrup had a video about someone across the globe stealing his content and brought up how extremely costly it was. He was mad, could afford it, and was gonna fight cause they did it to him twice, from what I recall, but I do remember a point in the video where he was talking about how it became a matter of principle over money at a certain point because of the cost in money and time sink. I can’t remember if he said $50,000 or $500,000, I lean towards the 50, but either way, that’s a lot of money to fight for one picture.
I mean, if he wins, he should win back the court expenses, or does it not work like that?
I don’t know, and I’m also gonna assume it’s not exactly the easiest thing to collect a debt from half way around the world either. There’s also the real possibility you could lose.
I don’t know, and I’m also gonna assume it’s not exactly the easiest thing to collect a debt from half way around the world either. There’s also the real possibility you could lose.
I would ask for a free cruise for 2 people every 2 years.
It might be worth hiring a lawyer to send a letter demanding payment or takedown, buy yeah beyond that this seems like a case where even if you won the cost of doing so makes it a loss.
Yeah this is good. I think looking for liability is a waste. OP did some work and wants some money.
Printing cost
Licensing of image
Time spent pursuing
that’s about it.