So upset: cease and desist settlement demand!

[Lipstick Kisses]

This morning I received a cease and desist letter from gettyimages saying I stole an image on my website. I had no idea as i just found it on google and didn't realise i wasn't supposed to! It was just a champagne glass and i added a little lipstick print to the rim.
I'm so upset as they are demanding a £984 settlement! I don't have £984!! I do mobile beauty and I'm not overly busy right now and I'm terrified this might happen again! I built my own website and so i didn't have anyone telling me what i should and shouldn't do.
I have removed the image immediately and any others that I found on google but I'm terrified as my logo on my website and all my business cards is a lipstick kids I found on google images. I changed the colouring to match my colours but I'm half expecting to be sued or something now! Should I change it?
I'm so upset and I can't afford up have this happen again. I can't even afford for this to happen now! I was trying to save up for a new (second hand new to me) car but I guess il have to start Gain now =( I was so proud that i had managed to almost be able to buy myself a car with the money from my beauty business and was then going to start saving to move in with my boyfriend but I guess that won't be happening anytime soon now.
Any advice anyone can give me would really help, I'm now terrified everything I'm doing is wrong or illegal! Is there somewhere that teaches this sort of thing cos I sure didn't get told anything about running a business in school =( thank you to anyone that helps! Geeks I need you! X

 

[zendi]

I would write back to them stating that you have taken the image down as you did not realise it was copyrighted.
Also ask them for proof of the copyright for the image.
If they then produce this information, it is likely that in court (if it gets that far) they would settle for less.
However, its questionable whether they would go to the trouble of hiring an solicitor etc for a small amount.

 

[turkish_delight]

Sorry to hear that hun. I cant help you at all although im a bit scared now as i also have a few images that are not mine although i bought them from istock. Does anyone know if this is ok?? In sure some geeks will cone along soon with some great advice, sorry i couldnt help but didnt want to read and run. Surely you can sort it without paying if you have removed the image?? Have you contacted them?? Xx

 

[turkish_delight]

I would write back to them stating that you have taken the image down as you did not realise it was copyrighted.
Also ask them for proof of the copyright for the image.
If they then produce this information, it is likely that in court (if it gets that far) they would settle for less.
However, its questionable whether they would go to the trouble of hiring an solicitor etc for a small amount.

Writing at the same time!! Lol

 

[tanfastic]

If you have bought the images you should be fine, there are also loads of free images available. You just need to search for free Photo stock images, some have watermarks and some don't.

 

[Verve Designs]

Sorry to hear that. They're incredibly heavy-handed, and they've got a multi-million pound business to protect, but I really do think they they should just be sending a warning letter out first.

Firstly, I'd get EVERTHING that you think might be "borrowed" off the web immediately.

I've actually been warning people about this over and over again on this site for a few years now, just a pity you didn't see any of the warnings.

The simple rule is, unless you'd PAID for a photo or have been given permission (and have it in writing) to use images by a supplier DO NOT use images you've found in the web. It's theft of a photographers work.

Zendi- they absolutely do go through with these threats. There are people on this website who have had to pay. I would suggest you take legal advice immediately- we're not lawyers on here.

Good luck to you anyway!

 

[Verve Designs]

If you have bought the images you should be fine, there are also loads of free images available. You just need to search for free Photo stock images, some have watermarks and some don't.

Even if you bought the images, you need to read the restrictions in the licence. You can't just use them over and over for every purpose.

And I've really not seen loads of "free" stock images, having a watermark is irrelevant. I wouldn't touch them with a barge-pole.

 

[Dolly6410]

I can understand how annoying it must be to have people using your images without permission but a polite email informing you that this image is theirs and to take it down with immediate affect would have been a little more suitable, and then if you didn't issue you with a settlement fee, it's ridiculous. I would do as said above and explain you have taken the image down, you are a self employed mobile beautician and made your website yourself and you apologize for any confusion and would they consider wavering the fine? good luck and try not to worry about it, it's done now and fingers crossed they will be descent enough to see it from your point of view, i only knew not to use google images because of what a wise geek once said on here x

 

[tanfastic]

Even if you bought the images, you need to read the restrictions in the licence. You can't just use them over and over for every purpose.

And I've really not seen loads of "free" stock images, having a watermark is irrelevant. I wouldn't touch them with a barge-pole.

Thanks Carl, good to know.I was hoping you would be about and pipe up. WHo would know better than you

 

[Dolly6410]

Sorry to hear that. They're incredibly heavy-handed, and they've got a multi-million pound business to protect, but I really do think they they should just be sending a warning letter out first.

Firstly, I'd get EVERTHING that you think might be "borrowed" off the web immediately.

I've actually been warning people about this over and over again on this site for a few years now, just a pity you didn't see any of the warnings.

The simple rule is, unless you'd PAID for a photo or have been given permission (and have it in writing) to use images by a supplier DO NOT use images you've found in the web. It's theft of a photographers work.

Zendi- they absolutely do go through with these threats. There are people on this website who have had to pay. I would suggest you take legal advice immediately- we're not lawyers on here.

Good luck to you anyway!

Whilst you are here could i please just ask, is it ok to use images from the likes of Wix on your website without paying? they have that little clipart section when you make a website with them x

 

[Verve Designs]

Whilst you are here could i please just ask, is it ok to use images from the likes of Wix on your website without paying? they have that little clipart section when you make a website with them x

If it's part of the Wix site then yes, they've probably paid for them for use for their users. But you can't then take them AWAY from Wix and use them on another site, or one you've made yourself.

 

[Lynne Baker]

I'm really sorry that you're having to go through this, and I do feel that it is incumbent on colleges etc to give people even some rudimentary info on such things.
The rule anywhere in life is that there's rarely such thing as a free lunch...

A friend of mine was successfully sued by Getty for £12K a couple of years ago for having loads of images all over her site, flyers, business cards, posters etc.

Even her solicitor said that ignorance is no defence

Just to reiterate what Carl says: do not, for one minute, think that Getty, Corbis, and the like will not follow through.
Go see a solicitor immediately, and take your website down until you get this sorted.
Good luck; let us know how you get on - we're rooting for you!

 

[Tomme]

Its not nice its happening but you say you were never taught it at school, I always bilieved that google says images may be subject to copyright when you click it before going to full size or the hosting website. That's a bit of an obvious one and to be honest its not someone's job to tell you things you should have researched before making your website.
I agree your best to speak to a solisitor ASAP and in future to make your own images (I even had a few worries about having someone make my logo when I started so made my own from scratch and made my own letterhead and footed paper layout)

A tip for the future is unless you have permission stating your name on it printed on paper sat in a filing cabinet then don't use it.
Somewhere in my file is a letter from me to me saying I give myself permission (after I heard of a man who had to pay a prs licence to play his own music he made himself as
He didn't have permission haha)
Safe than sorry xoxo

 

[Verve Designs]

and in future to make your own images (I even had a few worries about having someone make my logo when I started so made my own from scratch and made my own letterhead and footed paper layout)

To be fair, a DIY mentality can be a big reason that people get into trouble in the first place. Did you know that you can't just use any font you want in a logo for example?....Do you know each font has it own usage licence too?

My advice (and yes, I'm biased, but this is geniune advice) is use a professional who is competant with the legalities of their own profession.

A proper designer would never use copywritten materials (without asking his or her client pay for them) without permission.

Yes, it bumps the price up (and you may have noticed that a lot of my clients don't use photos at all because of this reason)- but it's better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Lipstick Kisses]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I've spoken to them and reduced the amount but not by much. I've taken all images from google off my website and I'm in the process of taking my own pictures to replace them now. I'm just so shocked they went straight in with a settlement demand. A warning letter would have been nice followed by a demand if I didn't reply. Just got to find the money from somewhere as I literally don't have that much money! It feels even worse today as I have an awful cold at the moment as well as 'that time of the month'. Just feel so disheartened. I'd finally started making enough to start saving instead of just covering the costs of the next piece of equipment/ product I needed and this has completely wiped it out =(. At least summer is coming so I should get a bit busier soon x

 

[hazelb]

I hate to say it...

But I've been on the receiving end of this as well.

I had one image on my website. I had copied an unwatermarked thumbnail image and cut it down a bit. I too got the £800 letter. I hadn't realised I had done anything wrong.

At the time there was lots of advice over the FSB forums about what to do. My understanding was that it was a bit of a gray area as they had not given any warning to me just an invoice for £800.

I used a solicitor used to dealing with these types of demands.
He wrote reiterating that the images had been taken down as soon as I was alerted, but as immediate action had been taken they couldn't ask for a settlement. ( Something like that ).

They wrote once more to try again up even though they were told to contact my solicitor directly. I've heard nothing since and this must have been about 5-4 years ago.

Other people were suffering as their web sites were done by design companies ( usually in India )who didn't get the correct licences!!!

 

[hazelb]

just to add...

For my new web site I'm getting images from dreamstime.com.

They are fantastic images that are royalty free...but you still have to pay for a licence!

I'm getting so lovely pics for about £1.50 each to use on my website for as long as I want.

 

[CHarvey]

This had made me think big style. Sorry for jumping on the thread but I wonder of anyone knows the answer to this.
I'm an armature artist and have always thought "oh I fancy drawing this, will google it and see if I can find a picture I want to draw"
This was all well and good for practice but I have recently been selling a few peices to friends and people on FB who have seen my work. Am I breaching copyright? I'm not using the original image but i am copying it (I do make modifications lol) and selling it on..
Half finished pic of elephant was a google image on a photographers websit for example

 

[Lynne Baker]

I'd be tempted to contact the photographer and ask them for permission...

 

[CHarvey]

I'd be tempted to contact the photographer and ask them for permission...

Oh now I'm nervous cause I sold a few peices at an exhibition a few months back which we're from google images. I always do my own interpretation but are based around stock photos