Beware of Copyright Infringement! Help!

[Pete Hanlin]

First, a warning. Apparently, you cannot use images from the internet on your own site unless you have express written permission from the copyright holder...

Last year, we decided to add a page describing LASIK on our website. I surfed the net to see what other docs were using for their LASIK pages, and found the same images at several places. I used three images that show stages of the procedure.

Anyway, the owner of the images sent us a certified letter demanding that we take the images off our page. He also wants us to pay $750 per image for the use we've already made of his images (plus $150 for his time spent discovering our illegal use).

Has anyone else run into a similar problem? I see the fella's point I guess (he makes a living painting these images). On the other hand, I thought as long as you included the copyright mark (which I did) and you weren't selling the material (which I wasn't), there wasn't a problem. We've probably only had a few dozen visits to that page and $2,400 seems like quite a sum for using three small images.

Beware of Copyright Infringement!
Pete

[Jo]

Unfortunately, they don't make things simple for folks. I believe I read somewhere that the copywrite mark doesn't mean very much anymore. Even if something isn't marked, you can still be hit for copywrite infringement for stealing intellectual property.

[Steve Machol]

This is definitely something we all need to be aware of, and it's something that comes up frequently in Webmaster forums. One of the best forums for questions like this is:

http://www.sitepointforums.com/

My own highly unqualified opinion is that this person certainly has a right to ask you to stop using the images. However I believe he's on shakier ground in asking for reimbursement, unless you somehow made money from the use of the images. The problem with things like this is that it often costs more to fight a lawsuit than it would to simply pay them off. Frankly I think that's what people like this count on.

[Alan W]

Take a look at Ophthalmic Photographers Society
Some is photwork is commissioned by med schools, and some is public domain or royalty free.
It has the best of the best.

[John R]

Pete. Did you copy the pics to your space or did you just link to the pics at his site, this could make a big diffrence to you paying or not. As i guess you know we all have to pay for data transfer or bandwidth, if you have just linked to his pics then he has most likly been paying for you to show them on your site and would have a pretty good case. If you had them in your space then i dont think he stands a chance.
You said they were on other sites as well, could be worth contacting them to see if he has done the same with them, and what the outcome was with them, thats if you can remember the sites....
Did he state on his site that you could not use his pics or to use his pics you would have to pay if not then send him a polite letter telling him that as he did not you will not be paying up...

best advice is if you see something you like ask the owner they will usually say yes so long as you say who they were done by and give them a link.

[Pete Hanlin]

I read the U.S. copyright office's posting of copyright law. John appears to be correct in stating that it is better to post links to the material on other sites than putting the actual material on your server.

Strangely enough, our server was broken into about the same time this fella was writing his letter to us. The intruder broke into our site, changed our password and login (I assume it was him, looking to see if the material was actually on our site).

Anyway, the lawyer I contacted has advised that we will probably offer him a small sum to "go away." Apparently, opening a Federal Copyright Infringement case is a very expensive proposition.

Pete

[Darryl Meister]

The copyright mark itself really don't mean that much. Novel material written or created in the United States is automatically copyrighted by the author, whether or not you formally applied for a copyright through the Library of Congress. Applying for a copyright does make things easier on you if there is ever a dispute though.

Simply adding the copyright symbol to a picture you have used from another source isn't enough (don't forget to put the year and owner of the copyright too, by the way). You will still need to get permission from the owner of the copyright for most applications. However, if you are using the material for strictly educational purposes it falls under "fair use" (section 107) of Copyright Law. In this situation, you may have some latitude in repoducing copyrighted material. Had your website been a strictly educational one, I believe that he would have less grounds for a suit.

Perhaps if you explain to him that you were using the images in a primarily educational context, he will let you off the hook with just a slap on the wrist... Particularly since he probably wouldn't get too much from you in a court of law for a copyright violation under these circumstances, even if it did go that far. Since your website is really a marketing tool for your practice, it is not a clean-cut educational application. And he might just be trying to scrape up some extra money any way he can. Particularly if he spends his time scouring the Internet for copyright offenders.

It's good that you're checking into the actual law and hopefully discussing the matter with an attornery. Our comments and opinions here on the OptiBoard are no substitute for accurate legal advice from a qualified attorney.

Best regards,
Darryl

[Bev Heishman]

There is a company called PEC -Patient Education Concepts that has some great material for marketing LASIK. However you do have to sign alot of paperwork up front as to how they are to be used and where. You may not sell to another. There are powerpoint to create a presentation that you can drop in your slides and images for websites and a lot of other marketing items which you must pay for which is not inexpensive. Let us know how you make out.