Stock Photo Company: Another case of a large corporation crushing smaller ones

Earlier this year I received a letter from a stock photo company (that shall remain nameless, though if anyone else has experienced this and wants to name names, go ahead). It seems I was using one of their photos on my website and, regardless of my ignorance (I had no idea) or lack of responsibility (this was my web developer's doing), I had to pay up - $1,000. Or they'd sue me. I wrote back that they were out of line; they sent it to a collection agency. I filed a complaint with one of their local Better Business Bureaus (they have several offices throughout the US and worldwide). They stood firm. Pay up. I then offered to pay a percentage of what they wanted. They doubled my suggestion and said pay up, or else.

Google search turned up several blog posts by other small businesses. This is nothing less than bullying. Oh, by the way, the photo was not marked as being owned by this particular company, had no credit, and nothing in the image properties indicated it was theirs. Also, no digital watermark. So much for looking out for the best interests of their clients. Come to think of it, I have no proof that they are the rightful representative.

In any case, anyone else have this experience?

:)

They're not out of line. Your web developer sucks for stealing a photo for commercial use without permission. If you can't pay the permissions fee, did you offer to stop using the photo in question?

the same. You can't just take my work and use it as you see fit. It belongs to the photographer and he/she should be paid for his/her work.

"Cease and Desist". If it goes on after that, get a lawyer. If anyone is responsible for that photo being there, it's your webmaster, however with no watermarking or other id, there is no way for you to know just whose photo it is. Hopefully, they'll be satisfied with their photo being removed.

And how much of that $1000 fee goes to the original photographer is one thing I'd love to know.

They all sell images. that is what a stock photo company does. There are no free photos unless they say clearly FREE PICTURES.
The free ones are not professional images. So let's start over, you or your web designer stole a photo and decided not to pay for it. the price is marked on the images. Prices depend on the length of time and place (international, i.e. web, or local, in a local copyright violation is when you use a photo without the photographer's permisison (or our agents, which are stock photo companies)newspaper) and size of usage. There is no difference between stealing a photo and stealing a piece of jewelry. exact same thing. I didn't know is what most people say when they are caught. As for no amrkings on the phoot for proteciton. obviously not trure. you were caught because of internal markings inside the image placed there by the stock agency. It is called a spider. It is how we collect fees from people who steal our photos and publish them on the web. .It is expensive to place the spiders in the images to catch you guys. one of the things you are paying for.

their living with their photos. They're good photos, too, which is why people buy them. When someone doesn't pay, the photo is being stolen.

There are plenty of freebies out there. Not as good, perhaps, but free. That's where to get the photos for your web site.

People who don't make money from their work are something else. They don't seem to care that some people do earn a living with their work.

That's who stole the image. Should have been in your contract that he only supplied material for which he had proper rights. He didn't. Now, make him pay, or you pay. There it is.