this post was submitted on 20 Nov 2023
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Photography

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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!

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[โ€“] rabid_briefcase@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (10 children)

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.

[โ€“] band-of-horses@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

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.

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