this post was submitted on 20 Nov 2023
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Photography
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A place to politely discuss the tools, technique and culture of photography.
This is not a good place to simply share cool photos/videos or promote your own work and projects, but rather a place to discuss photography as an art and post things that would be of interest to other photographers.
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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.
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.