Ripped Off!!

[tonybynum]

Good choice Jason!

[bobbollinger]

Jason, I am a civil lawyer who has tangled with WalMart and other large companies on many occasions. For what its worth, I think you are making the right choice. Going to court is frequently not worth the time, effort and expense. In fact, you would be unlikely to find a lawyer to handle that case without a large up-front payment as a deposit against fees and expenses, and a great deal of your time would be spent educating the lawyer about the facts and preparing for trial. You have certainly learned a lot during this process and you have exposed a potential problem for others that can occur at WallyWorld. Congratulations on your good judgment. Glad it worked out for you.

[walterrowe]

Jason,

<p>I think you made the right decision too. It sounds like you received a fair settlement from the store manager. The flyswatter is the better tool than the sledge hammer sometimes.

<p>I would encourage you to talk with your client about making copies of your proofs without permission. Theoretically, they should pay you your market price for every copy they made without your permission. They took income away from you by copying your work and not paying you for the prints they made.

<p>I would also suggest putting a label (printed sticker) on the back of all your proofs that says they are copyrighted. Put the year and your name after the copyright symbol (i.e. © 2007 Jason Lange). Put your name and telephone number below that so labs can contact you if they have someone trying to copy your proofs. Finally, put a statement that says they are proofs for evaluation purposes only, and copying them in any manner is strictly prohibited.

<p>Your client knows better. They thought they would not get caught.

<p>Walter Rowe<br>www.RoweImages.com

[susanolson]

Jason,

 

I have worked for high quality photo labs for 7 years and see this all the time. We NEVER

accepted any work that either had a ? or looked professional. I've had people come in

with images clearly marked on the back " DO NOT COPY" and expect us to serve them.

Customers sometimes would get angry and throw a fit but it was our job to respect the

copyright laws and the copyright owner. I wouldn't put a ? sticker on your proofs since

they are easily peeled off. I bought a ? ink stamp with my business info on it from Staples

and it works great. With home scanners these days it's sooooo easy for clients to scan

your proofs or prints and then take your images to a place like walmart and have them

printed. Maybe embedding a watermark or marking the front of the image with a big

PROOF would eliminate this problem. I have never known Wal-Mart photo lab to refuse

? images. They don't care. And most photo clients either think because they

commisioned you to take their portrait that they have the rights to those images. It

should be clearly stated in your contract that they don't. I think some people are oblivious

to the copyright laws even if they are artists themselves.

[susanolson]

all my ? were supposed to be copyright symbols.

 

You should send a decoy in with your copyrighted image to see what the "copyright release"

states. It may state that the your client is responsible for that action. It would be interesting

to find out. Walmart probably declared no responsibilty for printing and scanning

copyrighted images. I think the "copyright" release is total bullS@*T!!!!!

[pabloconrad]

Susan's right. The best way to protect yourself is to be proactive with your images. Use stamps on the back and tell customers/clients they are not allowed to copy, scan, or duplicate in anyway the images. Use software to embed the ? symbol into every digital image.

 

The best way to protect yourself is to be aware of all the technology clients and customers use to make more copies, then teach yourself ways to counteract it before it happens.

 

Also, if you are a member of any professional organization, contact them and see if a letter stating copyright laws or a cease and desist order to the corporate management of Wal-Mart will help institute a policy change in its stores.

 

I think we should get one from photo.net together and send it as well.

[blue-skyworks]

What form will the credit come in? Just be sure to get everything in writing as soon as possible. I'd wonder if you could recieve the cost of those 20 photos plus, a striaght monetary settlement worth 1000 4x6 prints. I think now you're limited to 4x6 prints at Wal Mart and if they are processing the prints then it's easier access for them or I guess you could print 1000 4x6 postcards and use it for advertising.

[Ian Taylor]

This is why I just give them the files and mark up my basic package accordingly. It's just not worth the effort to police this kind of stuff.