Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

Copyright Infringement

I have been contacted by Getty Images and told that I owe them $3500 for three photos used on my website. I did not know the images were copyrighted and was never notified before the demand for payment. I was never told to take the images down from my site as their demand was the first I'd heard of the violation. Should I have been given fair warning to remove the images? Is their demand without such a request valid ? I live and work in California.


Asked on 10/09/08, 9:19 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Gordon Firemark Law Offices of Gordon P. Firemark

Re: Copyright Infringement

No.. Copyright infringement is strict liability. If you use a copyright protected work without permission, whether you knew or not that permission was required... it's infringement. $3,500 is probably a lot less than you'd pay an attorney to fight for you.

You MIGHT be able to negotiate a lower amount, if you contact them, agree to take-down the images, etc.

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Answered on 10/10/08, 12:02 pm


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