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Participant
June 14, 2021
Question

image I boght but can't find license for

  • June 14, 2021
  • 3 replies
  • 429 views

PicRights / Reuters and their law firm Higbee & Associates are shaking me down for images I used on my blog in 2015. I know these were images I got on a royalty-free website, but can't find proof of it. Any advice on whether to ignore, settle, or do something else.

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3 replies

Abambo
Community Expert
Community Expert
June 19, 2021
quote

 I know these were images I got on a royalty-free website, but can't find proof of it.


By @MNPropertyGroup

That's bad because it means you cannot prove that you properly licensed the picture. In all cases, I would suggest consulting a lawyer specialized in this matter. Copyright cases can be costly if handled the bad way.

 

Tip: you may find more info in the metadata of the original file.

 

In the future, I would recommend keeping a copy of the licensing terms of any picture you may license with the original file.

 

The picture @J E L shows is slightly different. It may well be that the DoD released that specific picture into the public domain, but that your picture has been entered in the Reuters database. And probably, it can only be used in an editorial sense, which also means that you would have needed to acknowledge the source. All stock agencies have similar rules in this matter.

ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer
WendellaBee
Adobe Employee
Adobe Employee
June 15, 2021

Hi @MNPropertyGroup,

If the image is editorial it would not be royalty-free and you would not have gotten it from Adobe Stock in 2015 as we didn't sell editorial content until later. I do see images similar to this one in our Editorial collection.

 

We cannot offer legal advice, I think you know the answer either way.

J E L
Community Expert
Community Expert
June 14, 2021

@MNPropertyGroup Do you think this is an image from Adobe Stock? It looks to be a US Department of Defense asset, which means it has been released to the public domain, or at least there is a full size file accessible for free from their database here: U.S. soldiers retire the command colors during the ceremony marking the end of the U.S. military mission in Iraq in Baghdad, Dec. 15, 2011. (defense.gov)

Here is a screenshot of the photo's metadata: