[Editor]

Yes, Agence France Presse can sue you in the US. Not that is is a requirement, but it appears that Agence France Presse does have an office in Washington DC. Higbee & Associates does occasionally sue on behalf of Agence France-Presse for copyright infringement. There have been a couple of cases in the last few months.

Assuming you do not have a license, your approach of offering something is good as it will probably reduce the chances that your claim turns into a lawsuit.

I would expect that Agence France Presse will give you a counter offer. Most copyright holders are not content to settle these matters for just the cost of the license.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by Editor.
• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by Editor.

[Editor]

Fair use does not give non-profits a license to use anyone’s image for any purpose that is educational. Fair use is a four part analysis. The good news is the test is slightly more lenient in favor of use when the use is by a non-profit, but that is just one factor. Plenty of non-profits have been found liable for copyright infringement.

This blog does a good job of addressing the issue: https://www.trademarkandcopyrightlawblog.com/2018/06/no-virginia-you-cant-just-copy-stuff-you-find-on-the-internet-even-if-you-dont-notice-the-copyright-notice/

If there is any doubt, hire an attorney or settle the case. Higbee & Associates files lots of law suits and things only get more difficult once a lawsuit is filed.

[Editor]

If you can show that the photo of Brad Pitt was distributed by a movie or event promoter, you might not be liable for copyright infringement.

[Editor]

You see a list of many of the cases filed by Higbee & Associates at https://copyright-demand-letter.com/higbee-associates-copyright/

The name Christopher Sadowski appears quite frequently.

[Editor]

Having read articles and comments from Higbee and others, it does seem that an asset search is part of their process.

As to whether or not putting assets in a trust will make it difficult or impossible for Higbee & Associates to find, that is very tough to say and may depend in part on things like state law, how your county titles real property, and how good the asset search is, as results surely vary from company to company.

In short, it might be worth trying, but do not be shocked if they find your assets.

[Editor]

Copyright holders have gone after Google a few times in the past. That is part of the reason why Google now makes it very clear that the images it displays may be protected by copyright.

[Editor]

Not knowing how much they are asking for, all I can say is your brother is probably correct. However, if the demand amount is low enough, you might want to negotiate it yourself. It does not hurt to make an offer and see if they bite. As far as that attorney, it does look like he has experience with copyright and Higbee. It would not hurt to call him and get a free consultation. If you do, please report back how your experience was.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 2 months ago by Editor.

[Editor]

First of all, there is a good chance that picrights embeds their emails with cookies or something like that which notifies them when someone opens an email.

Second, they already know you are “guilty” of using the image, that is why they are contacting you. The only questions are if you had a license (or a defense, such as fair use) or how you will respond, if at all.

If they are truly harassing you, send them an email asking them to not call or email you again. This will likely result in them stopping.

[Editor]

Here is what we know for sure.
– According to court records, Higbee & Associates sues about 200 times a year
– According to what we have heard from some victims and what Higbee has said in articles, Higbee & Associates refers cases to other law firms for litigation.
– The two items above, along with not knowing the number of claims they pursue, make it difficult to know what percentage of cases they actually litigate.
– They do not sue everyone
– Some of their clients sue more often than others
– They do asset checks prior to suing, which makes sense as they do not want to waste time and money suing someone who cannot pay.

Hopefully, that helps you take your best guess. If you do not have assets, there probably would rather sue someone who does.

If you have assets, get an attorney or negotiate with them and pay as little as possible.

[Editor]

We are working on a comprehensive answer to that question. We should post it in the next few days. The Higbee & Associates copyright game plan is a bit complex and difficult to predict, so there will not be a one-size-fits-all answer.

In the meantime, you might want to consult a lawyer.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 2 months ago by Editor.

[Editor]

Pic Rights may be a lot of things, but they are not a scam. They have legitimate clients with, in most cases, very legitimate cases. That does not mean you should treat what they say as Gospel– in fact, you should not as they are not attorneys, but you are doing yourself a disservice if think PicRights is a scam and choose to ignore their claims for that reason.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 2 months ago by Editor.

[Editor]

Short answer: Yes, they can.

Copyright holders in the United States have not been required to publish their works with a copyright notice since around 1989. So, unless your infringement started before then, the lack of copyright notice is not a defense to a claim of copyright infringement.

Courts now assume that the average person knows that if they did not create the image, it must belong to someone else and be properly licensed.

The lack of the notice may slightly bolster a claim of unintentional or innocent infringement, but claims reduce liability, they do not eliminate it.

It appears you have a serious problem. You should consider consulting an attorney.

[Author]

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