[J Storm]

If you are going to raise defenses other than you have a license, you probably should get an attorney or just negotiate for a lesser amount.

[J Storm]

Unless they said that was their final offer, keep negotiating. Sadowski does litigate, you are right, both with Higbee and Liebowitz, so use caution.

[J Storm]

Any update on how your call went with attorney Steve Vodran? I looked at his website. It seems like he knows what he is doing and that he has experience dealing with Higbee claims.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 1 month ago by J Storm.

[J Storm]

@HopperLives

I responded to your related post on this forum. In short, do not expect a court to blame Google. Google places notices on its search results that warns users that images may be subject to copyright.

[J Storm]

There might have been a time when a person could point the finger— at least in part, towards Google. That was back when Google did a poor job of notifying users that the images it displays, even when the users searches for free images, may be subject to copyright.

However, Google began displaying prominent warnings about possible copyright issues when ever it returned search results that included images. So, do not expect a court to be sympathetic to the idea that Google told you so.

Furthermore, courts have been very pro-copyright holder when it comes to assuming that an infringer should know that images generally require a license.

[J Storm]

The notice requirement was done away with when the US became a member of the Berne Convention. in 1989.

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

[J Storm]

Understanding what Pic Rights is will help you. They are not the copyright holder and they are not a law firm. So, they cannot sue you in any capacity. That does not necessarily mean you should ignore them. They represent some very well established companies. They are some some sort of license compliance company. If they do not settle cases, they typically shop them to attorneys. I am not sure if every case that does not settle accepts accepted, but there is lots of indication that a large number of their cases get handled by attorneys in the US.

If you think you did infringe, you might want to consider paying the amount or making them an offer to accept a lesser amount. If you have economical access to an attorney, you can also start there.

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