Email wants £400 for unauthorised image use

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I've heard quite a few friends working as IT managers in schools. They've occasionally received things such as this for photos used in newsletters/on the website. It's for this reason we now check all images to make sure they are fair use.
 
This sounds very like the PRS.

A scummy organisation that harasses small businesses (Particularly Garages, Hairdressers and other small workshops) and tries to bully money out of them for having the Radio on!
 
Haggisman said:
So I could take a picture, stick it on my own website stating that I'm licencing it for £1,000,000 and if anyone uses it I could then sue them for that much? (Plus my £50,000/hour for pursuing unauthorised use)
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You might have to show that the image was worth £1,000,000, which is feasible. But the Op hasn't stated £1,000,000, but a mere £400 which is the going rate for a stock image. I sold an image for nearly $700 a few months back. If I find any of my portfolio used illegally I would be charging at least twice my standard rate which would far exceed a lowly £400!
 
Orionaut said:
This sounds very like the PRS.

A scummy organisation that harasses small businesses (Particularly Garages, Hairdressers and other small workshops) and tries to bully money out of them for having the Radio on!
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Except PRS do nothing of the sort. Having a radio on in a business is 100% fine until customer can hear it, then it's playing music to the public which requires a license. No different than requiring a commercial license if you want to have a TV on in a place of business for the public to see.

Edit: Correction, any music requires a license in a place of business regardless of who it's for, the cost increases when you expand to the public.
 
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Itchytrigg said:
Except PRS do nothing of the sort. Having a radio on in a business is 100% fine until customer can hear it, then it's playing music to the public which requires a license. No different than requiring a commercial license if you want to have a TV on in a place of business for the public to see.
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I can assure that they do not make that clear!

They just say "We believe you are playing music in your workshop, you must pay for a license, if you dont we will take legal action"

The letters they send out are ambiguous and very intimidating (To the extent that I am surprised it is legal!)

They will pester you on the phone too.

Also some of the tricks they use are downright dishonest.

It is an old thread but see http://members5.boardhost.com/ukautotalk2/msg/1326913106.html
 
Orionaut said:
This sounds very like the PRS.

A scummy organisation that harasses small businesses (Particularly Garages, Hairdressers and other small workshops) and tries to bully money out of them for having the Radio on!
Click to expand...

I've had this. Told them to go away because I am just a man with a van.

Not sure what they tried to charge me. Think it's was a few hundred
 
Unless I had an actual letter through my letterbox addressed to me in person I'd ignore it, I'd also add that if it was serious and they had the power to do this sort of thing - they wouldn't bother with an email - you'd get a n actual letter..

Obviously not legal advice, :p
 
Two developments on this:

1) An actual letter has arrived (dated 31 March 2016) asking for the £400 to be paid within 7 days

2) Contact has been made directly with the Press Association regarding the image and they have sent an email confirming that "whilst it was made available from PA via it’s wire and licensing services it appears the client had rights to distribute in a press release.

I have informed LCS of this discovery and the case has been closed with immediate effect and you should receive no further correspondence from them."

So hopefully that's an end to it. But let's be careful out there!
 
So obviously LCS didn't bother to actually check with the Press Association in the first place. No surprise as to what would have happened to your £400 had you paid up.
 
Haggisman said:
So I could take a picture, stick it on my own website stating that I'm licencing it for £1,000,000 and if anyone uses it I could then sue them for that much? (Plus my £50,000/hour for pursuing unauthorised use)
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if you could get away with that then others would already be trying it... they've picked an amount like £400 for a reason presumably, it doesn't imply you can demand £1,000,000
 
Mr Badger said:
Two developments on this:

1) An actual letter has arrived (dated 31 March 2016) asking for the £400 to be paid within 7 days

2) Contact has been made directly with the Press Association regarding the image and they have sent an email confirming that "whilst it was made available from PA via it’s wire and licensing services it appears the client had rights to distribute in a press release.

I have informed LCS of this discovery and the case has been closed with immediate effect and you should receive no further correspondence from them."

So hopefully that's an end to it. But let's be careful out there!
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Good result, though sure they'd have happily taken your money!
 
dowie said:
if you could get away with that then others would already be trying it... they've picked an amount like £400 for a reason presumably, it doesn't imply you can demand £1,000,000
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Well, as I posted above, it's most likely:

"a figure they've just pulled out of their **** which is low enough to a) sound legit, and b) have a reasonable chance of being paid, whilst still being high enough to be worth chasing"

There would be nothing stopping anyone demanding £1mil, however at that amount, almost everyone would lawyer up. For £400 however, I'm sure some people would simply pay up to avoid the aggro or from fear of high legal & court fees.
 
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