\nImage theft is not something you read about every day in the news. Searching for reliable data can be difficult and time-consuming. We provide you with our data, statistics and observations based on the experience of working with image theft every single day since a couple of years. Over the past six years, we have detected image theft in 55 countries all around the world.<\/p>\n
We work with nearly 250 photographers and this is still a fraction of those who need help. In times of constant content creation and an incredible need for visuals, we suspect that most of both professional and amateur photographers have their pictures stolen. A lot of them are simply still not aware that they photo copyrights are being violated and how to claim their rights.<\/p>\n
The current number of the cases of infringements we opened for our clients is close to 6 000 000 and we have regaied over 6 000 000 Euros (and we are still counting). We have photographers from all around the world joining our community every day. Copyright awareness seems to be slowly growing but its phase and spread need to accelerate to stop unlawful practices. It is not just the infringers that do not know and violate copyright law. At the same time, a lot of photographers who face image theft still do not know how to fight for their rights.<\/p>\n
How do most people find out their images have been used without permission?<\/strong> Such behaviour surely derives from the lack of knowledge of the copyright law. It also happens that photographers use Google Reverse Image Search out of curiosity. Not really suspecting anything, they discover their photos have been stolen. This was a case of the founder of PhotoClaim \u2013 Nico Trinkhaus and it’s how the idea for our company was born.<\/p>\n\t\t PhotoClaim founder Nico Trinkhaus<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n On a stormy day, Nico Trinkhaus captured a bolt of lightning striking the television tower in Berlin. The photo (below) went viral and a press agency contacted him. The picture was published in several newspapers and on the web, but the agency didn\u2019t inform him, where they sold it. He decided to find out on his own. After two days of research, he found 150 commercial uses of his pictures. And he didn\u2019t get paid for one. Soon he realised that he is surely not the only photographer whose photos are getting stolen and the problem of image theft is a pressing issue. He had to find a way to tackle it. Claiming his rights on his own felt like tilting at windmills. He decided to set something up with lawyers and create a team of copyright and photography experts to help other photographers get back the money the deserve from their copyrights.<\/p>\n What is your organisation doing to help?<\/strong> Photographers also get their personal assistant who keeps them posted about their cases and are always there to answer all questions and concerns. A lot of our clients say the personal approach is what truly matters to them. We are not the only such service on the market but the crucial thing we do differently is not using post-licensing. With post-licensing, no legal fees are charged which means that the opponents pay just the amount they would have to pay for the license. Why would anyone buy licenses then, while they can simply get away with it? And, just in case, it costs the same when they steal or buy it. Through our actions, we also educate and spread copyright law awareness.<\/p>\n We regularly provide photographers with news from the copyright. We also share resources and tips that help them boost their careers and have their copyrights protected in our Knowledge Base section. We do our best do avoid court proceedings and work on no win, no fee basis. We do not ask photographers to pay us anything until we regain the money for them.<\/p>\n
\nOur experience shows that a lot of copyright infringements are being discovered on social media. It happens that photographers come across their pictures themselves or get notified by their followers. Another common practice, which may seem a bit of a paradox, is companies tagging the photographers whose pictures they use without their consent!<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/nico-trinkhaus.jpg\")
\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/graphic2-588x400.jpg\")
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\nAt PhotoClaim we protect photographers\u2019 rights and get back the money they deserve from their work. Every day we monitor our photographers\u2019 portfolios and check for copyright infringements. As soon as we detect a stolen image, we save the evidence and start the process of regaining damages. We assign a partner attorney to each case and the infringer is ordered to cease and desist. At this stage, there are no court proceedings involved. Being represented by lawyer brings higher settlements for photographers.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/graphic6.png\")
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