I have just found out that a builder has used a photograph of some work that he did in my house in advertising on his website. He did not ask for permission to take the photograph, and no consent was used to use the photograph in the terms of our agreement. I feel that my privacy has been invaded and it has caused me much distress. The picture has been on his website for 2 years, though this was only brought to my attention this week. Has he breached my copyright by using this image? I believe he has copyright in the photo, but I have copyright in the image?). Apart from asking him to remove the photograph, I want damages for failing to seek my consent. Had he done so, I would have expected payment. Has anyone got an idea of the amount of damages it would be reasonable to seek? Many thanks.
Thank you for the correction and your reply i will look at the suggested site, i am unsure to which address hes at as he is on yell same as i am but the address is different to the whois address!!
Could you or anyone suggest a good NO WIN NO FEE lawyer with a ip background?
EDITED - as I got the original and infringing websites reversed. Sorry about that!
Yes, it sounds like an infriingement of your copyright, and the commercial context makes it worth pursuing.Your image has financial value, which you may wish to claim.
Infringers often try and ignore emails and calls, and ordinary post, because they can. I suggest you stick to recorded delivery (ie Signed For) post when dealing with any infringer. They cannot then deny receipt or lack of knowledge should it go to court.
bee-cleaned.co.uk do not give an address, but that's why we have a WHOIS tool here at this site http://copyrightaction.com/whois. From this you can see the registrants name and his full address in Merseyside. He's the person to take action against.
There is an excellent article at EPUK, our parent site, which should give you a good idea how to proceed and how much to claim. It ls by Simon Crofts, a lawyer with IP background who is now a professional photographer. http://www.epuk.org/Opinion/994/stolen-photographs-what-to-do
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I have found another website using one of my proof of work quality photos without my permission, the website in question is: http://www.bee-cleaned.co.uk/window-cleaning :The photo of the before and after of the upvc window sill is my work.
I am the photographer of the photo and use it on my own website as proof of quality of my work and give no permission, at all to anyone to use my photos what so ever the photo is on my site here: http://www.whiteandbrightcleaning.co.uk
I have tried to ring the guy but when they answered the phone they never spoke to me just was background noise and talking so i rang them again and from then on i just get the answering machine!
I have sent an email to tell him he must take down the photo of my work and not to use it as his quality of work but i have not received an answer or reply to my mail, i reserve all rights to my website and the copyright belongs to me. so my Question is, Is this a breach of my copyright of my own photo and what can i do now???
Regards
Dave.
I agree, the builder should ask permission at least! I woke up to find a publication thrown through my door with my kitchen taking up the centrefold. As much as I liked the kitchen in the publication, I had to drag the contractor to get the work done with multiple disputes. How can he now claim this as his 'good' work.
Did you have any luck in your case?
"I feel that my privacy has been invaded and it has caused me much distress."
A question that would be asked, is "Exactly how has your privacy been invaded?" Do the photographs reveal things about you not generally known? Do they show you in a bad light? Are you in the photographs?
And it would be necessary to define the distress that you have suffered. Easy to say, very difficult to prove. So, how exactly have you suffered? What loss have you had to endure?
"The picture has been on his website for 2 years, though this was only brought to my attention this week."
Up there for two years? Only brought to your attention two weeks ago. It would appear that few people have managed to connect you with the photograph then?
The thing is in order to make an issue of this, it actually has to be an issue. You have to explain how your privacy has been invaded, how you have suffered distress, and you have to quantify the distress. Courts won't be interested in someone just trying to turn a quick buck. This isn't America after all, and we don't (yet) share their litigious culture. In the UK you have to prove and quantify these things. Are you able too?
As far as the principles are concerned I don't think I can usefully add anything to my previous reply. However as it is a subcontractor you may find it worthwhile to complain to the builder.
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Hi,
Our case is similar in the fact that not the builder but the roofer/plasterer who he contracted to do the roof and plastering has taken some photos of the work in progress that has been done and i am wondering if he has the right to do this without our permission as well and that he has created a web site and these photos are in his Gallery as samples of the jobs he has worked on. Whilst he has he did so with his father and not all his own work. Also, the work is not 100% satisfactory and we will have to get someone else to put parts of it right.
My question is it is not the builder but a sub contractor taking the photos without our knowledge or consent, has used these as advertising without consent and do we have any come back from this. Any advice would be appreciated.
There are several issues here.
Let's deal with copyright first. You don't own copyright of either the inside or outside of your house. Your house may contain designed objects, some of which may be copyright of the designer or company that made them. If you did the interior design yourself or designed and built some of the objects, you may own copyright. But with few exceptions (paintings and other artworks) photographing objects (eg a car, a packet of cornflakes, a toaster) is not copying as far as copyright law is concerned. It is creation of a new work and the copyright belongs to the creator. To make an infringing copy of a toaster you'd have to make a toaster that copies the original design.
This is just as well because otherwise everytime you took a family snap in your own home, you'd be infringing the copyright of the designers of the stuff that fills your house.
Even if this was not the case, your builder seems to have photographed what he has created and may therefore be the copyright owner of the design as well as of the photo.
In any event buildings do not have copyright protection in UK, only the plans are protected. You have no rights to prevent anyone photographing those aspects of your property that may be seen from public rights of way. Aspects that require admission onto your land fall into the realm of trespass, not copyright. So copyright is not the issue here.
Photography on private property without the owner's permission can be a civil trespass. There is no general prohibition, but if the owner says "no photography", then it is prohibited and you can use reasonable force to eject anyone who fails to comply, and sue them for damages if they persist photographing after being told to stop.
The question here is : did you explicitly tell your builder he must not take photos? Probably not and unless it was a term of contract you may have a hard time proving that you did.
If you did tell the builder he couldn't take photos then you have a claim for civil trespass damages but you will have to prove that you suffered loss.
So that leaves privacy. Your privacy is protected from uninvited photography by law wherever there is a normal expectation of privacy. Inside your own home definitely qualifies and you might have a case against your builder.
Whilst your builder would definitely have violated privacy law by photographing you in your home without permission, I doubt any case could be made that photographing the place without people could be considered an invasion of privacy, unless perhaps objects or captions identify you. Alas I am not qualified to advise further and I think you need to see a proper lawyer for better advice on this.
My sympathies are somewhat with the builder, who has a reasonable need to record and depict his work for future potential clients. He should have asked, but that's courtesy not law. I daresay you contracted him because he was able to show photos of previous work and other clients' homes? If everybody took your attitude, we'd never see any interior photos except our own home, which seems absurd. It's hard to see what actual harm has been done here. But maybe I'm being unfair and there are factors I am unaware of.
If a lawyer thinks there is a privacy case, you will have to persuade the court that damages claimed reflect your actual, quantifiable losses, perhaps increased by some compensation for emotional hurt and suffering.
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