I received an email about this a few months back as a result of a small personal fundraiser I did to get Turkeys for Thanksgiving for our low-income neighbors at a non-profit. The personal campaign ran for less than 30 days and netted about $750.00. I explained in a phone call after my initial letter (sent to the nonprofit, not me) that used photos from Creative Commons. I explained that this was not a fundraiser by the nonprofit but me personally. I asked the platform that I used to take down the photos as soon as I found out as a way to appease them. The only reason the site was still up after the fundraiser is that since some donations were made, the site had to stay up. The campaign was for about 30 days but they are claiming that it was up for 2 years and thus, I owe big money. Originally as another way to come to a compromise, I offered to pay for the image for a period of 30 days which I figured to be around $100. The person I talked to said that she would consult the lawyers (as she was not one) and that was the last I heard until today. Then this arrived:
Mr. Morgan,
My name is Lily Garcia. You have previously been in communication with Ms. Quarles regarding this matter. This case has been handed over to me as a last attempt to settle amicably before our litigation team takes over. Our client, Adlife Marketing & Communications Co. Inc., hopes to finalize and close this matter outside of court
We are aware that on March 5th, 2020 you offered to pay for the license of the image to cover the unauthorized use. Let me provide a more detailed explanation for you. Our client has a subscription for their full inventory of images for $999.00 per month with a minimum of a 1 year subscription. This is also public information on preparedfoodphotos.com.
This means, to use our clients image, you would have needed to pay $11,988 for 12 months use. Since we have screenshots dating back to November 14, 2018 and the image still lives its file location today (see below), this means that the image has been in use for 2 years. This means that you would have needed a 2 year subscription which would have been a total of $47,952.00. However, they are only asking to be compensated in the amount of $4525.00 for the unlicensed use.
On top of the 2 year subscription that should have been paid, our client will also be able to seek disgorgement of profits/donations that you made from using their image for 2 years. This means they will be able to seek the actual licensing cost as explained in the subscription pricing above as well as the profits for 2 years. This clearly far exceeds what our client is asking.
Our client is asking the amount of $4525.00 to cover some of the licensing cost. Please advise if we can proceed with this amount or if you have an attorney who will be accepting services on behalf of Immanuel Community Services.
Kind regards,
Funny enough, my name is not Mr. Morgan. No idea who that is. My guess is that the last person who contacted me dropped it but another enterprising legal assistant took up the mantle.
This is very frustrating on so many levels and there has to be some action we can take. This thread makes it clear that they are trolling and have many targets. What is next. Can Ms. Homer offer some suggestions. At this point...I am ready to pay a lawyer just to teach these trolls a lesson.
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Add me to the list... (as Curt Archambault)
Hey there,
I received an email about this a few months back as a result of a small personal fundraiser I did to get Turkeys for Thanksgiving for our low-income neighbors at a non-profit. The personal campaign ran for less than 30 days and netted about $750.00. I explained in a phone call after my initial letter (sent to the nonprofit, not me) that used photos from Creative Commons. I explained that this was not a fundraiser by the nonprofit but me personally. I asked the platform that I used to take down the photos as soon as I found out as a way to appease them. The only reason the site was still up after the fundraiser is that since some donations were made, the site had to stay up. The campaign was for about 30 days but they are claiming that it was up for 2 years and thus, I owe big money. Originally as another way to come to a compromise, I offered to pay for the image for a period of 30 days which I figured to be around $100. The person I talked to said that she would consult the lawyers (as she was not one) and that was the last I heard until today. Then this arrived:
Mr. Morgan,
My name is Lily Garcia. You have previously been in communication with Ms. Quarles regarding this matter. This case has been handed over to me as a last attempt to settle amicably before our litigation team takes over. Our client, Adlife Marketing & Communications Co. Inc., hopes to finalize and close this matter outside of court
We are aware that on March 5th, 2020 you offered to pay for the license of the image to cover the unauthorized use. Let me provide a more detailed explanation for you. Our client has a subscription for their full inventory of images for $999.00 per month with a minimum of a 1 year subscription. This is also public information on preparedfoodphotos.com.
This means, to use our clients image, you would have needed to pay $11,988 for 12 months use. Since we have screenshots dating back to November 14, 2018 and the image still lives its file location today (see below), this means that the image has been in use for 2 years. This means that you would have needed a 2 year subscription which would have been a total of $47,952.00. However, they are only asking to be compensated in the amount of $4525.00 for the unlicensed use.
On top of the 2 year subscription that should have been paid, our client will also be able to seek disgorgement of profits/donations that you made from using their image for 2 years. This means they will be able to seek the actual licensing cost as explained in the subscription pricing above as well as the profits for 2 years. This clearly far exceeds what our client is asking.
Our client is asking the amount of $4525.00 to cover some of the licensing cost. Please advise if we can proceed with this amount or if you have an attorney who will be accepting services on behalf of Immanuel Community Services.
Kind regards,
Funny enough, my name is not Mr. Morgan. No idea who that is. My guess is that the last person who contacted me dropped it but another enterprising legal assistant took up the mantle.
This is very frustrating on so many levels and there has to be some action we can take. This thread makes it clear that they are trolling and have many targets. What is next. Can Ms. Homer offer some suggestions. At this point...I am ready to pay a lawyer just to teach these trolls a lesson.
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