Posted by Greg Lessard on December 21, 2010 at 9:11 PM
Hi Everyone,
The last advice that you all gave me was excellent. So I will pick your brains again. I have another client that has started to use my photos as banners at the top of their website pages. They are paying me for two new photos every quarter. Its not a lot of money, but its steady income.
Earlier this year I photographed one of their meetings for my local newspaper. The president of the organization asked me if I would send him some of the photos to use in his blog. Hoping to score a future contract with him, I sent him a few photos with the stipulations that he could use them only on his blog and give me a photo credit. I clearly stated that he should contact me if he intended to use the photos for any other purpose. He reponded by saying that he respected photographers and their inteelectual property rights and would use the photos as stipulated.
As I was looking for the photos that they just purchased one time rights to, I noticed that they had posted one of the freebies as a banner for their blog page. No photo credit either.
I am tempted to send them a bill for double what I had charged them for the latest photos, but I don't want to lose them as a client. Any thoughts on how to handle this one?
Thank you in advance for your thoughts!
Sincerely,
Greg
Before billing, I'd certainly contact him to remind him of terms of use and copy him the original agreement. He may have had no part in the decision to use them in that way, and in fact can rectify it instantly with his staff.
Here's a philosophical question we face in cases like this: "Do we really want or need this person as a client?" Some clients are definitely not worth the money you earn. Some good ones can emerge after you (carefully) sort through misunderstandings and "train" them in photo usage.
We prepare very careful descriptions of uses that are licensed and those precluded in any transaction. In addition to including them in a delivery memo, we also print them right on our invoice to the client. Our lawyer assures us that if they pay the invoice with those terms on it, they're defacto agreeing to the terms.
The next obvious question is how far you are willing to go, in case of abuse. Law suits? It's a slippery slope on which costs instantly overwhelm potential income.
Posted by Andy Richards on January 9, 2011 at 10:01 AM
Greg: As an attorney (who admittedly has no personal experience with this particular issue), I agree with Hank. I have always taken the approach in any potential dispute that the first contact should be polite and factual. I think many issues are resolved that way and mutual respect gained from the interaction. If not, then you can decide whether an "escalation" is appropriate.
Posted by Greg Lessard on January 9, 2011 at 3:05 PM
Hi Andy,
Thank you for your advice. When I wrote the query I was having a horrible day. Then I discovered that my photo had not been used as discussed and I was not happy about it. Fortunately, I took everyone's advice and handled it in a more relaxed manner.
Discussion
3 repliesThe last advice that you all gave me was excellent. So I will pick your brains again. I have another client that has started to use my photos as banners at the top of their website pages. They are paying me for two new photos every quarter. Its not a lot of money, but its steady income.
Earlier this year I photographed one of their meetings for my local newspaper. The president of the organization asked me if I would send him some of the photos to use in his blog. Hoping to score a future contract with him, I sent him a few photos with the stipulations that he could use them only on his blog and give me a photo credit. I clearly stated that he should contact me if he intended to use the photos for any other purpose. He reponded by saying that he respected photographers and their inteelectual property rights and would use the photos as stipulated.
As I was looking for the photos that they just purchased one time rights to, I noticed that they had posted one of the freebies as a banner for their blog page. No photo credit either.
I am tempted to send them a bill for double what I had charged them for the latest photos, but I don't want to lose them as a client. Any thoughts on how to handle this one?
Thank you in advance for your thoughts!
Sincerely,
Greg
Here's a philosophical question we face in cases like this: "Do we really want or need this person as a client?" Some clients are definitely not worth the money you earn. Some good ones can emerge after you (carefully) sort through misunderstandings and "train" them in photo usage.
We prepare very careful descriptions of uses that are licensed and those precluded in any transaction. In addition to including them in a delivery memo, we also print them right on our invoice to the client. Our lawyer assures us that if they pay the invoice with those terms on it, they're defacto agreeing to the terms.
The next obvious question is how far you are willing to go, in case of abuse. Law suits? It's a slippery slope on which costs instantly overwhelm potential income.
Thank you for your advice. When I wrote the query I was having a horrible day. Then I discovered that my photo had not been used as discussed and I was not happy about it. Fortunately, I took everyone's advice and handled it in a more relaxed manner.
Thanks again for sharing your wisdom!
Sincerely,
Greg