Ok this is for a good friend of my. There is a large after market parts company that took pics of 2 of his rigs at a car show.They are using them for advertisement and marketing. (with out his knowledge) Talked to the president of the show and he said it is posted in the vendors contract that "no pics cannot be use for profit". (yes they were both vendors)does he have any recourse? i was hoping with all the Photographer and other guy experiences that someone would know or have it happened to them. Thanks for any and all help.
Get a copy of that contract. Make sure that the 'after-market parts company' was IN the show, and therefore subject to the contract. Send the company a copy of the contract and the pictures, asking them to quit using them, or you'll get the lawyers involved. It probably has about a 10% chance of working, but I always try the low-cost solution first.
I cleaned this up to make it read better. Now, what the hell did the contract say? Not being picky, I honestly can't figure that part out. If he signed a contract that releases intellectual property, then no. No recourse. If there is no stipulation in the contract, then you may pursue a lawsuit for Libel. Best case scenario, they pull the ads with just a notorized letter from a law office. http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Libel+and+Slander
Has he tried calling the company that is using his car for advertisement? If so, what'd they say? f off? If that's the case then ok....he needs recourse. It just seems to me that so many people are quick to call a lawyer, I'd think if that company liked his car soo much, they'd be willing to hook him up with some stuff. I'd be stoked to see my car being used in ads
Call the company and tell them you will sell them the right to use the pics if not they will be contacted by your legal department.Short and to the point. Leaves no room for bullshit crooked tactics by high-dollar companies using people.
He has talked to the comp, pretty much blew him off. Part of the problem is he has not bought or used ANY part for this comp.
what are you talking about "2 of his rigs". what's a comp? you need to be specific on what you are talking about or any response would be useless.
I am not an attorney... Libel? I dont think so... the company in question might have appropriated the image of someone elses ride for their own monetary gain...but libel is another story. Libel among other things is publishing a defamatory or unflattering representation or statement. Since defamatory is really not in play here, could you imagine trying to prove that a company using a picture of your car is unflattering? Most likely a lawyer would send a cease and desist letter getting the company to stop using the image. The guy whose car it was will probably not be able to show any damages to get any kind of judgment against the company in question anyway. Also, even if the guy signed a contract "releasing intellectual property" it would have been released to the show's promoter, not just anyone who wanted to take pictures of cars in attendance and use them for their ads. Just my .02
Has he ever had his car in a mag, I found a picture of my car in a tire catalog and when I got to questioning them I come to find out a year or so earlier I let a mag shoot my car.To make a long story short the fella that shot my car now works for the tire company and has a release I signed that it could be used, I forgot about it. Shoot I wanted a set of tires.
Gasser Dood is right with everything that he said. I have dealt with legal aspects of several thing when I was in the music industry and intellectual property is the big thing here. The picture of the vehicle has to be authorized by the owner in order to use them for advertising. This can be called advertising because the average joe could be under the impression that parts on that car were from the company using the picture and therefore one could assume they could get the same parts from this company, and make their car look the same.
Can you show us his shop...advertising or pics of his work etc? Which company is using his cars for their advertising? Where do they do this advertising? Can you provide a link to the ads? If he has a "small shop" i.e. is in business, he should have some sort of business advisor, bank, accountant, legal advisor??? If he cannot deal with this himself then he needs to talk to them. If he is just working at home part time and is not advertising and has no formal business credentials and records he may have a hard time showing that his "work" has been used to promote the other business... I.e. If they are just pictures of hot rods used in a generic way and the company in question is not claiming anything specific about them, then possibly all he has claim to is the use of his cars image...even then if the pics are taken in a public place or signed off he may not even have that.
Advertising agencies buy "stock" photos from photographers or photo services every hour of every day. Most likely the add company doing the add for the vendor in question bought the photo from one of these "pro" photographers. It's a bit of a pisser when a competitor uses the photo of his "rigs" in their advertising though. Plugging in hot rod in this site's search shows a lot of well known cars and some that aren't so well known. http://www.fotosearch.com/ And I believe that you will find out that the photographer holds the rights to any photograph that he takes and not the car or rig owner.
Been a long time since is deal with this kind of thing as a photographer but aside from contracts & signed releases for professional shoots, if a photo is taken at a public event, setting or just out around town, is permission necessary?
the company used it as the cover of there catalog and on some of there packaging. as far as where do they advertise most top hot rod magazines. thanks guys
from what i learned photo's for the most part become property of the taker.. to do with them as they please... i would keep bugging them.. i think the simplest way would be just to keep bugging them untill they cut you a deal..
Show us the adds, let us see if its flattering or maybe there's a way he can exploit this for his own benefit. If it was me I would be working it like a pimp working one of his girls, using to bring my work to the for front. There's always a way to turn something that might be seen as a negative into a positive. Stop by and see what we are working on @ www.eddytheb.com
thought this thread was about a small shop with a big compressor. then I thought it was about photos of a deisel truck.
Anytime you are in a public place, it is perfectly legal for anyone to take a picture of you or your property and that photo becomes the copyrighted property of the photographer to do with as he wishes. You cannot stop someone from taking pictures of your car or yourself, they have the legal right to do so. There are some exceptions when it comes to personal privacy, like a Public Bathroom, Bedroom, Hotel Room etc. There are also exceptions regarding military bases and National Security. Private Real Property, not in plain public view cannot be photographed without consent. Now in the case of those photos being used for advertising the rules change a bit. Images of people, or their property, may not be usedto advertise businesses, goods or services without the subject’s consent. If a photographer passes images to any business, and that business uses the images within their advertisements, then it could be argued that the people within the photograph are endorsing that product or service. So your friend could have recourse here, IF it can be proved that the photo is implying an endorsement of the business or it's products. It can be tricky. A photo of a car contained with in a catalog and not specifically showing goods or services could be a tough call. And a group shot of cars from a rod run would most likely be considered legal as it is more of an editorial type image.
here is the pictures. first one is my picture from the show.they photo shopped them some. they were both vendors at the show.