Source
r/legaladvice•
erican

PicRights asking for Compensation for Unauthorized Usage of Image - Image was Used in Meme Format?

Hi friends, so I just found in my spam folder an email from PicRights on behalf of Reuters, stating that I had used one of their licensed images without permission.

Location is Canada, Ontario.

They provided a screenshot of said image on my site, and included such lovely future steps as this:

Please be aware that removal of the imagery alone will not resolve this issue. We also require payment of compensation in the amount of $863.00 for the past unauthorized usage of the imagery.

The image they are referring to, seen here from their attachments, was used in meme format - the text was included above but a part of the full image file I uploaded.

Does this change anything? Fair-use? Not fair-use because I reposted and am not the original creator?

Posted Aug 24, 2020, 6:10 PM UTC · edited

45
SingingLobsters•

If there is no further emails, I would just ignore it. If there are further emails, I would tell them that you were using it as satire. I would take the pic down immediately though. Regardless, they cannot make you pay them anything unless they actually sue you and get a court order.

2
LocationBotThe One and Only•

http://imgur.com/a/myIAb

I am a bot whose sole purpose is to improve the timeliness and accuracy of responses in this subreddit.

It appears you forgot to include your location in the title or body of your post. Please update the body of your original post to include this information.

Do NOT delete this post - Instead, simply edit the post with the requested information.

Author: u/erican

Title: PicRights asking for Compensation for Unauthorized Usage of Image - Image was Used in Meme Format?

Original Post:

Hi friends, so I just found in my spam folder an email from PicRights on behalf of Reuters, stating that I had used one of their licensed images without permission.

They provided a screenshot of said image on my site, and included such lovely future steps as this:

"Please be aware that removal of the imagery alone will not resolve this issue. We also require payment of compensation in the amount of $863.00 for the past unauthorized usage of the imagery."

The image they are referring to, seen here from their attachments, was used in meme format - the text was included above but a part of the full image file I uploaded.

LocationBot 4.99981272348126739 177/591rds | Report Issues | >!QVp1bDJhZ1VtWQ!< | >!0NXetVGZgMDP!<

1
Boom-•

Do you make any money off the website? Off this page? What's the context of its use

1
ericanOP•

It's a blog, but I make no money off of it - no Adsense or Amazon Affiliates, etc. in place. This post in fact is literally just a collection of memes about escape rooms. It's a pretty defunct website now but it was a place to advertise my skills at designing escape rooms and to just gather information about the industry generally.

1
Boom-•

Just a heads up, you should upload that image to imgur, as the link you posted shows your full name!

2