Category: business

Posted on

What do you value?

My boyfriend used to be a senior financial analyst. He made six figures, dressed in office-type clothes, had great benefits, and worked at his computer in a climate-controlled space–an office to himself, with an actual door.
He hated it.

Now he is an apprentice electrician who works mostly outside, in all temperatures, toting a bunch of tools (and his lunch and water) from his vehicle to the site, wearing a hardhat, workboots, long workpants, and an orange safety vest. He comes home often covered in dirt and sweat, makes a fraction of his previous salary, and has almost no benefits.
He loves it.

Why am I sharing this story? Because how we value ourselves and our work matters. My boyfriend is not insane–he simply has a different set of values than many people today. What he values is creating something more lasting than a spreadsheet, working with his hands and his mind, and not working for a corporation fixated on making bank rather than making something real. Changing careers was his choice; and, although an apprentice, he is not working for free.

I, like him, have also chosen a different path. I could work in a firm and make more money (likely, a lot more money), but then I wouldn’t get to choose the cases I would take or the clients I represent. I am driven by an idealism that artists should be able to make livings making their art and that those who steal their work should be made to make up for it (and hopefully learn their lessons!).

The New York Times published an article recently discussing how how creatives are devalued and culturally expected to like it. That is something quite different from choosing to make less money in exchange for something else of personal value. It’s certainly quite different to have your work, the results of your mind and your hand, taken and used by someone who didn’t even have the decency to ask. Or to be told that you should feel lucky to have your work seen (talk about adding insult to injury!)

In my opinion, and this is one of the reasons I choose to do what I do and for whom I do it: the truth is that others should feel lucky to see and use your work. So please value yourself and your work. What you do is more than “creating content”–it is making art.

I’ll step off my soapbox, now.



Posted on

Showing 2018 the Door

As we show 2018 the door, and just like we did last year, now is the time to take a look at the year that was and think about the year yet to be.

In 2018, many of us were still reasonably pre-occupied by the lunacy in Washington, DC. It’s been a tough year for anyone who respects the law and has any sense of human decency. Still, while we can’t give any of that bad stuff a pass, we also need to focus on our own lives and, crass as it may sound, our businesses.

With that in mind, here is a list of some things to do, to stop doing, and at the very least to consider as you gear up for 2019.

  • Register your copyrights. Please. I beg you. If you are a creative professional, stop making excuses and start doing this. As I mentioned last year, while there are services for this, I do not recommend using any of them because they might not be anything more than maybe adequate and quite possibly deficient. A well done registration can make a potential defendant in an infringement matter settle fast and for more money. A wonky one may be challenged by a wily defendant or will at least give one pause. Registration  is not that hard anyway, particularly for visual artists and even more so for still photographers.
    • Relatedly, stop thinking about the cost of registration as a reason not to register–first, it is a legitimate business cost and so you can write it off and, second, it is like insurance that you pay for once but off which you can make many claims (and for much more than the original cost). You will (almost assuredly) make more money in your business if you register your copyrights.
  • Pursue infringements. Not every case has to be worth 5-figures or more to get legal help. Some attorneys, like me, will take on small cases because they simply do add up. Let’s say you have small value infringements but a bunch of those– worth $2500 average settlement, just for sake of argument. 10 of those over the year is $25K. Now, let’s say your attorney gets 35% of that: you’re still pocketing over $16K.  How about 20 cases and more than $32K in your bank? Why not see of they are worth getting a lawyer to pursue (I review cases for free)?
    • Relatedly, consider using this tool instead of some much more costly “service” to find those infringements.
  • Make the time to make art for yourself. Whatever your medium/media, make making your own work, for you, a priority. Yes, you can probably use it later in your portfolio (because work made for yourself usually is your best work, if you let yourself really be free with it) but mostly, you need to give yourself total permission to explore, play, make utter crap, screw up, take risks, and re-find the joy in your work.
    • Relatedly, (re)learn how to fail. It is through failure that we achieve the abilities to be successful.
  • Get off social media, even for (most of) your marketing. The Terms of Use on pretty much all those services really do suck for creative pros, and all they do is make promises they can’t deliver.  And they are a huge time suck. And many of the companies have actively participated in bringing us the political hell we are now in. So stop facilitating their shitty behavior and quit using them. Besides, when it comes to your marketing, it’s virtually impossible to get seen by the right people by using social media, particularly if you are relying on trying to trend/go viral. Instead, do better targeting (make lists of the clients you want to work with!) and get back to the basics in your marketing plan. Back off the electronic crap and consider investing in really good print mailers. Also, try to interact in real life with potential clients. Make calls, go to industry events, volunteer with professional organizations of your potential clients–get out there in three dimensions!
    • Importantly, instead of posting everything on Facebook, Instagram, etc., keep your work on your own server/site and post links on social media, if you insist on using social media.
  • Use a watermark on visual art. Preferably, it should be in the form of a proper copyright notice (that is © year of first publication Name, for example: ©2018 Leslie Burns) but if not that then the copyright owner’s name (not your URL). For non-visual art, include the notice somehow like in the audio file for a podcast or both on the doc and in its metadata). I’ve already written about the wizbangery that is the CMI-related part of the DMCA–don’t ignore those protections!
    • Also, if you don’t know what metadata is or how to edit it for the digital forms of your works, learn now. Everything digital has metadata and that metadata can be crucial evidence in a lawsuit (it may also be CMI).
  • Make plans, including for death. Life changes, including the ultimate one, will affect your business and assets. That is basic reality. I lost my own father this year and you can trust me, having things properly organized and documented before the fact is a huge help in the grieving process. Take the time to look at where you are and what might happen, and plan accordingly (see my previous article on this, and this one on marriage, too).
  • Most of all, make time to be with those you love. Be fully present, and not just during the holidays. Also give to those who are worse off. Time and caring are things we can’t bank or buy; being present with those whom we love and who love us, and giving to others who are struggling somehow (and there are plenty of those these days) will do more for you than having another thing to own.

Here’s hoping 2019 is a happy, healthy, and prosperous year for us all.

Posted on

Mojave and New Tools

I just switched to the newest Mac OS, Mojave, and although I’m not a techie, I want to encourage creatives to make the switch when they can[1], because it offers some good tools for evidence gathering.

First, the OS displays more metadata, and does so without having to get into Photoshop or the like. It’s all (well, lots) right there in the finder. This will be helpful in checking metadata in discovery-produced materials.

Sadly, some people will try to fake evidence[2]and the metadata can help prove it when that happens. It’s also a great way for you to prove up your ownership, creation dates, modifications, and copyright management information, too, especially if combined with the second goodie: video screenshots.

Shift-Command-5 enables you to record your screen while you, say, scroll down on the page of a website or click to get CMI info from a photograph. This is a great tool and one which will be really helpful in negotiating settlements. Imagine having an infringer claiming that the work never appeared on their site. Now, you can click to that site from somewhere else and do it while recording your screen so, boom, there it is!

I highly encourage anyone who is gathering evidence to use this video tool to make short videos showing the work in its infringing uses, live. Still screenshots are still needed (sorry, bad joke), of course, but the videos will be very persuasive.

_____________________

[1] I hear some creative apps aren’t Mojave-friendly yet.

[2] I had this happen a couple of years ago when a defendant asserted a doc had been made years before it actually had; I busted him with the metadata that showed the original doc was first created the night before it was produced. The case settled shortly after that.

Posted on

Exclusive Versus Sole

Earlier this year I wrote about exclusive licenses and how they can make a big difference in your legal rights, when it comes to infringements. Today, I was reminded of a related issue: how to grant a client the rights to use a work only for that client’s materials, and not get caught in an exclusive license trap.

Here’s what I suggest: only use the word “exclusive” (or non-) for actual, legal rights–specifically the ones covered by the statute (17 USC §106) and stick with “sole” for other limiting factors in a license, like media or geography.

For example, let’s say IlloBob wants to license an illustration of a squid to SurferSam for use on his surfboards and newsletters. He wants to make sure SurferSam doesn’t use the illustration on t-shirts or to be able to re- or sub-license to third parties for their use. He also wants to be able to license the same illustration to others including for their use in their newsletters. His license might read like this:

Conditioned upon full and timely payment received, IlloBob grants to SurferSam the non-exclusive right to reproduce the Squid Illustration solely on SurferSam surfboards and in SurferSam newsletters for one year, starting January 1, 2019. SurferSam may not license these rights or any other rights to any third party, except as required to produce the surfboards and newsletters permitted by this license.

By using the word exclusive (or non-exclusive) only with the rights (as opposed to the media), a licensor is protected from accidentally granting exclusive rights. To see the difference, look at this variation of the license above:

IlloBob grants to SurferSam the right to reproduce the Squid Illustration exclusively on SurferSam surfboards and in SurferSam newsletters for one year, starting January 1, 2019.

Is that an exclusive license? Can IlloBob license the work to anyone else to use in a newsletter? Can SurferSam use the work on t-shirts but without exclusivity? Maybe yes to all of the above. Well informed lawyers could debate all that and more, just because of how the word “exclusively” is used.

If you don’t fully grasp the differences here, that is what I (like other lawyers) am here for. I can help you draft licenses that will provide your client what it needs while making sure you aren’t accidentally giving away more, and it won’t cost you an arm and a leg. A little professional hand-holding now can save you lots of money and frustration in the future.

Posted on

Do Better

I feel like humans have lost something fundamental and I blame the internet, particularly social media, for much of it. What has been lost? Decency; thinking of the greater good; putting others first. Doing right, even if it doesn’t directly benefit ourselves. Trying to be better.

For example, it used to be that we were shocked when a pornographic video of a famous person was discovered. We were embarrassed for the (usually) young person who was thus exploited and often that person would fade from public life. Now, people are making porns just to try to get famous.

People (even politicians!) used to have honor, now far too many will lie without a second thought and will sell their votes to the highest bidder, even if it hurts others.

We have become far too greedy and selfish. A quiet proposal is rare–now it has to be instagrammed and scripted and shown off. A first dance can’t just be a moment between new spouses–it must be a choreographed and recorded event. A simple ring as a gesture of the promise is now rejected because it must be better (read: bigger) than our friends’ rings. How sad is that? We can’t just be happy for the happiness of others without comparing ours to theirs (and making sure we “win”).

Why am I bringing this up here? Because it affects your business, and mine. I was reminded of this today when I saw that Unsplash has a photography contest and that Medium is a part of it. I tweeted that it was a terrible idea for photographers, because Unsplash’s terms generally are terrible and even worse for the contest. I warned photographers to stay away and that it hurt all photographers by devaluing photography. Sadly, of course, someone had to tell me how it was good for him so I should essentially shut up.

Sigh.

There is right and wrong. Sometimes, what we want we could get by doing wrong; however, if we choose to do that, we are very likely doing much more harm than we realize, including (as in the case of Unsplash and similar) hurting ourselves in the long run.

I could make more money (a lot more) if I took any case brought to me, asserted claims that were questionably colorable (meaning maybe or maybe not supported by the facts and the law), or defended infringers. I could also work more slowly when I’m billing hourly. I could do all that and have fewer financial worries and drive my dream classic Porsche rather than my significantly cheaper (but much loved!) Miata, but I couldn’t look myself in the mirror.

Why do I make these choices? Because I became a lawyer to help people and, yes, to do good. Yes, everyone is entitled to a defense, but to me representing infringers would be inherently a conflict with the work I do for my copyright creator/owner clients. So, I say “no.” Also, I will never assert a claim for a client if I do not sincerely believe it is legitimate. And I know how hard people work for their money so wouldn’t it be ethically wrong to try and squeeze more out of any hourly client by working more slowly? Yup.

Would I like to make more money? Sure, of course. But not if it requires lowering my ethics and standards.

We’ve been pulled into the muck of trying to be famous rather than trying to do right. We’re trying to be more interesting on social media, rather than quietly making a positive difference in the world.

As we head into the holiday season, I suggest we all take a moment to think about our choices and consider doing better.

Posted on

I Bake Bread…Really Good Bread

The photo is of the sourdough boules I made last week. They are from scratch, from a starter I started months ago, and comprising nothing more than flour, water, and salt, including the starter.

I bake almost every week, never less than every-other week, and it has been a couple of months since we’ve purchased bread of any kind, except for hamburger buns once when we had a last-minute guest to dinner and I didn’t have time. It takes me all day to make the dough and shape the boules, which then have a final proof overnight and get baked the following day. It is a discipline and, for me, an exercise in mindfulness, presence, and perseverance.

I grew up cooking. I literally cannot remember a time when I didn’t cook. My mother was a gender traditionalist and, being the only daughter, it didn’t matter that I was substantially younger than my brothers–I had to cook for them, first with her then on my own, later. From my very beginning of my own consciousness, I remember being in the kitchen or the grocery. I actually have (and often use) the cast-iron flat small oval pan I remember trying to make pancakes on, by myself for the first time, when I could not have been more than five [1].

Mom was a very good cook and so am I, and I (like her) cook intuitively rather than by following recipes (see “there is fat in the batter” thinking in FN1… ha!). When my brother took cooking lessons as an adult he asked for my recipes and I could not give him more than a rough “some of this, a bit of that” kind of litany. Honestly, I don’t know how I make a lot of what I make–I just make it.

I’m one of those people who can look in a fridge and cupboards and, no matter how bare, will be able to come up with a couple of tasty “peasant food” meals. I learned this ability from Mom, and our poverty. It was a great tool for surviving college, grad school, and law school.

Anyway, Mom, for all her cooking, didn’t bake much and so neither did I. Basic cakes, yes, and the occasional cookie, but those are pretty forgiving if you stray from the recipes. Breads, though, require a certain scientific discipline she never could (or, perhaps, would choose to) grasp. I think some of it was because her mother was such a good baker that, just to be difficult, Mom chose not to follow Grandma’s baking tradition. My very Polish grandmother would rarely appear from the east (Wheeling, WV–we lived in Columbus, OH) but, when she did, it was always with paper grocery bags filled with enriched, yeasty, often raisin-filled, tasty baked goods. I can still remember the smell of her and it’s the smell of the goods in those bags. Sadly, we never baked together and thus bread making was fairly foreign to me. I wanted to learn so I did, later in life.

Cooking is like shooting photography–you can play a lot with and stray a lot from the recipe and still get good (sometimes great) results. Baking however, especially bread, is like traditional photo printing in the darkroom–you have to mix hard science with the art and if you stray too far from the science, you get crap results. In other words, you need to understand and respect the science of bread-making (yeast, heat, gluten formation, proteins, etc.) in order to make decent bread and to learn the science to the point of mastery to make really good bread.

For me, baking bread well is also like being a good lawyer: the more you learn about your particular field of law, the better you create. You have to respect the traditions, statutes, rules, and the processes, but you’ll make better lawyering when you have internalized how the law works so, for example, you can know the feel of that right spot in any of your drafting. Just as a Tartine sourdough loaf is to Wonderbread, so is a beautifully crafted document to a boilerplate one. When you know the specific law in real depth, you can find the hidden issues in a case and the winning legal points. It’s like learning how bread dough feels when it’s been worked enough or proofed right.

So why am I sharing all this? Because I think there is a lot of Wonderbread in my profession, especially in copyright law these days. I want you to know that is not what you’ll get with me. There are large firms who have a gazillion associates and paralegals who will take your case and treat it like it’s debt collection. They don’t know any more than the minimum about the law; they are competent, not obsessed. I’ve read the complaints and other papers they file and I don’t know how some of them can look at themselves in the mirror and call themselves “good lawyers.” I can tell you there has been more than one where I feared the client would get stuck with paying the other side’s attorney’s fees because the case should never have been filed.

Moreover, these massive firms won’t care why this particular image means more to you than another or look at the case in any depth, they’ll just do the minimum to get something and often not even remember your name. Worse, there are companies not owned or run by lawyers and so they care first and foremost about making their own bank, not you or your case.  But they’ll be happy to take about half, if not more, of your settlement for their efforts.

That ain’t me. I know and care deeply about the law and how it works. I’m a dweeb, a nerd; I read case law and journals not because I have to but because I love it. I’m a passionate lawyer and obsessively so about copyright law. I agonize over my drafting, the rules, and making sure the law I cite is the best for the issue. I file only a few cases at any one time because litigation is time-intensive and I refuse to take on more and maybe do any less well.

Also, I build relationships with my clients and I take pride in that. I know about their families and they know about me and those close to me. I know the history of the works they ask me to protect, whether that is a work made for a client or personal work, and why it matters. While I get paid (usually much less than the infringement mill companies, by the way), I also sometimes get gifts from my clients–usually their own art–and that is something that has brought me to tears more than once.

If you want Wonderbread, I suppose you may be satisfied with the big firms or infringement “enforcement” companies. You wouldn’t be a good client for me, then. But if you want a relationship with a lawyer–something more than just a form and a rotating list of associates for your cases–shoot me an email and let’s get to know each other.

You might even a bread recipe out of it.
Really good bread.

___________________________

[1] Sadly, they were a bit of a fail as couldn’t remember if you needed to grease the pan and I errantly decided that, since there was fat in the batter, I didn’t need to. Mom came in as I was trying to scrape off the first batch.

Posted on

Reminders

I’ve had a couple of cases (or, I should say, cases I had to say “no” to) recently that make me think creatives could use a few reminders.

First, on the bad idea of trying to make your infringement matter into a breach of contract; second, some Don’ts to remember.

 

In other news and speaking of reminders, yes, I’ve been terrible about posting lately. Mea culpa. I have had some cases in litigation that are time-sucks on top of my usual case load, plus I just experienced my first summer as a parental-ish figure (to my BF’s lovely home-from-college-for-the-summer daughter), but, really, I owe you all a better frequency of posts. I’ll try to do better. 🙂

Finally, my office partner Ruth Bader Catzburg just celebrated her second birthday. She is as small and feisty as her namesake.

Posted on

Be an Artist

Someone asked me recently why I don’t blog about every copyright case opinion that hits Pacer (Pacer is where all federal cases are listed, fyi). I’ll tell you why: because I need to know all the details about those cases, you don’t. My job is to know the law, yours is to make art. Let’s not confuse these things.

I try to write this blog for artists, especially those who are or may be my clients, but for all creatives generally. That doesn’t mean I’m talking down to my readers, but it does mean I don’t write on the same topics or in the same depth or in the same language as I would if I was writing for my colleagues. Like all professions or trades, lawyers have their own jargon and we have interest in weird (and often weirdly important) things that our clients really should just not bother to think about.

It’s one thing for an artist to stay informed generally on the law as regards her/his/their business, but it’s a whole ‘nother thing to read law blogs and case opinions or to rely on non-lawyers for opinions on legal things. I encourage non-lawyers do the first but highly discourage the others. In fact, I’d go so far as to tell artists to let go of trying to understand business-related law (including copyright) at any level beyond the same way they understand traffic laws. I mean, an artist should know the law enough to know to do this, not that, and basically leave the rest to the lawyers (and to ask the lawyers, privately, for those answers).

Some of you may get your hackles up at that, but I’m not being demeaning here. Rather, just as I should not act as if I know as much as a professional artist about art, although I can do some creative things, artists shouldn’t try to be their own legal advisors (much less lawyers[1]). Humans simply do not know everything and we are (without great study) incapable of knowing multiple professions in equal, or even sufficient, depth.

The internet has done a great disservice to us in this. It’s turned us into believing we can and do know and understand much more than we really do. In reality, it’s shallow information overload. We get exposed to things we never would have before this beast[2]— but the knowledge we actually acquire is at best at a thin depth.

By “sharing” all sorts of data, much of which is highly suspect (but let’s not even go there now), average folk suddenly think they know as much as anyone about almost everything. This can seem to work for us in the short term or on occasion, but it is a dangerous seductress.

For example, my retired-graphic-designer brother recently fixed my father’s air conditioner, thanks to a tutorial on YouTube. Great, except my brother doesn’t really know anything in sufficient depth about how wiring and electricity, not to mention an air conditioner, actually work; so maybe his fix will work in the long run or maybe he’s created a fire hazard. The sad part is he (like all of us) can’t look for what he doesn’t know, and he doesn’t know a lot since he is not a trained air conditioning repairman. But he has a very strong illusion of knowing, the illusion of full competence, at least insofar as this one repair[3].

When I had my last physical, I asked my doc about whether the internet is making his job harder. He said it definitely had. He gets more people coming in thinking they not only know what is wrong, but what the best cure would be, and basically get frustrated that he wants to examine them and instead ask him just to fill out the prescription. Or, they have ignored symptoms until something has become critical because they read online that if they just do a “cleanse” or something, it will pass.

I told him I felt his pain. I get potential clients who tell me what they think the law is, all the time. It sucks to have to say “no” or “you’re wrong” to these people, when what I want to do is help.

Worse yet, too often I read industry online publications that get the law completely wrong and it is clear that they have read something legal that they simply didn’t grok. Perfect example: a major professional photographer’s organization (or perhaps 2) published that photographers could register a copyright anytime, just as long as it was within one month of finding an infringement they’d be able to get statutory damages for that infringement. That is totally NOT the law–it is a mis-reading of the statute and has to do with an inapplicable “pre-registration” provision of the Copyright Act. Still, the bad information is out there and being promoted by what are supposed to be reputable sources.

Now, I get that one of the reasons that people look to the internet to get answers is because usually that information is free. In the case of the law, people think it’s going to cost them a bucket of greenbacks to get answers from an actual lawyer (and for BigLaw lawyers, that is usually the case). Usually, it won’t be that expensive and, more importantly you’ll get the right answer for your particular situation. Even if you spent, say, $350 for an hour of an attorney’s time and expertise, it is very likely you would, in the long run, save much more than that with the personalized and precise advice you would get.

So, here’s my general advice: if you’re an artist, be an artist and let go of trying to do everything. Honor your profession by honoring others, including not trying to get it all for free. Instead of taking a couple of hours to look something up on the internet, and vetting it on several sources, hire a pro and use your freed-up time to make better/more of your art. You’ll end up making more money and your over-stimulated brain will thank you.

As for me, I’ll keep writing about the law and your art and your business, but you’re not going to get in-depth legal analyses (usually) from me here. I don’t want you to get bogged down in the details, like specific code sections and treatises–I want you to know, rather and for example, that you should register your copyrights as soon as possible or not sign a Work For Hire unless you want to give away your copyright.

_____________________

[1]By the way, this applies to any profession that isn’t your primary one–you are not a doctor, or an accountant, or a farmer, or economist, etc.

[2]Just think about TV–trying to decide what to watch now is an exhausting process because of all the choices. There is just too much to choose from–how do we know what is best?

[3]He’s going to hate me for using this as an example, but it’s kind of a perfect example. My brother is brilliant in many ways; while it is entirely possible this fix is perfect, there is simply no way for any of us to know because we are not a/c pros.

Posted on

Do You Suffer with CRAP?

(This is a slightly altered repost from many, many years ago. Sometimes, y’all need reminding, though…)

Do you believe you are a creative professional? An artist of some form? That is, a person with a gift, a talent, a set of abilities like no other person? Believing that is an act of faith and, rather surprisingly, it’s damn hard for some creatives to do. Are you one of those creatives who honors that gift, or one of those who acts almost embarrassed or ashamed of it? Do you put down your abilities, malign your gift? Ever catch yourself saying things like “Oh, it wasn’t anything special” or “I just kinda shot it–got lucky with the light?” Do you refer to yourself and your path as “the guy who liked to draw as a kid and ended up in art school” or “the adult version of the kid who liked taking pictures for the yearbook but couldn’t do anything else?” Do you feel, on some level, like apologizing every time you get paid for your creative work? Are you waiting for the day when someone finally tells you you’re a no-talent hack who has only managed to fake it this far?

If you answered “yes” to any of those statements, you’ve got Cognitive Reduction of Artistry Pathology…or CRAP*.

One of the main signs that you’re afflicted with CRAP is that you refuse to use the term “artist” for who and what you are. You may call yourself at best a creative professional, but the word “artist” is never used except, maybe, in the  popular variation “commercial artist.”  That may be used as a work-around because somehow that makes you less of an artist. If it’s commercial, it’s not real art–-that’s what you tell yourself.

If you have CRAP, your art’s value is downgraded in your own head. And yet, you admire people like Annie Leibovitz, Frank Gehry, and Chip Kidd; people who are (commercial) artists. Famous artists in any field, no matter how commercial, are somehow different from you and are (real) artists. But you? No siree! Not in your CRAP-filled head.

CRAP Facts
CRAP afflicts many people in all the creative industries: designers, photographers, writers, architects, illustrators, musicians, actors, etc.
CRAP can bog you down just as sure as walking in a muddy, well-used cow pasture in a pair of high heels. Depression can follow CRAP.
CRAP-sufferers often struggle with business–how can you demand more money or better rights if you’re not really an artist?
CRAP is a self-fulfilling disorder: after all, if you’re not a “real” artist you don’t have to push yourself creatively, right?
CRAP can be insidious; it’s one thing to be modest (a good thing) but one step too far and you CRAP all over yourself.

But you can rid yourself of CRAP. Here are some simple steps you can start today:

  • Call yourself an artist and call what you make art. Do it out loud, every single day.
  • Remind yourself that your work has value– if an ad costs $300K just for its space (placement), the art for that ad is worth a hell of a lot more than $2K.
  • Most people will not like your art, and that’s a good thing, after all, most people like Wal*Mart and lawn ornaments; but the ones that will like it are the only ones that count and they’re the ones to market to.
  • You have every right to get paid and paid well for your abilities, just like a doctor or a plumber or any other pro; your skills are just as rare and valuable.
  • And, most importantly, you deserve to be happy–you are doing what you love, what you should be doing in this life–don’t crap on it.

[* CRAP was, of course, entirely invented by me. That makes it no less real in many ways.]

Posted on

New Tool! (For infringement searching)

I’ve been hearing from clients how they are frustrated that they can’t find a decent service that actively monitors multiple images for possible infringements. That is, one that doesn’t then require them to use the monitoring company’s services to pursue claims, like ImageRights or Pixsy (etc.) do.

Lots of photographers don’t want to have to pay 50% or more of their settlements, often on top of subscription fees, and I don’t think they (or you) should. It’s your money and fees like that, in my opinion, are outrageous. It’s like when stock agencies went from the photographer getting most of the licensing fees to the photographer getting practically nothing–it’s your work and you deserve to keep most of the money collected!

Anyway, like I said, clients were asking for options and I didn’t have a good one to present. So, I started digging.

The usual suspects of Google Image or Bing Image are strong tools but aren’t for monitoring. You can’t upload a bunch of images then get a report about them–you can only do one-off searches. There is a Russian site called Yandex that a client recommended, but I honestly do not trust any Russian site not to then take your images and re-sell them behind your back[1].TinEye has been around for some time, but they’re way pricey, especially for a solo artist.

Finally, after some Reddit hunting, I think I have found the answer: a UK company called Infringement.report.

Infringement.report’s service is a subscription, web-based tool at a ridiculously fair price point. Seriously. How does $25 a month grab you? That level will cover many of you but even if you are the busiest and want to track a ton of images, the most expensive monitoring plan is $150 a month.

They have no contracts, no limitations on who you can work with, and they specifically do not pursue claims. In their own words, “We don’t pursue infringements, leaving you free to choose your own lawyers and keep 100% of settlements.”

Huzzah!

And, most importantly, it works[2]. I did a small test (you can test drive for free with up to 3 images) and was stunned at the results. One of the images I tested is a client-friend’s that I knew had been ripped off before. In an hour it found at least 19 uses of that photo, most of which were unauthorized.

You can get reports emailed to you. You can download the data as a .csv file to put in Excel or your own database. It’s got an API (maybe you have software it can talk to directly?). The results are dead easy to read and understand. And you don’t have to be a geek to figure out how to use the tool. Payment is made via PayPal and the terms of service are not sneaky.

Honestly, I keep looking for a big negative but, so far, I can’t find one.

So go forth and monitor your work[3]. When you find infringements, hire your own, personal copyright attorney (like me) with whom you can build a relationship. And keep most of your own money.

____________________

[1]Go ahead and call me “racist” if you want–I know what I’ve seen in my practice and Russian sites are some of the worst infringers.

[2]Okay, I have to admit (1) there was a little bug that gave me a warning about having uploaded too many images for the free trial, when I hadn’t, but it worked anyway; and, (2) I having been testing it long, yet.

[3]Register the copyrights first, m’kay?

Terms of Service Proudly powered by WordPress