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.
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[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?
Thank You once again Leslie for looking out for us.
I sincerely hope life is treating you well.
Frank Flavin
Flavinphotography.com
I have tried this service, and still do, however although it does bring results of images being used, I find it quite hard to find anything that is viable to pursue. As you mention, many are from overseas – Russia, China… Many are found on LinkedIn where someone appears to have ‘some’ vicarious connection to a client, most likely none would be more than “fair use’ and places where it would be simply impractical to spend time let alone money on researching.
It’s unclear to me how far this information can truly be useful to the point of paying for legal advice. Have you actually had significant end results via this service?
It’s interesting to watch the results come in, but that’s about all, so I’m asking straight up. Thanks, Leslie.
The tool is great–whether you are being infringed upon seems to be more the question. I think you might be misunderstanding fair use. Just because someone has a connection to a client doesn’t make a use ok under fair use, at all, nor does it give someone a pass. For example I have a client whose work is often infringed by contractors who worked on the buildings he’s photographed–the architect licenses the work but the contractors don’t; they don’t have any legal right to use the work and we have successfully pursued many. Also, LinkedIn uses have been pursued successfully by me (and others) too. If you find a possible infringement in the USA, fill out my online form and I’ll see (for free) if it’s worth pursuing.