Tips when your Copyrighted Materials appear on Print or TV

Been getting a lot of reports about blogger’s copyrighted photos or pictures being used and broadcasted on TV or printed on the newspaper without attribution or credit. It seems though that this practice is becoming more rampant nowadays especially when people can get them via Google Image search fairly easy.

We bloggers often do this — copy/borrow photos, capture screenshots, record a TV segment or use copyrighted songs. However, I believe that most of us provide attribution to the source in a form of a link so IMO that falls under Fair Use.

But what if it’s our own copyrighted materials that are being used? I think it’s okay as long as we get due credit for it. Bloggers want to get some link love, right?

Let’s review some of the recent incidents on TV and on print:

• Anton Sheker of Blogalicous claimed Manila Bulletin used his travel photos of Vigan without permission or attribution. As far as I know, the issue has not been resolved yet and Anton intends to file a Php1USD 0.02INR 1EUR 0.02CNY 0.12 Million law suit against the newspaper.
• Just this evening, Eric of Byahilo contacted me about the recent show of ABS-CBN’s Boy n Kris that used his travel photos of Pintados Kasadyaan Festival and Iloilo Dinagyang. I immediately contacted some people I know in ABS CBN so they can investigate this.
• Just now, right after I got back home, while watching a re-run of Convergence in Net 25, the host (Seven) featured dual SIM phones and flashed photos of a Verzio Duplii. I immediately recognized that those photos are mine. I emailed them immediately.

So what do you do when this happens to you?

1. Make sure that those materials are really yours. You should have solid evidence that you own the originals of those materials. Eric was smart enough to put water marks on his photos (though he says the segment zoomed in to remove the markings).
2. Contact them and tell them about your case. An email would be great so you can present your case clearly with accompanying evidence. Be diplomatic and avoid being angry or mad. This is practically a business transaction so you want to be professional — if you want to claim for compensation.
3. Get a hold of your original material in case the other party disputes your claim. Meet with them if necessary and state your demands clearly. Do you want them to publish an erratum/addendum, a public apology or a licensing fee or compensation?

If both parties can’t resolve it amicably, then go to the courts just like Anton.

This is a lesson for everyone — that as new media publishers, we should also respect other people’s copyrighted materials (photos, news articles or videos) so we can earn that same respect back. It’s also a lesson for traditional media to be always on their heels, now that there’s a check on them.