Cynthia Hansen Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 So, A little less than a year ago a certain a@@hat hired me to model and render out a bunch of homes for a well known developer. Long story short he tried to rip me off, so I refused to give him the final hi rez pics. I figured my loss and lesson learned but then I went to the real estate developers website and find they are using the low rez versions of my renderings. They are small pics but they are plastered everywhere on their friggin sight! So yeah, I'm pissed. I don't know if Mr. Douchebag got paid but he apparently did give them the low rez renderings. I've located a PR person of theirs and have requested that they at least remove the renderings or be paid for them. We'll see what happens. Does anyone know if I have a legal leg to stand on to get compensated by the company that's now freely using them? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Did you have a signed contract? Even if you didnt you should be able to get the images taken down pretty easy, have a lawyer call them. I'd name and shame if I were you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynthia Hansen Posted June 18, 2014 Author Share Posted June 18, 2014 Hi Tommy, do you know what kind of lawyer? And by naming and shaming, do you mean the dirtbag who hired me as his sub or the real estate development company that's now using the images? Legal contract no, sigh.. but an agreement via emails as to the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heni30 Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 (edited) What are some more details: Did you get a deposit? Did you receive any money at all? Was there contract? Can you elaborate on how he tried to rip you off - do you think it was malicious? What would this person's comeback be - did he/she/it have complaints? Edited June 18, 2014 by heni30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynthia Hansen Posted June 18, 2014 Author Share Posted June 18, 2014 no George, no money. And yes it was malicious. But the bottom line is that now the company that he was contracted to is using my works without my permission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Im not the right person to answer these questions, but this would be my amateur assumptions: I think any lawyer would be ok, find one online or even ask on a legal advice forum what steps to take first. Angies List might be a good idea too. As you have no contract, the guy who hired you as sub is not going to be easy to take to task. However, as the images are published, you can chase the person who published them without permission. If they give you a paper trail back to the scumbag then there's a way of chasing him down. Emails are unfortunately not legally binding (I think) so although any sane person can see you are being screwed a small claims court may not see it that way. I cant remember whats the limit for small claims, I think its $6k. I went through a government run employee dispute service, cant remember what it was called, when I got stiffed by a previous employer (Dan Coffey, see, thats how you name and shame). It took a while but my paycheck came through and it was a free service, no lawyers involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynthia Hansen Posted June 18, 2014 Author Share Posted June 18, 2014 Thanks for your input Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zdravko Barisic Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 The images are property of yours. They are not paid. It would not be a problem, at all, for any kind of lawyer, its a piece of cake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernest Burden III Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 (edited) I would agree with the advice so far. The issue of being paid by your direct client (and I use that word loosely in this case) is dificult, though not impossible, even without an explicit contract. However, the other company, with whom you have no relationship, has absolutely no defensible excuse for using your images. I would not be happy with a takedown, I would push for damages. As in, a settlement check. It's a simple copyright violation, and the law allows for sanctions that can include a percentage of their profits. That could be a lot. The developer may also have been duped by the other guy, but that is not your problem. Sue them. Next time, they will be more careful to be sure that when someone hands them renderings, the pictures were paid for. And if they feel screwed, they can sue him themselves. I'm sorry to hear you are going through this crap. EDIT - By the way, it is important to register the images with the US Copyright office (not hard to do) in order to get secondary awards--beyond actual damages. Edited June 19, 2014 by Ernest Burden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynthia Hansen Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 Thanks Ernest for the information. I was wondering about the copyright issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xEndlessxUrbiax Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 An email is legally binding if both parties explicitly state their terms of the exchange of services. A conversation also is, but that is harder to prove in court. http://www.allbusiness.com/legal/contracts-agreements/2378-1.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reitveld Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Yes, Ernest is right. Ask you lawyer the legal limit you can get and have them write a letter to the real estate agents asking for damages. They will freak, and then negotiate with you to an acceptable level. As for where to find an attorney. I called many in Kansas City and asked them if they handled illustrators and creative works. In the end I went with polsinelli shughart. They are a national firm and can handle the fine art of ... arts. If there is an office in your town, I would recommend them. Contracts, Contracts, Contracts. Always, Always, Always. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynthia Hansen Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 Great info from all of you! And big thanks for the support! Patrick, was there a particular lawyer at that firm? It looks like they are licensed here in California so would like to consider calling them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notamondayfan Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 A lot of lawyers will offer a free 1 hour consultation, which could be very useful, and will give you an idea on your chances of suing, and how much it will cost you in legal fees. Good luck with this one, keep us posted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernest Burden III Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Actually, a suit like this is usually the contingency kind, where the lawyer gets a percentage (usually 1/3) of funds they win you in court or a settlement. Therefor, they will not charge you for a consult, and if they fail to get you a check they get no check. I hope I am not wrong about this, where you would have to pay up front. Have you registered the images with the US Copyright office yet? That's step 1 and important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkylineArch Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 I hope you're successful Cynthia. I had a developer do basically the same thing to me. I was doing all their renderings, then the last group I sent over they just decided not to pay me. They said they never told me to do them, even though we had an agreement and schedule and they sent me the CAD files. I didn't find it worth the legal fees to get my money from them, I think lawyers are bigger crooks then this developer was being. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reitveld Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Yes I do have local attorney for my contracts, etc. But as the company is national, they could direct you the the correct lawyer in your area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heni30 Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 (edited) Hey, Where's that "Name and Shame" name? (Bold caps please) You really wouldn't want someone else to go through what you went through. The only problem would be if it the practice got out of hand and people started doing it for personal unsubstantiated reasons. (no word from Barbara yet) Edited June 25, 2014 by heni30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Hey Cynthia, how did it work out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M V Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 For me, it depends on how much money is at stake here. One thousand or tens of thousands. The latter, I would sue. But after lawyers fees it might not be worth it in the end, especially if you never had a formal agreement. Lesson learned here is to 1) Get a deposit 2) Get a iron clad contract and get it signed before you start any work at all. On large jobs, get a payment when you reach a milestone like 75%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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