Expired Stock Photo

[Hoons]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? OH

An agency purchased a wilderness stock photo for a customer's website over 10 years ago. The website (and photo) has been published online ever since. During that time, the purchase agreement of the photo has expired (I do not know when exactly it expired). About three months ago, the customer decided to they wanted to do their own work using the existing files the agency created. The agency handed over all the files. Ironically, since the handover, the stock photo company became aware of the publishing of this expired photo and came at the customer demanding hundreds of dollars for unauthorized use of the photo. The client is coming back to the agency saying they supplied them with an expired photo in the library of files so they should pay. The agency said they didn't realize there was an expired stock photo in the file library sent and since the handover, not their problem.

Can anyone tell me who would be legally responsible for this situation?

If it matters, the agency says they no longer have any reference or proof of the original purchase or terms of the photo since it was so old.

 

[FlyingRon]

It was the customer (website owner) who was doing the infringement. They are 100% responsible to the photo's owner for their misuse of it.

I don't see any course of action against the agency either. Just because a webpage had secured the rights in one form doesn't mean you can take the images that were on it and make use of them differently.

 

[justalayman]

is the illegal use during time the agency was controlling the site or since the owner took control?

That is pretty much going to determine who is liable.

 

[Hoons]

justalayman, it was both, but it was 'caught' when the owner had control.

 

[justalayman]

I believe there is a liability on each party. The owner of the site is ultimately liable for the infringement but depending on the agencies actions and responsibility, there could be some liability of the agency to the owner.

In other words: the owner gets sued. The owner may have a claim against the agency for their actions in the name of the owner that caused the liability of the owner to the owner of the photo.

Their liability would cease at the termination of their contract and whatever the owner did after that is on the owner only.

 

[FlyingRon]

Well, that would depend on the situation, but since the complaint seems not to have stemmed from the original use of the photo, and the agencies scope of work was for the web page they designed, the fact that the website owner made a copy for different page doesn't seem to lead any claim against the the agency.