copyright infringment suit?

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


Here is my scenerio:
About a year ago i sold new reproduction car parts on Ebay.....I had quite an extensive collection of photos that i took of the products i sold......Another member started using my own photos for his listings**************..I did report it to Ebay and he was forced to remove them on his listings......So their is a record with Ebay that he was notified to cease and desist the use of MY photos**************..since that time i have stopped selling my items on Ebay**************

I was informed recently by a customer of mine that when i stopped my Ebay sales, he started using my photos again (he altered them slightly, but they are definitely MY photos!!)**************..It is about 32 to 40 photos

I have all the original digital photos, the camera they were taken with and proof that he is using them (captured screen shots).....The items in question have different swirl patterns in them, so no 2 are ever the same.....

I do plan on copyrighting the photos with the proper office at the Library of Congress as a collection, since they are all the same type of products.....

What should my course of action (if any) be in the proper order?......I believe i should get them copyrighted before i have a lawyer contact him about a suit...He resides in Ohio....Is my thinking correct? and am I forgetting something?.....Any advice is greatly appreciated**************..

They were copyrighted as soon as you took them.
What do you think you are going to gain in a suit?
You better talk to that lawyer before you register things. Since you "published" these works individually on ebay already, registration as a collection now would be improper.

I do understand they are technically copyrighted as soon as i took the photos, but from what I read so far, to take legal action I will need them recorded with the Library of Congress. I think I have a case for monetary compensation for the infringement considering he is still profitting from my work. I do plan on speaking with an attorney about this whole ordeal. I dont know if using them on Ebay constitutes a "true" published photo. That why I'm here asking questions for legal advice

Fishin Pole said:

I dont know if using them on Ebay constitutes a "true" published photo. That why I'm here asking questions for legal advice

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It does. Once you make them available to the public without restriction like that they are considered published.

The question is if the infringer has any assets worth attaching. Don't forget you'll have to pay the lawyer and the only effective way is to bring the suit in the defendant's jurisdiction which may be costly to you.

After a little more research, i agree with you. I will need to register them individually because the fact of them being "published" via my posting them on Ebay.Before i do such a thing, i have a meeting arranged with my nephew, who is a Corporate Law attorney. I know its not his exact line of law, but I'm sure he will be able to guide me in the right direction and advise me to the proper channels.

As far as his assets, he is better off than I, when it came to financial backing for his company and now his company has grown quite a bit in the last 2 years. I dont believe he has incorporated his company, so i believe i would be able to go after personal assets as well.

It might sound as this has gotten personal, but i have talked to a few people who have dealt with both of us as retailers, and have been told this guy has been slandering my name and company, so YES it is personal now, especially since he has started using my photos, after he was notifed from Ebay

I did come across some figures that were posted on another site, that i could receive anywhere from $750 to $30,000 per photo infringement. I think closer to the $750 figure is reasonable, but i will wait till i talk to my nephew or whoever he reccomends to start handling this for me

Actually, Fishin Pole, the $750 to $30,000 figures are statutory damages that can be awarded a copyright holder who has registered his works in a timely fashion. For works already published, timely registration would mean registration within three months of first publication or before any infringement occurs.

In other words, any damages you could be awarded in an infringement action would be confined to actual damages (demonstrated losses incurred as a result of the infringement) and profits made by the infringer as a direct result of the infringement.

You may have better luck getting damages awarded by pursuing a defamation action.

It is good that you will be consulting with an attorney in your area (and that you have one in the family to steer you in the right direction).

Good luck.

Thanks Quincy

The defamation suit i believe would be harder to prove in my opinion. It seems to me that would come down to "he said" "she said" pissing match. I think he could draw that out for a very long time and cost ME alot of lawyer fees to prove such a thing. I thought the obvious fact of the usage of my photos is cut and dry and very easy to prove.

I think its really impossible to prove how much business i lost with him using my photos for his own personal gain, since shortly after i pulled my business from Ebay.Who is to put a dollar amount on such a thing? ( I know it would be the presiding judge) but unless he is forced to disclose his business revenue reports he could obviously lie thru his teeth (something this guy is good at).

At the fact as soon as i took the pictures they were copyrighted as mine, i figured registering them would just solidify my legal recourse at taking action against him. So since i didnt move in a timely fashion and register them right away, i have no legality to take action against him?**************What if i register them now and then wait 2, 3 or 5 years to file a suit., would i have a case then, even if i completely stop selling the items?

You only have three years from the date you discover the infringement to file an infringement suit. You are not allowed to wait around until the damages are great enough to warrant a suit, in other words.

Although works do not have to be federally registered to allow a copyright holder to have rights-protection, you are required to register the copyrighted work before you can sue an infringer for copyright infringement. And probably the major reason it is smart to register a copyrighted work prior to or shortly after publication is for the statutory damages you will be entitled to collect in the event your copyrighted work is infringed.

Being able to collect these statutory damages is an advantage because it is often very difficult to prove your losses or your infringer's profits. You cannot just "guess" at what they might be in court, either. You must be able to demonstrate what these losses or these profits are.

When you speak with your nephew, you might ask him if he knows of any legal recourse available to you other than infringement. If you are still in the business of selling reproduction car parts, for instance, perhaps an unfair competition action or tortious interference suit may be a possibility.

Your nephew will be better able to outline your options and let you know what may be possible to pursue after he personally reviews all of the facts.

Oh. And you are right about defamation suits. All lawsuits can be costly, but defamation suits rank among the costliest.

Good luck.