Whoops!

Yours truly is a little bit in trouble!

Earlier yesterday I received a letter from a firm of lawyers Higbee & Associates. It was to advise me that, “Unlicensed Use Of Work Copyrighted By Paul Martinka.” and went on to detail how Paul Martinka had quite correctly was seeking compensation for my republishing a photograph without a license.

So, moving on!

It is going to change the blog quite a bit because I frequently republish material from other websites without formal permission.

So while I think through how to continue blogging there’s something you can do for me.

Let me know if I can republish your work. You can leave a comment to this blog or ask me to email you.

And offer me posts that I can use. Please!

Meantime I will ponder what to do!

P.S. That’s why you may have noticed quite a few posts have been taken down!

21 thoughts on “Whoops!”

  1. Since I am a journalist, here is what you can do for pictures. There are websites out there that have free photos that can be used without fear of compensation. In terms of news articles, if you properly cite your source, that is all that is necessary. I typically cite different publications every day & never have an issue.

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    1. Thank you, Susan. That’s helpful. Do you think that what I have been posting is acceptable? I have been linking back to the original but still republishing it in full. I’m thinking of Mother Nature Network articles.

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  3. I have received similar emails Paul. One even requested money to be sent directly. Of course, I didn’t send money, but have deleted the specific photographs and replaced them with free-to-use ones from Dreamstime. WordPress also has free photos in the “add media” button on the posting page. Now I am careful not to post a photo where I don’t know its origin.
    I also spoke to a lawyer friend, who said to become worried only when something comes in the mail.

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    1. I’m afraid this was a mailing! I have deleted the offending photograph but WordPress have yet to delete it from their server. I have learnt my lesson and just hope that I can argue away the penalty; it’s too much money to pay!

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  5. Having worked for an intellectual property attorney for years, I totally understand your plight. It can be a sticky wicket. While I understand an artist wishing to be compensated for his work, some of their representatives can be a bit heavy handed. Sorry. Best wishes for a quick, inexpensive and painless resolution.

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  6. Ouch!! That hurts when someone pulls that on you without you understanding. I’m pretty careful about using any photos besides my own because I know how some are about the photos they want to sell. I’ve been reblogged a couple of times and am always honored but if someone were to take my photo and try to sell them as their own, I would probably be unhappy. My son puts a watermark signature in his as he is a professional photographer. I don’t even use his photos on my blog. So sorry to hear about the letter. Would scare the bejezzus out of me.

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  7. I am so sorry to hear! Anxious moments to be sure especially when you are only always ‘doing good work’, compassionate and informative. Will be sending good thoughts that this works itself out for you and your family…

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  9. I have heard in the last few minutes that the lawyers have deemed that the site is non-commercial, that the image is no longer visible, and that the Case is being closed. All I can say is “Phew!”.

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