My photos are being used on a website without my permission.?

Do you suffer in any way from these photos being used there? Do you wish those people ill for any other reason other than using the photos without your permission (your ex wife being involved there...i don't know if you're on good terms with her). If you don't really suffer disadvantages from the photos being used and wouldn't mind them being used if they had asked, then you could just ask something like, "hey, you're using those photos that i took...that's ok if you give credit for them to me on the website and invite me over for dinner and a case of beer." I mean, you could either escalate the situation and let it turn ugly, or you could just chalk it up as a compliment that they use your photos and try to get something positive out of it.

Any photo you take is copyrighted to you and you alone unless you state otherwise. If you want the owner of the website to remove the image I would suggest looking up the exact law (easy to find just google it) and writing a polite, but strongly worded letter to the owner stating that you would be perfectly within your right to take legal action if they aren't willing to cooperate. Of course chances are you won't take legal action but it doesn't hurt to suggest it as it often gives people the jolt they need.

Try to solve the problem in a friendly way, the copyright is yours and he has no rights , he will probably remove them straight away. If you have no success with the friendly route then a copyright lawyer will solve it. As a pro I'm used to it , if they are in the same country it's easy to sue but if not, sometimes it's better to bite the bullet and ask yourself, are you suffering by the usage and take it as a compliment on your skill.

As the photographer (rhe one who actually fixed the image into a tangible form), you own the copyright. Nine of the "moddels" have any right over the photo. Contact a lawyer for more information on laws in your jurisdiction.

goto the Design and Artists Copyright Service to get all the info you need. Also you should write to the website stating your claim to the copyright and what you want them to do about it. The choice is yours. If you took the photos with your camera then they are yours. no one else has the right to them, wife including. or ex-wife. The fact that you exchanged photos still does not give them the right to breach your copyright. the dacs link below is in the UK. but there is a list on their site to other countries.

The law in the U.K. is quite a bit different than in the U.S. In the U.S. you need to register your copyright in order to be able to enforce much of anything. It is not necessary to register a copyright in the U.K., however the law in the U.K. does not allow for the huge ($150,000 per image) statutory damages that the U.S. does. It is my understanding that in the U.K. you are only allowed to recover attorney fees and actual financial losses. In this case, that would be your normal licensing fee. Typically photographers license images for online use for about £50 per image per year. If you can find out about how long they have been using them for, send them a letter that says something to the following. I have recently discovered the following 6 images of mine that are being used on your website. By my estimate they have been on your website for at least two years. My current licensing fee is £50 per image per year, plus a discovery billing fee of £500 bringing your total to £1100 for past use. If you would like to continue using them in the future, I would be happy to discuss licensing terms for that as well. In the mean time, if the usage fee of £600 is paid withing 10 days and you remove the images from your website immediately, I will be happy to waive the £500 discovery billing fee. Failure to do so will result in further action including pursuing legal action for copyright infringement. Of course he may refuse to pay or try to negotiate. If he wants to negotiate, feel free to pursue that option, because it will be easier than going to court. If he does refuse to pay, you should talk to a lawyer and actually sue the person. I have to deal with this at least once or twice a year. Normally the cease and desist letter along with a demand for payment is all that it takes. I usually ask for a lot more than my licensing fee too. I always start at $5,000 per image for any unauthorized use, and then offer a substantial discount if they pay within 10 days. That way, if I do need to go to court I have a little more leverage, and it gives them incentive to pay quickly. I have only had to get a lawyer involved once, and I have never actually go to court. Luckily most cases of copyright infringement are easy to prove, and the only difficulty involves the amount of money both parties will settle for.

You're correct that these images are your property and you have the right to decide how they are used. Now you are sure that you've never posted them anywhere that also grabs the rights e.g. in the licence agreement with the magazine they didn't also reserve the right to redistribute the images? And you're sure that you haven't forfeited rights (whether wholly or partially) to your ex-wife in your divorce settlement? If you can make sure of these two things, then you can proceed to take some form of action. If you're on good terms with your ex-wife then she will be a good liason. If not, you can look up the company's director through Companies House, you may be able to get directly in contact with a senior representitive. Be civil and polite at first, but also be firm. Kindly remind them of the line they are treading, and how far you're prepared to go. If they remain uncooperative, I suggest that you approach a specialist in IP law to discuss the case professionally.