Infringement email - why?

[wilkopix]

1 minute ago, Alamy said:

With the new contract, for images marked as exclusive to us, we will pursue potential infringements without notifying contributors first, however all initial communications will be very light and will be to enquire if a licence is already in place. If a licence is not already in place then we will determine if there is an inrfingement for us to claim on behalf of the contributor and Alamy.

Why not ask the contributor first?

 

Just because the image is marked as exclusive to Alamy it doesn't mean that it hasn't been sold directly (as is allowed) or has been from a commissioned photoshoot and the images placed with Alamy once the 'Licence to Use' has expired. The last thing I need right now in these precarious times is Alamy approaching a commissioning client of mine without asking me first.

 

I'm assuming the infringement team will ask the contributor first for 'non exclusive' images that are found?

[meanderingemu]

24 minutes ago, Alamy said:

 

Hi Ian, 

 

We mentioned this in our response on Friday but the infringement email you're referring to would speed up the process for the infringements the team can pursue between April the 29th (when the email was sent) and July 1st (when the new contract comes into force).

 

This means that our infringement team will be able to work through cases much quicker in the months running up to the new contract going live. 

 

With the new contract, for images marked as exclusive to us, we will pursue potential infringements without notifying contributors first, however all initial communications will be very light and will be to enquire if a licence is already in place. If a licence is not already in place then we will determine if there is an infringement for us to claim on behalf of the contributor and Alamy.

 

If you have any other questions about how the infringment team will work, please email contributors@alamy.com. The problems that popped up with the inbox this weekend have now been fixed.

 

Cheers

 

Alamy

 

 

You still have  not addressed why I would be liable for the actions taken against Alamy's actions in such cases?  

Edited May 24, 2021 by meanderingemu

[Alamy]

31 minutes ago, geogphotos said:

Alex/Alamy

 

Could you please provide answers to the other questions I raised? It seems that  they are being ignored and I am just being told again the partial answers already given.

 

I must say that this sudden urgency to find out about claims - you can't wait 45 days - does not seem to accord with the long waiting periods I have experienced when reporting infringements to Alamy.

 

I would expect that many contributors will feel that having replied to the initial email they were being offered a choice and unless you follow up with another email will not realise the very temporary nature of that choice.

 

Sorry, but however you spin this it doesn't make sense. You should have informed contributors of the contract change and then followed up with a question about this very brief interim period.

 

I want to pursue infringements myself so how would you advise me to best achieve that?

 

1) Do I need to change all my images to non-exclusive in order to carry on chasing infringements myself? 

 

No. You can still pursue infringements yourself however once the new contract comes into force the newly formed dedicated infringement team will be prioritising pursuing infringments for images marked as exclusive to Alamy. If you do not want the team to pursue infringements of images of yours without notifying you first then you should mark your images as non-exclusive.  

 

2) I assume that with Non-Ex images I will always be asked first about Alamy pursuing infringements - is that so?

 

Our initial work with this new team is for exclusive images only. Plans on how work may develop to include non-exclusive images and how permissions for that could work will be communicated to you once confirmed.

 

3) If I do make all images Non-Ex will you be allowed to continue to provide sales/download checks as you have been over the last couple of months?

 

Yes, of course.

 

4) What will I lose by changing to Non-exclusive since I want to handle infringements myself or at least be asked before Alamy take any action. Is there any point in having images as Exclusive?

 

We feel that having a dedicated infringement team that will be invested in and built out over the coming months and years will generate a strong source of income for our contirbutors through Alamy. 

 

"I must say that this sudden urgency to find out about claims - you can't wait 45 days - does not seem to accord with the long waiting periods I have experienced when reporting infringements to Alamy."

 

The current process for chasing Unauthorised Use Queries (or UUQs) is separate from the dedicated team we have for securing infringement revenue. What you are talking about there is far more of a reactive service where the infringement team will be a pro-active one.

 

For any other questions on how infringements will work please drop us an email as mentioned previously. We're locking this thread down now in order to keep discussions around the new contract terms in one place on the official thread.