Alamy API not working "from time to time"

[Arno]

So...
I happened to come across an image of mine which was used without a notified sale here, nor directly from me.
I contacted the publisher and after some investigation from their side (the image was used back in 2016), it appeared that they obtained it from Alamy, but that it never was registered as a sale, because, so the person said, the Alamy API apparently is very instable and doesn't always work.

 

Now of course I'm wondering how many images of mine are "sold" but never registered to Alamy and of which I have never received any commission.

Very worrisome development.

[spacecadet]

I'm tempted to say "well they would say that, wouldn't they"- you seem to be accepting what the publisher says- have you checked with Alamy?

[DJ Myford]

Unfortunately, "well they would say that, wouldn't they" could equally apply to Alamy. It would explain why many unreported use claims only resulted in the issuing of a normal licence with no penalty, because the customer would not have been at fault. But our chances of finding out which side is right are basically zero, as no one ever admits anything.

[spacecadet]

Infringement is an offence of strict liability- you do it even if you don't know you've done it but it's the publisher's business to know- if you haven't paid for a licence, you've infringed- and they've admitted they know the image wasn't paid for.

I wouldn't equate that with an incorrectly registered sale. Alamy may be at fault here but it's not the same. That said I would be extremely reluctant to accept a 2023-level fee for this.

Edited April 13 by spacecadet

[Arno]

5 hours ago, spacecadet said:

Infringement is an offence of strict liability- you do it even if you don't know you've done it but it's the publisher's business to know- if you haven't paid for a licence, you've infringed- and they've admitted they know the image wasn't paid for.

I wouldn't equate that with an incorrectly registered sale. Alamy may be at fault here but it's not the same. That said I would be extremely reluctant to accept a 2023-level fee for this.

You make a fair point.
I just saw this particular sale appear in my sales report today, but I will contact Alamy about this and see what they say.

[Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg]

3 hours ago, Arno said:

I just saw this particular sale appear in my sales report today...

THEY* say the easiest explanation

is probably the correct explanation.

In this case, you scared the client

into licensing the photo; if client is

significant publisher or regular buyer
perhaps a mistake was made in 2016;

The only question I have is who is

"THEY"*? 😨I DON'T BLOODY KNOW

Edited April 13 by Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg

[geogphotos]

I tend to accept what the user said and it is indeed worrying that Alamy's system misses sales.

[Arno]

So, response from Alamy:
You should've come directly to us without contacting our customer first (no sale was reported, I had no way of knowing this was an Alamy client, and I am not exclusive to Alamy).
Now they reported the sale, and there's nothing we can do about it anymore. It went for the 2023 rates.

As if they can't contact their customer and say "Hey, listen. You forgot to report this sale 7 years ago, so you will have to pay the fees applicable back in 2016."
This is not the first time Alamy just shoos me off with a "Sorry, nothing we can do about it." I even had that with a few proper infringement cases. They just added the sales to my sales report for pennies and that was it.

So much for contributor service. Customer is king, clearly. Contributors not so much.

Edited April 14 by Arno

[geogphotos]

At the time of the announcement of the Alamy Infringement initiative doubts were expressed on the forum about how existing clients would be treated.  Some of those doubts have come to be realised on some occasions ( seeming sweetheart deals).  Though this isn't always the case.

 

I have made all mine non-exclusive and expect to be able to pursue my own cases - after fulfilling the contract obligation of first checking with Alamy.