If someone steals the art I post online and uses it to make money can I sue?

Question

I have some clip art and other digital images I wish to post online to sell but I don't yet have copyrights on anything (ie. I didn't send anything in to any copyright offices or pay any money for this service, also I've heard that getting copyrights for your work can take months. Is this true?). First off, if I post these images online and someone just steals them using print screen etc and then uses them in some work of their own (like maybe a book or something) and then sells it as their own do I have any hopes of successfully suing them for compensation (ie. Is it really worth my time to try)? I've read online and it seems almost impossible to win a copyright lawsuit b/c it would cost me tons of money to pay lawyers and then I would need to have some idea as to how much they made using my work. Also I've read that those lawsuits can take years to resolve and then end in loss anyway and then I just end up losing tons of money just trying to get compensated for MY OWN WORK (ie. Ending with less than I started with)! Also, how might I go about finding evidence of someone having stolen my work other than just happening to stumble across it online? Do I have any rights to my own work if it is not technically copyrighted? Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

You already have a copyright and can sue for actual damages, registration only affords the ability to sue for statutory damages and attorneys fees on top. You don't always need to sue either, as a C&D or DMCA notice sent to the right person can work wonders!

Answer 2

Unless you haven't legally copyrighted your work (you have to file some papers and pay a fee) that C in the circle is meaningless, though many put it there to discourage others, since it'll led them to believe it's copyrighted. You need to look up the copyright laws for personal writing/blogs. But if you do as you say, with just the C in the circle, anyone can take it and claim/use it as there own. If it's just a person, you can probably win in court because you'll have the history on your blog showing when it was posted. If it's a producer/anyone with power, you WILL lose and they can do what they want. The internet is pretty much free domain so anything found on it which isn't legally copyrighted can be "stolen" as the person never claimed it was there's legally. This is how many cooking magazines find recipes through the internet and not have to pay the people who posted them. If your work is copyrighted and a movie's going to be made, then the studio/producer will have to make a contract with you for use of your work. This contract will usually state they can do whatever, which is how names/people/events are changed in books. You do not have to sign this, so you can refuse and no movie will be made. To have things the way they are in your book exactly, that has to be in the contract--but studios rarely agree to this. Also, many movies say "based" off a book. In this case, if they changed enough from the book and names, etc., then they don't have to pay the author.

Answer 3

Your work is protected by copyright laws as soon as it's in tangible or detectable form. You don't need to formally register it (though you likely would before initiating a lawsuit).



If you want to sell things online, you shouldn't be posting exactly what you'd sell. Find some way to put up a small sample with a watermark on it, etc. It's a massive pain to try and sue for copyright infringement, and unless the person who steals your work is making lots of money from it, the time and energy are often not worth it for what you'd recover. You'd probably be best off finding someplace that's already operational in selling such things, and just sell your work to them and let them deal with it.

Answer 4

Well,

Your job is technically copyrighted and the law is on your side, so, yes there is an infringement of copyrights.

BUT

As you mention above you would have to pay for a lawyer and you will have to wait a lot of time until you get your money back



I will give you my advice, unless they stole you more than a thousand bucks, don't sue them, but sell your art through online services that let a watermark on the image (so they won't steal it) and have good lawyers (so you have protection): i.e. http://www.dreamstime.com/ or http://www.shutterstock.com/

Answer 5

You don't have to register to own the copyright on something you created. It's automatic. Registering a copyright gives you better legal standing if you sue, though. See page 3 of the link below.

Answer 6

You pretty much answered your own question. I don't know how you'd go about finding how much money they made, the value of it is something that would be argued in court. I don't think you'd have the rights if you don't copyright it. The best thing to do is get your stuff out there though. If somebody uses it you should be happy it was good enough to steal.

Answer 7

Probably not since the internet is public and global. It is best to keep your work off the internet.