Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff Donald
This is incorrect. I'll quote from my post above. "Copyright liability can't be disclaimed. For example, copyright, trademark and patent infringement are considered "strict liability." This means that, as long as you've done it, it doesn't matter whether you thought you weren't infringing, were indemnified against infringement by someone else, or contracted to have another party become liable, rather than you, in the event of infringement. In other words, if someone says it's OK to use a photo, and that someone doesn't own the photo, you are still liable for the copyright violation."
The burden of proof falls on the publisher/owner of the project. That is one reason that major publishers will only use photos from known sources. They also own insurance to protect themselves as well.
Digital files contain what is called EXIF data which can contain owner/contact information, copyright dates, camera info even GPS data. Some companies offer additional protection, for a fee, that makes images traceable on the web. It's not as difficult to trace images as you may think.
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If that is the case then the publisher can turn around and sue the person that claimed it was their photo's and gave you written permission. You cannot just get set-up like that and not have a legal retribution!
But again, I will state, it has to be worth the money and time to pay lawyers and file a suit.