Jetstar Magazine and the compensation payable on intellectual property violations.

Quote:

He posted picture on Flickr and it turned up in a magazine ... 01:05 AM Jun 30, 2011 by Ng Jing Yng SINGAPORE - Thanks to a tip-off from Australia, freelance photographer William Cho got to know that someone had used his photograph without permission. His shot of a night scene at Clarke Quay - which he posted on Flickr, an online photo sharing tool - was used by Jetstar Magazine for their May 2011 issue without accreditation. After verifying the facts, Mr Cho, 57, contacted the publisher, Ink, for a compensation sum of S$1,500 but was allegedly offered an initial sum of S$100. Through email correspondence - copies which MediaCorp also obtained - Ink made higher offers, raising the amount from S$100 to S$250 and eventually to S$500. "It is the way that they try to sneak around that makes me angry. I could have given my photographs for free but at least people should ask," said Mr Cho who typically charges between S$30 and more than S$1,500 for each photo he takes. He added that the crux of the issue is the rights of photographers and protection of their creative work. Mr Cho alleged that further investigations by his Australian counterpart uncovered similar copyright infringements - where photos taken by several other photographers were not credited - in the same magazine. "There is no overlooking this matter as this is definitely not an honest mistake," added Mr Cho. Responding to media queries, Ink's design director (Asia) Peter Stephens said: "A small number of images were used without the permission of the photographers. This was an error on our part, for which we have apologised. This problem has not happened before. We have been in contact with the photographers in question in order to arrange appropriate payment." In an email forwarded by Mr Cho to MediaCorp, Ink agreed to Mr Cho's request and to pay him S$750 on Monday. But Mr Cho said the offer came too late as he had already posted the matter on his Flickr account and it had since gone public. According to intellectual property laws in Singapore, copyright arises immediately upon creation and there is copyright protection as soon as the work is produced or fixed in a material form such as paper from which the work is capable of being reproduced. If the copyright infringement was to obtain a commercial advantage, the infringer could be fined up to S$20,000 and a jail term of six months. URL http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore...in-a-magazine-,,, Copyright 2011 MediaCorp Pte Ltd | All Rights Reserved

Me thinks that a bill to the offending advertising co of 300% one's normal charge would be fair (i.e. isn't= blackmail) provided such compensation goes towards:
- 100%: usual fee for use
- 50%: inconvenience fee for copyright owner's personal costs towards contacting the copyright offender.
- 150% to a charity of the copyright owner's choice (or other donation mutually agreed to).
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For clarity of process, all such payment and correspondence should of course be in writing and at arm's length.

This prescription however refers to the simple open and shut case of carelessness whereby there is clear proof of copyright infringement and the offender shows remorse, promptly owns up and recompenses up for the oversight and without significant mitigating factors. An apology of adequate reach in subsequent publications for the omission would also be necessary and as agreed upon by mutually.

This is in the context that copyright infringement is sporadic such that professional photographers are adequately recompensed for their work on a routine basis. These infringements being the exception rather then the norm.

That said, reputable publishers should be much more careful when publishing photos etc or any other kind of intellectual property for the purposes of financial profit in excess of their rights of fair criticism/ comment.

References:
- Cho W: 'Copyright Infringement is a Crime. Your Image got Stolen. What can you do about it?': "..When I refused their offer they bump it up to $250 and again to $500 like a stock trading. My request was $1500 as penalty for the crime to settle the case in private and they consider that blackmail. Would the judge let you off with just a reprimand if you rob a bank and say sorry when caught? .." [Flickr, undated]   

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30Jun2011: Jetstar Magazine and the compensation payable on intellectual property violations.