Several years ago, I used this image (well, not this EXACT image, actually) in a VFTB article. Five years later, a German company threatened to sue me for using this image without their permission. That began an annoyingly long back-and-forth email exchange that is continuing to this day.
It all started with this picture (not THIS exact photo, but one very much like it). For my VFTB articles and videos, I grab photos from Google Images. Over the years, between my articles and YouTube video commentaries, I’ve probably used well over 2,000 free images.
I never once had an issue – until an image appeared in one of my articles. Several YEARS after I published that article, I received the following letter:
Authorization Request / Unauthorized Image Use – Case No. 4C172L
Dear View from the Bleachers,
We, Herzig Digitale Lizenzierungs und are writing to you on behalf of our client Schmidt-Bildexperten, who has assigned us the monitoring and protection of their licenses and image rights. On November 22, 2024 we have been informed that View From The Bleachers is likely using an image without permission, and the client has exclusively commissioned us with the clarification, administration of the image rights for the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany and, if necessary, the enforcement of any copyright infringement through our partner lawyers. Images are protected by copyright law [blah, blah, blah…]
… On behalf of our client, we must first determine if you have a valid license to use the images in question in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany. If you have a valid license or any other legal justification to use these images, please reply to this email no later than 18 December, 2024 and include proof of license purchase and/or any other necessary information to validate the usage so our client can verify the lawfulness of such usage.
The day I received this notification, I wrote back to apologize and inform them I had removed the offending photo. I figured that would be the end of it. I was wrong. A week later, I received a follow-up email:
Dear Sir or Madam,
Thank you for your message. Unfortunately, we are not able to close a case without one of the following conditions being fulfilled:
1) A proof of valid license or
2) The compensation to our client is paid.
If you do not have a license, your decision not to settle this matter with appropriate payment will consequently lead to court action.
I reiterated that I had taken down the image immediately and that I did not profit from its use. I added that ironically, I’m actually half-German (on my mother’s side) hoping that might smooth things over. Given my law school training (from 45 years ago), I noted that unless they could show monetary and/or reputational damage from my use, they had no legal claim. I closed by suggesting that perhaps they should focus on bigger fish than a solitary humor writer halfway across the globe who had ZERO subscribers located in Germany.
For the past year, this firm has been a dog on a bone, relentlessly sending me email after email insisting that I either show proof of a valid license or pay them for the licensing rights. A few months ago, I received yet another friendly notification:
Thank you for your message. Unfortunately, we are not able to close a case without one of the following conditions being fulfilled:
1. Proof of a valid license.
2. The compensation to our client is paid.
Finally, I decided I’d had enough. So, this was my reply:
I did not realize you needed “proof of a valid license.” Here you go.
Hope that clears everything up. Thanks very much.
Sincerely,
View from the Bleachers
A week later, apparently not amused, they sent me the following update:
Thank you for your message. Unfortunately, since we have determined that you have made use of a copyright-protected image, we must ensure that you possess the necessary authorization to make use of the image.
If permission cannot be verified, we must request you settle the matter by paying compensation or obtaining a valid license from the photographer.
So, this was my reply:
I deeply apologize for not understanding that payment was due. My humblest apologies. In order to rectify this egregious oversight on my part, please find enclosed payment in full (see below) in the amount of one million dollars.
I trust you will conclude this is more than adequate compensation for the emotional pain and suffering I have put your client through over the past seven months. I hope this resolves this issue once and for all.
Sincerely, (etc. etc.)
It turns out, and this may surprise you, but my generous financial offer did not put the matter to rest. They sent me yet another terse letter insisting on prompt compensation in order to avoid “costly litigation” (their words).
So, this was my reply:
I’m a little strapped for funds at the moment. Therefore, to resolve this matter amicably, I am offering to ship your client my 10-year-old cat named Zippy (see photo).
Zippy is a very sweet kitty – so long as there are no other pets in the household. He routinely uses the litterbox except when he needs to go pee. He prefers his meat cooked medium rare. I estimate Zippy’s fair market value to be approximately $150,000.
I presume this will bring this matter to a close.
To my dismay, my latest offer did NOT bring this matter to a close. A week later they wrote back again demanding payment in full within 30 days or they would apply a “delinquency penalty.” (Oh, my!)
So, this was my reply:
Like I said in my previous emails, I continue to be a bit pressed for funds at the moment. Humor writing is not exactly the ticket to fame and fortune I was hoping it would be. But I really want to help out your client.
To make things right, I have just updated my will – at no small expense, I might add. I have named your client in my will, stating that when I die, they will inherit my house – unless they had something to do with my demise. Please see enclosed a photo of my house.
It has a lovely waterfront view of the Atlantic Ocean. Ideal for family reunions, corporate retreats, and Tupperware parties. I hope this now officially closes this matter once and for all.
So far, they have yet to accept any of my settlement offers. Frankly, I think I’ve demonstrated a willingness to look for a win-win solution. In one correspondence, I even offered to provide all their client’s employees with lifetime subscriptions to View from the Bleachers. According to my conservative math, a VFTB subscription has a fair market value of $7,500 (€6408.86 Euros). But even that incredible peace offering got crickets for a response.
I have to give them credit. They’ve not given up yet. Every couple of weeks they send me another slightly ominous threat letter. But I’m retired. I have the time. I can keep this up as long as they can.
That’s the view from the bleachers. Perhaps I’m off base.
PS: If you enjoyed this week’s post, let me know by posting a comment, giving it a Likeor sharing this post on Facebook.
[Author’s note: For maximum effect, this article is intended to be read at a fast pace, preferably with a thick New Jersey mobster accent. – TEJ]
THE FOLLOWING IS A PAID COMMERCIAL FROM MARVIN GUERKIN, ATTORNEY AT LAW
You’re probably asking yourself, “Hey, isn’t that a photo of the attorney in the TV show, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul?” to which I say, “What’s your point?”
Hi, friend. I’m Marvin Guerkin. And I want to be YOUR lawyer. In a pickle? Guerkin is your man!
Here’s a question: Has this ever happened to you?
You notice your garbage disposal isn’t working, so you call a plumber. He takes a look and, wiping his hands on your wife’s favorite dish towel, says it’ll cost ya’ $1,800 to replace the defective disposal. You start stressin’ out about the cost, so you light up a cigarette, nervously flicking the ashes to the floor, Suddenly, ashes from your cigarette set that dish towel (which the plumber carelessly tossed on the floor) on fire, which triggers the smoke detector. That freaks out your German Shepherd Hercules, who then bolts out the front door, which you forgot to close when you let the plumber in.
You chase after Hercules, bumping into a stone table in the foyer, knocking over your priceless heirloom lamp dating back to the Ming Dynasty, which you had appraised on Antiques Roadshow for $9,700, but which now is just a pile of shattered ceramic. Your toddler, Marvin Junior, grabs a broken piece and scarfs it down, because, well, he’s a two-year-old, and all two-year-olds are idiots.
You remember that the lamp had lead paint, so you rush Junior to the ER to have his stomach pumped. In your panic, you run a stop sign, and get pulled over by Officer Cooper, who looks like he hasn’t done a push-up since the Nixon administration. Anyhoo, he issues you a ticket for reckless driving, having an expired license, and not strapping your kid into the child seat. You tell him to “Have a good day” and he thinks you’re being flip, so he orders you out of the car. You swear up and down that you haven’t been drinking (in truth you had barely more than three or four martinis). He runs your license plate and discovers four unpaid violations, which you never told your wife about.
Before you know it, you’re in the back of a cop car, headed for the 9th Precinct Station. Your phone rings and you see it’s your wife. With your hands cuffed, you fumble to answer the call. Immediately, your better half starts shouting, “Where the hell is Marvin Junior?” – which is when you realize that he’s still crawling around in the back of your car, which is parked in an abandoned lot on 36th and Broadway. Your wife is now screaming that the kitchen has gone up in flames! And the fire department is desperately trying to douse the flames which have now engulfed your entire house. Meanwhile nobody can locate your cat Buttons, not to mention Hercules.
Well, if this sounds familiar, why not give me, Marvin Guerkin, Attorney at Law, a call – any time day or night – between 2 and 4pm. But don’t call on Wednesdays (I’m at the races) or Fridays (I’m at the black jack table at Caesars). In a pickle? Guerkin’s your man!
I got another question: Has this ever happened to you?
You’re on your riding mower, mowing your lawn, just minding your own business, when your neighbor starts shouting at you about God knows what. You can’t hear him because you’ve got headphones on, listening to Vic Damone at full volume. He keeps shouting, but you ignore him, because, frankly, he’s kind of an annoying dweeb, obsessively fussing about his stupid garden.
So, he keeps on shouting until finally he rudely taps you on the shoulder, and you take off your head phones, and he screams, “Dude, what the f*ck are you doing? You just mowed down my prize-winning rose bushes!” – prompting you to make a hilarious comment about how real men go fishing, not play around in flower gardens, which oddly he does not find nearly as funny as you do – maybe it was in your delivery. Anyway, then he shoves you, leaving you no choice but to hop back on your mower to plow through his hydrangeas.
Before you can turn his nasturtiums into mulch, your neighbor, for some inexplicable reason, starts smashing the windshield of your 2007 Toyota Corolla with a golf club – using a Callaway driver at that – wow, he’s not thinking straight! I would have used a 9 iron. Technically it’s your wife’s car, so it’s not that big a deal. Still, defending her honor, you decide to take quick action to de-escalate the situation, which you do by driving your wife’s Corolla into his brand new 2019 Lexus, totaling his front end – and hers.
Then in what, if you ask me, is a major over-reaction, he calls the cops, who come to the scene, and it turns out to be the same Officer Cooper who pulled you over for running a stop sign, and well, you end up back at the 9th Precinct Station – again. And their coffee is just as bad as last time.
If this sounds like the kind of innocent mix-ups you sometimes stumble into, then call me, Marvin Guerkin, Attorney at Law. No lawyer is better at springing you out of the joint and suing your neighbor into bankruptcy than me.
So, what are you waiting for? Call me, MARVIN GUERKIN. In a pickle? Guerkin is your man!
MARVIN GUERKIN – The lawyer to call when ethical attorneys just aren’t up to the job!
[Disclaimer: Marvin Guerkin has been disbarred from practicing law in the following jurisdictions: Nevada, California, Florida, and Puerto Rico – oh, and Guam. He currently has a restraining order preventing him from being within 500 feet of anyone under the age of 21 or over 70. But he expects it to be thrown out on appeal. Please do not google “lawsuits against Marvin Guerkin” unless you plan to stay up all night. Mr. Guerkin requires payment in full upfront, cash, no checks. Payment in the form of luxury suite stays at Caesar’s Vegas is also acceptable.]
That’s the view from the bleachers. Perhaps I’m off base.
PS: If you enjoyed this week’s post, let me know by posting a comment, giving it a Likeor sharing this post on Facebook.
In this tumultuous economy, America’s leading consumer brands have come up with a bold new strategy to replace sagging revenues: Filing multi-million dollar lawsuits for brand infringement.
Recently it was reported that America’s leading cereal manufacturer, Kellogg’sis suing a Californian non-profit organization, the Maya Archeology Initiative, claiming the nonprofit’s use of a toucan in its logo (left) too closely resembles Kellogg’s famous Fruit Loops cereal icon, Toucan Sam. Apparently Kellogg’s is trying to corner the market on both high-fructose breakfast cereals and cartoon toucan characters.
Kellogg’s is no stranger to filing lawsuits for brand infringement. In 1998, they sued Exxon over the oil company’s use of a tiger for a long-running ad campaign to “put a tiger in your tank.” Kellogg’s claimed that Exxon’s tiger bore too close a resemblance to their own famous icon, Tony the Tiger. Apparently, Kellogg’s is also trying to corner the market on cartoon tigers – perhaps with an eye to opening America’s first cartoon zoo.
