COPYTRACK ENFORCES IMAGE COPYRIGHT FOR LEGENDARY NIRVANA PHOTOGRAPHER
HELPS PHOTOGRAPHERS RECEIVE PAYMENTS
FOR UNAUTHORIZED IMAGE USE
COPYTRACK Tracks Down Unauthorized 2017 Use of Iconic Images
November 7, 2018, Berlin, Germany – COPYTRACKhttps://www.COPYTRACK.com, a leading worldwide image copyright enforcer, announced today that it has recovered image copyright payments for legendary Nirvana music photographer Rab Lewin. Photographer Lewin took iconic images of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana in Berlin in the 90’s. Lewin recently found out that the images had been used without his permission by a European TV station, global online news site, and others. His rock images had been placed with a photo library, and some of these iconic pictures, particularly those of Kurt Cobain, made the news in 2017 around the anniversary of Cobain’s untimely death. Media organizations then used Lewin’s Nirvana images during the anniversary without the proper authorization.
“I heard that some of my images were popping up in all sorts of media. I hadn’t authorized this, and I wasn’t pleased about them being used without permission. A friend told me about COPYTRACK and I signed up to help sort out this issue,” said photographer Rab Lewin. COPYTRACK researched the usage, and after some discussions with COPYTRACK, the infringers paid approximately $2,300 (€2000) for European unauthorized usage (infringement prices are higher in the U.S.). Lewin said, “I was very pleased with the way COPYTRACK handled this. They were very professional, and their communications were really efficient.”
COPYTRACK Service is Risk-free – Features 98% Accurate “Reverse Image Search Engine Technology”
COPYTRACK monitors the international online use of images with worldwide licensing and rights enforcement. The COPYTRACK service is offered free to photographers, publishers, news, photo agencies, and e-commerce providers, enabling them to find and enforce international image theft on the Internet without the use of expensive lawyers. The service is free, with COPYTRACK paid a portion of the fees only when and if collected. COPYTRACK tracks images with its proprietary “Reverse Image Search Engine Technology,” which has an accuracy of 98% for found image duplicates on the Internet.
COPYTRACK’s Four Part Process
When taking on a case of possible infringement, COPYTRACK follows a four part process. The first part is to check if the photo user (or potential infringer) has a license to use the image. With the various photo agency distributors and sub-distributors, it is possible that the user has already purchased a license. If no license can be produced, COPYTRACK moves to the second part and offers a “post-licensing agreement,” where the infringer pays a fair fee for the license. This is a simple and reasonable way to manage the issue. If the infringer refuses this option, then COPYTRACK moves to the third part: a revenue collection team works to collect the fees. If that is unsuccessful, then the case moves to the fourth and final part and is sent to COPYTRACK’s global network of lawyers and collection companies, where a formal legal approach is made to the infringer. If needed, court proceedings are then launched in the appropriate jurisdiction.
COPYTRACK Lets Photographers Spend Time Being Creative Instead of Tracking Down Payments
“I was very pleased with the way COPYTRACK handled this. They were very professional, efficient, and easy to work with, with good communication from the COPYTRACK staff. They were able to recover fees, so I was very pleased with the outcome. I am going to continue my association with them, because it means that I can spend my time doing creative and artistic photography, rather than having to expend a lot of effort tracking down unauthorized uses of my work,” concluded Lewin.
For more information on COPYTRACK, see the websitehttps://www.COPYTRACK.com, Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/COPYTRACKcom, and Twitter:https://twitter.com/COPYTRACK.
About Music Photographer Rab Lewin
At age 19, Rab Lewin started his career photographing the social unrest in Spain, where a developer wanted to build on unspoiled land. He documented “people power” as the local villagers fought back and eventually won their case. Lewin then moved to Germany in the 1990’s, traveling with bands, working as a stagehand, and documenting counter-culture squatters in Berlin. Because he was involved in the local social and musical movements, he was able to photograph significant musicians of the period, including Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Sound Garden, Babes in Toyland, and Laurie Anderson.
Lewin’s creative interests have evolved and he is now documenting wrecked classic cars and other destruction of luxury objects of beauty. “I’m attracted to decay…pollution and waste. Cars begin as luxury objects, then are reduced to junk and nothing.” He is currently working on a coffee table book about the sad wreckage of classic cars, called “End of the Road.” Lewin has been traveling throughout the world to illustrate iconic vehicles which are scrapped, with a publication date scheduled for 2019. For more information on Rab Lewin’s photography, see the website: http://fotorabia.com/.
About COPYTRACK
COPYTRACK protects image rights and handles licensing for photographers, publishers, news and photo agencies, and e-commerce providers online worldwide. The company provides a start-to-finish service that guides customers through the complicated world of image theft online without the need of expensive lawyers. COPYTRACK tracks images with its proprietary COPYTRACK “Reverse Image Search Engine Technology.” Customers simply mark images as “used without a valid license” and then can determine the fees or allow COPYTRACK to determine fees by an automatic license calculator. COPYTRACK takes care of image copyright enforcement with successful cases in more than 80 countries.
Founded in 2015 by Marcus Schmitt, CEO, and based in Berlin, Germany, COPYTRACK has more than 35 international employees that constantly monitor the online use of digital images. For more information, see the website https://www.COPYTRACK.com, Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/COPYTRACKcom, and Twitter:https://twitter.com/COPYTRACK.
