Thu, Jul, 2022 
You might have come across this weirdly sounding name: Cease and Desist Notice, also called “Abmahnung” in German. What does it stand for and what can it do for photography? Find the answer below.
In the era of growing image theft, the need for special tools to track images and regain the money from these pictures are surely a must. Even though most of the photographers have the crucial knowledge on how to copyright pictures, a lot of photo users seem not to know how to use the pictures which were taken by them.
Once stolen photos are found online, certain steps should be undertaken to get back the money that you as a photographer deserve from your pictures. One of the tools which we found pretty successful in our fight with image theft is the one hidden behind this enigmatic term: Cease and Desist Notice.
A Cease and Desist Notice is a letter sent either to an individual or to a business to stop illegal activities. The ’cease’” part is supposed to stop the unlawful practise while the ’desist‘ is meant to make sure it does not happen again. The latter is strong and implies legal consequences. It shall be treated as a warning, reminder and implication for paying the reimbursement. If the recipient (in your case – the image thief) does not pay the required amount of money, the party may be sued. Usually, bringing the case to court is the last thing we usually want to do.
Over the yearsof our practice and fight with image theft,we managed todevelop certainwaysofregaining the moneyforour clients withoutnecessarily going to court.Since thecostsofcourt proceedings are usually pretty high wedevelopedanother successful wayaround it and Cease andDesist Noticeis a crucial element to getthe money that youdeserve from your rights.
Things have speeded up in the digital era. A lot of people tend to complain about this crazy era but there are some benefits to instant communication and spread of information. As soon as we find your photo stolen online, we can inform you about it and then start the process of regaining your money. Our lawyers send the letters, also the Cease and Desist Notice, via emails which is sufficient according to the law. Then the opponents have limited, clearly defined slots of time to answer our letters. If they don’t answer, we take the next actions.
As a photographer whose photos got stolen you are entitled to receive back your damages. These, are calculated by applying the industry standard – MFM tables. See the exemplary fees here. The total calculation includes also the attorney costs.
’For photographers, there is no other tool like this one. Abmahnung allows them to fight for their copyrights and receive help instead of taking care of every single step on their own.”, says Nico Trinhhaus, travel photographer and PhotoClaim’s founder. If you are still curious about more details concerning the Ambahnung, why there are so many mixed opinions about it and why some call it a friendly tool while others see it as a dangerous warning.
