Photography / Image Rights — client reselling my photography

I'm dealing with a situation and need some guidance.

client reselling my photography. I've been dealing with this for about 5 months now and the situation isn't improving.

This involves original creative work over the past 30 months. I do have documentation proving my ownership and timeline.

Should I hire a lawyer for this or try to handle it myself?

This happened to me too. Have you tried filing a complaint with the relevant agency? In my case they investigated and it got resolved without needing a lawyer.

I've seen this play out several times in my field.

I ended up escalating to a supervisor/manager, which cost about $1-3 but saved me a lot more in the long run.

Just want to point out — the statute of limitations might be a factor here. In some states it's as short as 1-2 years. Don't sit on this too long.

This happened to me too. Have you tried filing a complaint with the relevant agency? In my case they investigated and it got resolved without needing a lawyer.

I've handled similar cases. Here's my take on the legal issues.

There are several legal theories that could apply here. The strongest is probably 17 U.S.C. § 106, which requires showing substantially similar.

The practical consideration here is cost vs. potential recovery. For disputes under $10K, small claims court is often the best route.

Not a lawyer, but I have direct experience with this.

In my case, it took about 3-6 months to resolve. The key was having everything documented.

I went through almost the exact same thing.

The biggest mistake people make in this situation is filing with the appropriate government agency. I'd recommend gathering evidence first instead.

I work in this industry and unfortunately this is very common. The good news is that when people actually push back with legal representation, companies usually settle.

I had a similar issue and ended up consulting with an attorney. It was worth the $200-300 for the initial consultation just to understand my rights.

I've seen this play out several times in my field.

What worked for me was escalating to a supervisor/manager. It took 1-3 months but was worth it.

This happened to me too. Have you tried filing a complaint with the relevant agency? In my case they investigated and it got resolved without needing a lawyer.

I've dealt with this before.

I ended up hiring an attorney to send the initial letter, which cost about $2-4 but saved me a lot more in the long run.

Been there. Here's what I learned.

What worked for me was escalating to a supervisor/manager. It took 1-3 months but was worth it.

Just want to point out — the statute of limitations might be a factor here. In some states it's as short as 1-2 years. Don't sit on this too long.

Following this thread — I'm in a very similar situation. Would love to hear how it turns out.

I've seen this play out several times in my field.

The biggest mistake people make in this situation is escalating to a supervisor/manager. I'd recommend following the formal complaint procedure instead.

Following this thread — I'm in a very similar situation. Would love to hear how it turns out.

I've dealt with this before.

What worked for me was filing with the appropriate government agency. It took 4-8 months but was worth it.

Not a lawyer, but I have direct experience with this.

I ended up hiring an attorney to send the initial letter, which cost about $2-4 but saved me a lot more in the long run.

I've dealt with this before.

What worked for me was having everything documented. It took 3-6 months but was worth it.