I was just reading the following thread with interest:-
Invoiced from Getty Images for Unlawful Use of Images?
And I agree that getty are out of order with their tactics.
However - I am looking this form the other side of the fence.
I have lost count of the number of times my images have been stolen.
95% of the time there is no malice (or profit) involved.
But sometimes, I just wish their was an easy way of asking for a fair payment without getting solicitors involved and without having to waste hours of my own time contacting people..
I guess I know their is no solution to this problem and just want to have a moan about it..
As an example here is one of my photos that has not only been stolen, but has had a visual watermark put on it so people know where it (allegedly) comes from!:-
http://www.layoutstar.com/image/bg/1/irish.jpg
(click in your browser address bar and press return if you don't see the image)
Surely this goes way beyond what could be considered 'fair use'?
Since this site (myspacelayoutspy.com) has a page rank of 5, maybe it is worth talking to a lawyer?