Can I Get Legal Help?
Posted by admin on Oct 6, 2008
By Rohn Engh
Some publishers have been known to pay their electricians, plumbers, and gardeners before they get around to paying their photo suppliers. When you inquire about slow payment, these companies have been known to refer you to their accounting department. The response there frequently is, “The check’s in the mail.”
After a few months of e-mail exchange, and still no payment, you decide to go the legal route.
Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts is good organization to start with. They have volunteers in most major cities. They’re willing to help impoverished artists, but for regular customers, they charge regular fees. Their advantage: they are accustomed to dealing in this area of “intellectual properties.” If your situation evolves to a point where it looks pretty certain that you’ll get a settlement, you could ask the attorney to work on a contingency basis. The National VLA address is 1 East 53rd St 6th Fl, New York NY 10022 (1 212 319 2787 or 1 212 752 6575).
To The Rescue
Or you might want to try Small Claims court. This is an education in itself. Most cities have a limit in Small Claims, usually between $1,000 and $2500. You’ve probably heard that you have to personally appear in the court jurisdiction of the defendant (the photobuyer). However, if the publishing house has a presence in a city near you, you can make your claim in that city. What is a “presence”? For example, the publisher might outsource work to an art director in your nearby city. Or the publisher might do business with an advertising agency in that city near you. These two examples would be usually considered a “presence.”
However, once the Art Director or Photo Editor receives a subpoena and shows it to the boss, they start getting serious and usually settle out of court.
If you are a subscriber to the PhotoDaily or PhotoLetter and are having a problem of “No Pay” or “Slow Pay” with a photobuyer who has listed in one of our market etters, let us know. We are here to help.
Rohn Engh, veteran stock photographer and best-selling author of “Sell & ReSell Your Photos” and http://sellphotos.com, has helped scores of photographers launch their careers. For access to great information on making money from pictures you like to take, and to receive this free report: “8 Steps to Publishing Photos,” visit his website at PhotoSource International or call 800 624-0266.
