Zach Zwerdling, on behalf of The Zwerdling Law Firm, was recently asked by a small local nonprofit to help deal with a copyright claim that had been asserted against it by the Associated Press (AP). We were happy to accept the case and did so on a pro bono basis, which means legal time was donated. Lawyers need to do more pro bono and we like the work this non-profit performs. More on pro bono work below.
The facts of the case were fairly straightforward. A small thumbnail photo of the Klamath River was posted by the nonprofit on their website. The nonprofit did not know that there was a copyright on the photo and did not even know who posted the photo. Somehow AP found the photo and sent a settlement demand to my clients demanding payment of over a thousand dollars for copyright infringement. AP was basing their claim on the Copyright Act contained in Title 17 of the United States Code which requires entities to obtain permission and pay for use of copyrighted material.
Our client immediately removed the photograph and apologized to AP’s lawyers. Unfortunately, AP still had the right to seek this compensation. We argued that our client did not know how the photo ended up on their website nor that it was copyrighted so why beat up on a small rural nonprofit doing good work in the community? We were able to negotiate and settle for a much lower amount of money.
Photographs are omnipresent on the Internet and they are used for all kinds of purposes. Regardless, owners of copyrights are starting to take legal action against entities that use their intellectual property without permission. Be careful about posting photographs from unknown sources because if that photograph is copyrighted, there could be potential legal consequences.”
The California State Bar strongly urges all California lawyers to perform at least 50 hours of pro bono work annually. The Zwerdling Law Firm takes this obligation seriously and meets it regularly. Here is the actual recommendation from the State Bar:
“The State Bar of California’s Pro Bono Resolution recognizes that there is a growing need for pro bono legal services and that “lawyers should ensure that all members of the public have equal redress to the courts for resolution of their disputes and access to lawyers when legal services are necessary.” Moreover, California Business and Professions (Bus. and Prof.) Code §6068(h) lists as one of the duties of an attorney “[n]ever to reject, for any consideration personal to himself or herself, the cause of the defenseless or the oppressed.” The State Bar Board of Governors urges attorneys to devote at least 50 hours per year to pro bono representation, and urges all law firms and public and government employers to support pro bono representation undertaken by their employees.”