Successfully claimed compensation of {00,000} for unauthorized use of my product images on an online store!

Spent time and effort creating product photos, only to see someone else use them? Don't just tolerate it! Your images are protected by copyright law. Enforcing your rights can help you seek justice and claim financial compensation.

I. Case Studies

Photographer Xiao Wang was hired by a brand to shoot a set of product promotional images for a fee of 5000 yuan. Three months later, he discovered that a Taobao store had used one of the images without authorization as its main product image. After Xiao Wang retained a lawyer to gather evidence and filed a lawsuit, the court ruled that the defendant must pay compensation for economic losses and reasonable expenses totaling 3 ten thousand yuan.

II. Copyright Protection for Photographic Works

Under the Copyright Law, photographic works are automatically protected upon creation; registration is not required. As long as a photo reflects the author's original expression (choices in composition, lighting, angle, etc.), it is protected by law.

III. Key Points for Evidence Collection in Online Infringement

1. Perform notarization preservation or trusted timestamp evidence storage immediately.

2. Save a screenshot of the infringing page, including the product link and store information;

3. Retain the original captured files (RAW format preferred) and records of your creative process.

4. Record factors affecting compensation, such as the duration of infringement and sales volume.

4. How is the compensation amount determined?

Courts typically determine compensation in the following order:

1. Actual losses suffered by the rights holder;

2. Illegal income of the infringer;

3. Based on a multiple of the royalty fee;

4. Statutory damages (RMB 500 to 500 million).

In practice, statutory damages apply to most cases. Relevant factors include the work's popularity, the scale of infringement, and subjective malice.

V. Cost and Benefit of Rights Protection

With the widespread adoption of Internet courts and online litigation, the barrier to enforcing image rights has dropped significantly. In bulk enforcement cases, compensation ranging from 1000 to 5000 yuan per image is common.

Your creativity deserves respect. If you discover your work has been infringed, please contact the Intellectual Property Team at Fujian Ciji Law Firm for efficient legal protection.