Have you received an email from Jason A. Fischer or another lawyer on behalf of Dreamstime.com, LLC where it states that the person emailing you is named “Dreamstime Infringements?” If so, then you are not alone. We have been forwarded this type of correspondence from the law firm of Bryn & Associates, P.A., which tends to represent Dreamstime, demanding money in exchange for a release of claims related to allegations of copyright infringement. Many of those people have successfully retained us to reply to that correspondence.
If you have received such a letter, then feel free to contact us about your particular issue. We keep all communications confidential, pride ourselves on quick and active responses, and do not charge for initial consultations.
The emails typically begin by explaining that the law firm emailing you is counsel to Dreamtime, which is one of the world’s leading stock photography companies in the business of licensing Royalty-Free images for commercial reproduction and publication. The reason stated for why you were being contacted is because you used a Dreamstime image or multiple images on your website. Dreamstime believes you do not have a valid license for such use.
Obviously, possessing a license is a defense to a Dreamstime claim. However, there may be other applicable defenses for your use of a Dreamstime image, such as fair use or de minimis use.
Dreamstime’s lawyers will typically conclude the email indicating that you may continue to display the image on your website only if the appropriate license has been purchased from Dreamstime.com. They ask that you respond to the notice within five days after its transmission and demand payment if you cannot prove possession of a license to use the content.
It is also important these types of notices not be ignored by the recipients. That is perhaps the worst thing that you can do if you find yourself in receipt of one of these demands. Lack of attention could certainly result in the initiation of litigation and, at that point, you will be spending more money than you wish in defending against a judgment being entered in favor of the plaintiff.