Goebbels Feels Sorry for Himself

In July 1943 Goebbels wrote an article titled "Does the Government Know about That." The article suggests that people who wonder if the government knows what is going on greatly underestimate the German leadership. Goebbels says that he works day and night serving Germany. People should appreciate him.

Adventures with Copytrack

If you are reading this, you may well have received an alarming letter from a German firm by the name of Copytrack. It orders you to provide a license for images on your website, demanding a sometimes exorbitant sum for past and future use of the image or images should you not be able to do that.

Having received such a message myself, and having spent time investigating the matter, my experiences may be useful to others.

Who is this for?

I am discussing the situation in the United States only, for ordinary bloggers who earn little or no money from their blog and who are alarmed by an email demanding lots of money. If you have a company, you will want to check with your attorney.

How does Copytrack work?

People who claim ownership of images upload those images to Copytrack, which then does a reverse image search and provides to its clients places where the images are found. The client asserts that it owns the images. Copytrack then sends increasingly insistent emails threatening dire fates for those who do not immediately pay.

Now, one small corner of Copytrack’s efforts is legitimate. Artists and designers are understandably angry when others appropriate their work without compensation. Copytrack helps some people receive payment for their work.

There are two major problems.

First, Copytrack takes the word of its clients that they own the images. This results in many false claims. The favorite example is that Copytrack went after the official White House photographer tor using images that he took, and which are legally in the public domain. Many others report being dunned for using public domain images.

Second, Copytrack demands outrageous amounts of cash.

My Experience

I maintain a scholarly website called the German Propaganda Archive. It has translations and images of propaganda from the Nazi and East German periods. The copyright status of such material is sometimes tangled, but is either in the public domain in the United States or past copyright expiration deadlines.

On April 12, 2024, Copytrack sent the first email demanding that I either provide proof of a license from their client or go to their web site and pay €15,000, enough to give anyone pause.

On April 20, a second email arrived with similar content. The deadline was May 4.

Their last “reminder” arrived on May 2, with a deadline of May 12.

I haven’t heard anything since then, but won’t be surprised if I get more “friendly” reminders.

I was not concerned with their emails, since the images in question are not owned by their German client, and even if they were, the images are in the public domain in the United States.

What do you do if you hear from Copyrack?

First, determine whether you are infringing someone’s copyright. If so, you may well be liable. However, Copytrack will demand an unreasonable fee. Remember that they are not themselves attorneys, so their demand has no legal force. You might make a reasonable offer for use of the image, far less than they demand, but as I suggest later, since Copytrack is a scummy operation, ignoring them is probably the best policy.

Second, they are based in Germany. That doesn’t mean they can’t hire an attorney and sue you in the United States, but if you are a run-of-the-mill blogger netting $150 a year from your site, they are highly unlikely to sue. Why?

1. Hiring a intellectual property attorney in the United States can run $200 and up an hour.

2. Although copyright violations can result in fines of up to $150,000, which sounds scary, that figure is rather like the notice on videos threatening the wrath of the FBI on those who violate copyright. Ever hear of a neighbor who went to jail for copying a video? The point is that lawsuits are expensive and you are unlikely be sued if there is little to be gained.

Assuming they sue, in an American court they need to demonstrate:

That their client suffered financial loss from your use of the image. If you have a blog with limited appeal, that will be difficult to prove.

That you benefitted financially from using the image. Again, this is unlikely for most bloggers.

That your use was willful. That is, you knew the material was under copyright. Being ignorant doesn’t absolve you, but would likely reduce the legal liability.

There is another possibility under American law called “Statutory Damages,” which requires that the owner actually register the copyright, which I won’t go into here, but include a link that explains it.

Now, this is all a tad complicated and I am not an attorney. However, reading these four pages from knowledgable sources should calm your concerns.

Deciphering Copyright Damages

Potential Damages for Copyright Infringement

Assessing Copyright Infringement Damages

Statutory Damages

In short…..

If you are a blogger who receives limited or no income from your blog, my suggestion is to ignore Copytrack’s emails. It isn’t profitable for them to take legal action against you and they know that many of their claims are bogus. They hope legal language will intimidate those not familiar with copyright law.