Zoo assistant editor Steve Nash, claims, amongst many things :
“Unfortunately there have been occasions in the past where people have claimed that an image was theirs and have demanded substantial payments but have failed to produce anything sufficient to back up their claims.”
Well, there’s a long story attached to this which is partially covered by previous EMAP posts.
Link to previous posts.
But let’s go back in history on this.
When I first approached Zoo magazine about using images I created, I was asking only this :
THAT ZOO REWARD THE CREATOR OF THE VIRAL OF THE WEEK WITH THE SAME PRIZE THAT THE PERSON WHO SENT IN THE IMAGE RECEIVED.
Zoo agreed to this and then went back on its word (No use denying Zoo - I have it recorded.)
It was only after this that I sought payment for my images.
So, to reiterate Steve Nash’s selective point that “Unfortunately … have demanded substantial payments… claims.” omits a very important bit of history.
And as for substantial - Well I suppose it could be - but not for each image - FOR THE TOTAL OF FIFTEEN (that I know of) it could add up to a reasonable amount.
Then it went to their solicitors. (Wiggin)
I had yet another promise from EMAP that they would not use my images and I confirmed my website so they could check against the images they claimed were ’sent in’. They promised that they would avoid using the images that corresponded to those on my website.
You can hear it here :
This was on the 14th August 2006.
THEN, ABOUT 3 WEEKS LATER, IN EDITION 134 OF ZOO (8 to 14 September 2006) 2 MORE OF MY IMAGES WERE PUBLISHED BY EMAP.
A few months later, I blocked EMAP’s IP address on my image server. They didn’t seem to be using my site to prevent publishing my images - quite the reverse in my opinion.
Then, the attitude of Zoo and its agents hardened.
We advised Zoo’s agents of the proof I was going to supply to show I had created the ‘virals’. They did not state then that this was unacceptable. After 2 weeks of collating the information, the proof was dismissed almost immediately.
Funnily enough, others providing a similar amount of proof to Zoo directly have seen the mag dispatch prizes, sometimes up to the value of £450 to some blokes who make a phone call.
