Q: I got dinged for image copyright violation. How to decide how much I should pay.
The company PicRights found a copyrighted image I used on a book review blog post seen by about 12 people. They want $110 for using the image on a commercial website. Is my site a commercial website? What determines a commercial website? There are no ads, nothing being sold but there are links to amazon. My site is brockdeskins.com
A:
Statutory damages are $750 on the low end, though a judge could lower it to $200. This assumes the work is registered, and they would also be entitled to attorneys fees and costs, which could be substantially more than the $750 that is likely.
As to a commercial website, do you make money when they click through to Amazon? If so, you arguably have a commercial website, though, in some ways that would not mater much at trial.
If you do settle, just be sure to get a release signed by them so they can't come after you again.
John Espinosa agrees with this answer
1 user found this answer helpful
A: Your website is promting the sale of your book, and you have amazon links to purchase the book embedded in your website. That makes it commercial.
John Espinosa agrees with this answer
1 user found this answer helpful
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