I recently received a letter from the Authors Coalition of America, which appears to be a watchdog group monitoring unauthorized use of copyrighted content around the globe.
They notified me that they tracked down and procured payment for one of my images that was used down in Australia without permission.
The whole thing seemed a bit odd, but the group appears legitimate, and they simply asked for a W-9 to be able to pay me the funds that they got from the "infringing" party.
On their website, they have a list of other artists that may be owed money, so it could be worth checking to see if your name is on there.
Has anyone else dealt with this outfit before? Assuming it is legitimate (guess I'll find out if/when a check comes), then it's nice to know someone's looking out for us.
Max
Posted by Lon Overacker on April 16, 2012 at 12:24 PM
Max,
Never heard of this organization. In general, I never, and it's always a good practice, provide information to unsolicited requests. In other words, they contacted you out of the blue? WHY would they, or HOW would they know, or look out for, your images and whether or not your work was being used without authorization? A quick peek, and one of those forms they need, the IRS W9... here's what they say on their site:
"This is the IRS request for the payee's Social Security number. We are required to report at the end of the calendar year on aggregate royalty payments made to you in excess of $10, and must use the payee's Social Security number for this reporting."
An unsolicited request for your SSN. I'd be very concerned personally. Sounds to me like a spam request in hopes of you "joining" and thus paying for membership.
Maybe someone else has some experience, but on the surface I'd be a little leary....
Lon, I signed up for an EIN number specifically for this reason (so I wouldn't have to hand out my Soc.). I did do a little research beforehand and what I did find wasn't negative.
Here's a release from the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), which is an organization I'm familiar with through my sports photography contacts, regarding their receipt of funds from the ACA. The American Society of Media Photographers has also received funds from them in the past.
Again, there wasn't much to go on, but what little I did find seemed to indicate that it is legitimate.
I may get completely hosed of course. I'll post an update once the next step (either good or bad) occurs.
Max
Posted by Lon Overacker on April 16, 2012 at 2:10 PM
Thanks Max. Sounds like you've done some homework, that's always a good thing. Would be curious to learn if this is indeed beneficial for you.
I'd be interested to know how they were able to procure payment for a copyright violation when they are not the copyright holders and have no legitimate claim to be paid. Sounds very fishy to me.
Discussion
8 repliesThey notified me that they tracked down and procured payment for one of my images that was used down in Australia without permission.
The whole thing seemed a bit odd, but the group appears legitimate, and they simply asked for a W-9 to be able to pay me the funds that they got from the "infringing" party.
On their website, they have a list of other artists that may be owed money, so it could be worth checking to see if your name is on there.
http://www.authorscoalition.org
Has anyone else dealt with this outfit before? Assuming it is legitimate (guess I'll find out if/when a check comes), then it's nice to know someone's looking out for us.
Max
Never heard of this organization. In general, I never, and it's always a good practice, provide information to unsolicited requests. In other words, they contacted you out of the blue? WHY would they, or HOW would they know, or look out for, your images and whether or not your work was being used without authorization? A quick peek, and one of those forms they need, the IRS W9... here's what they say on their site: An unsolicited request for your SSN. I'd be very concerned personally. Sounds to me like a spam request in hopes of you "joining" and thus paying for membership.
Maybe someone else has some experience, but on the surface I'd be a little leary....
Lon
Here's a release from the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), which is an organization I'm familiar with through my sports photography contacts, regarding their receipt of funds from the ACA. The American Society of Media Photographers has also received funds from them in the past.
Again, there wasn't much to go on, but what little I did find seemed to indicate that it is legitimate.
I may get completely hosed of course.
Max
Lon
Lon
Max
Guy