Nowadays, it has become easy to obtain royalty free images for your personal or commercial use. Just Google and you're all set.
But where there is a prey, there emerges a predator. The use of free images has become so widespread that Japanese companies are starting to receive "legal notice" from overseas by self-proclaimed lawyers representing a client owning registered copyright of those images.
For decades, Japanese companies have seen "patent" trolls. But "copyright trolls" over mundane, public view images available on free websites is a rather recent phenomenon.
In this particular case, the company did nothing in response. With the "legal notice" email so legalistically well-crafted with references to Greek-sounding names of foreign legal codes, it was a little scary at first.
There was some internal debate where one argued that for someone - much less a foreigner living overseas - to enforce a copyright on one image of a public view by pursuing proper civil procedures at a Japanese court would not make any economic sense. Another even suspected that the email was generated by AI and sent by an AI bot.
The debate concluded when we found a decisive line at the bottom of the email. It stated to the effect: "If the recipient of this email is a small business or a poor person, we can give you a discount on the settlement price." They didn't even know or bother checking who we are.
Without help from a seasoned, bilingual professional on dispute resolution, small Japanese businesses might have missed that red flag and wired the payment out of fear. What ensues often is that the "actual copyright holder" shows up with a scary email saying that lawyer didn't really represent him and he needs the same amount of money paid to himself.
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From M&A to Actionable Research to Dispute Resolution, I get things done in Japan for all foreigners. Follow me on X for cutting-edge analysis and a unique perspective on everything happening in Japan as the drama unfolds.
The content of this blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice for any jurisdiction. No content herein shall be interpreted as legal counsel. If you have specific legal concerns, including copyright or other legal matters, you should consult a qualified lawyer in the relevant jurisdiction.