[h=1]SyFy Uses Copyrighted Images in Their Heroes of Cosplay Show, Neglects to Get Permission From Photographers[/h]http://www.thephoblographer.com/2013/08/26/syfy-uses-copyrighted-images-in-their-heroes-of-cosplay-show-neglects-to-get-permission-from-photographers/
Classy. If someone did that with their work, they'd drop a platoon of sharks on the person. You would imagine a major media company would understand copyright.
According to this report by BGZ Studios, SyFy was using copyrighted images in their Heroes of Cosplay showalbeit without the photographers consent. And apparently, it werent just a few pictures, but the copyright infringement was massive. One of the photographers whose images were used without permission (let alone proper compensation) is Brian Humphrey, who happens to be an affiliate of BGZ Studios. So BGZs Darrell Ardita took the matter up, and sent SyFy an invoice for the eight images used in the show to which Brian holds the copyright, asking a total compensation sum of almost $ 30k, together with a detailed letter explaining the legal grounds. However, instead of complying with the request, SyFy tried to talk their way out of the affair, stating that they had an agreement with the Cosplayers shown in the images, who happen to be the legal co-authors of the photographs. When Darrell pointed out to them that this was not the case, the people in charge at SyFy/NBC tried to put an end to the affair by threatening to compromise the careers of the cosplayers featured in the show.
Classy. If someone did that with their work, they'd drop a platoon of sharks on the person. You would imagine a major media company would understand copyright.