GDPR. CASE LAW FOR NON CONSENT

NW6NW6

My photograph has been printed in a Company's brochure for advertising purposes.
They claim to have my consent but have failed to provide this, I am claiming compensation through the small claims court, can anyone advise of case law that I can refer to ?

Many thanks

y3sitsm3

Wouldn't this be copyright infringement rather than a breach of privacy?

Where did you put the photos for them to obtain them?

y3sitsm3

To be add to the above, if this was a photo of your property that they took so they could show off their work, it's also not going to be a breach of the GDPR, there is no personal information contained in images of your house.

user1977

By "my photograph" do you mean you were the photographer?

Gavin83

user1977 said:

By "my photograph" do you mean you were the photographer?

I thought this first of all but I’m wondering if they mean the photo is actually of them. Need clarification on this and more detail around how they came to be in possession of the picture.

Keep_pedalling

If you are the photographer then you should simply bill them for the use of the photograph, but it sounds like you are in the shot rather than the copyright owner. Professional photographers will normally obtain a model release from anyone included in photographs they plan to sell, but people are reluctant to pay professionals these days so mainly use images from amateurs.

No one is breaking any laws by using photos taken in street regardless of whether the shot contains identifiable members of the public or not. A book publisher will still require a MR but that is not going to be the case for a leaflet or brochure.

As for compensation, what are your actual financial losses? The SCC are only going to be interested in those. 

https://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/latest/photo-news/street-photographers-guidance-60009

[Deleted User]

Personally, I would be very wary of taking Court action unless I knew exactly what I was claiming in the way of compensation. By way of example, I have an EO judgement and the supplier owes me £100 but so far it has refused to pay. Clearly, I am owed £100 and I have an EO Decision to back up my claim. This is a good case for the SCC.

As stated above, what are you expecting the Court to do - even if it accepts your case? It is not going to award you £1000s in damages. If it did, the other party would probably Appeal. This would be a civil action and, if you lost your case, you could find yourself paying the other party’s legal fees. Have you asked the other party whether they will agree to arbitration? They probably won’t, but by suggesting it any future legal action that you might take would be enhanced: albeit, not by much.

Grumpy_chap

NW6NW6 said:

My photograph has been printed in a Company's brochure for advertising purposes.
They claim to have my consent but have failed to provide this, I am claiming compensation through the small claims court, can anyone advise of case law that I can refer to ?

Many thanks

If this was a photograph showing the OP taken within a private venue, for example a hotel pool, then there is often a statement at the check-in or in the Ts&Cs that says something to the effect that from time to time photographs may be taken and used in promotional displays etc.  This type of notice usually requires the individual to say to the staff if they are not happy - like an "opt out" to withdraw consent.

If that were the case, the OP should be flattered that they were considered sufficiently photogenic to be selected over all the other guests

MattMattMattUK

NW6NW6 said:

My photograph has been printed in a Company's brochure for advertising purposes.
They claim to have my consent but have failed to provide this, I am claiming compensation through the small claims court, can anyone advise of case law that I can refer to ?

Many thanks

It depends what you mean by "my photograph", if you means a photograph you took then it is a copyright claim. As you mention GDPR I presume a photograph of you, in which case in the UK and EU they do not need your consent so long as the photograph was taken legally.

robatwork

I read this as it's a photo of the OP.

Please be more precise - is it a photo of you or one you took?

If of you, is it just you, close up, and perhaps with a caption like "Another happy WidgetCo client" or in a group of people without annotation?

Undervalued

NW6NW6 said:

My photograph has been printed in a Company's brochure for advertising purposes.
They claim to have my consent but have failed to provide this, I am claiming compensation through the small claims court, can anyone advise of case law that I can refer to ?

Many thanks

Compensation for what?

As others have said far more information is needed to offer any useful advice.

It all depends on the circumstances but, generally, there are many misconceptions about "rights" to privacy etc.

If you mean it was a photograph you have taken and (most likely) own the copyright then that is far simpler. However, all you would be likely to get is a reasonable reproduction fee.