Unauthorized Distribution and Use of Images

Time and again, one reads in the relevant tabloid magazines about the online distribution of hacked private photos (leaks) of well-known film, television or music personalities, which attract great interest due to their fame. Even when quick action is taken regarding public figures, the damage is usually already done by the time the breach is discovered: websites providing and distributing these images are legally warned by attorneys and remove the photos if the owners can be reached for legal action, yet, as the saying goes, the Internet never forgets; an American star, for example, will have difficulty having their private photos removed from a website based in the Middle East without an imprint.

For private individuals not in the media spotlight, major problems also arise regarding the misuse of their images. The greater difficulty here lies in discovering the platforms distributing them, as no daily newspaper will inform them of the publication. Whether it is an ex-partner posting nude photos of a former partner on social networks or pornographic sites out of revenge, or personal holiday photos suddenly used as advertising on travel portals: the right to one’s own image (§ 22 KunstUrhG) is a protectable right, which the private detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Bochum also defend.

Globalisation as a Challenge for Copyright

Global connectivity has long become a problem for data protection, as people often feel anonymous online and act far more extremely than in everyday life. Publishing photos of a topless ex-girlfriend may seem like a “fun” act of revenge to some, but it is by no means trivial; according to § 201a BGB, it is a criminal offence: “(1) Whoever knowingly makes an authorised image recording available to a third party without consent, thereby violating the highly personal sphere of the person depicted, shall be punished by imprisonment of up to two years or a fine.” Our detectives in Bochum repeatedly investigate cases in which women are publicly exposed online by former partners, leading to major personal damage: reputation and employment suffer, shame and fear of reactions from family, friends, and colleagues affect daily life, and a feeling of insecurity governs interactions with others.

Victims (almost always women) contact the private and corporate detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Bochum (+49 234 3075 0073), hoping to remove the images and have the perpetrators prosecuted. With personal resources alone, little can be achieved in such cases.

An Uncountable Dark Figure

It is also alarming that only very few of those affected even become aware that their photos are circulating on the World Wide Web. How great would the coincidence have to be for the affected person to open precisely the one pornographic website on which her images, uploaded by her ex-partner, appear, if she had not been informed of this in some way? Our private detectives from Bochum assume a very high number of unreported cases of illegally distributed images.

If the victim is aware of the image theft or misuse, or at least harbours a suspicion, the detectives of the Kurtz Private Detective Agency Bochum become active: working closely with our IT specialists, we identify the distribution channels and – where possible – the IP addresses of the uploaders, in order to prove the direct involvement of specific individuals, for example the ex-partner’s best friend or a colleague, etc. The fact that the photographs were intended only for the former couple significantly narrows down the circle of perpetrators, apart of course from cases in which, as described above with celebrities, photos are hacked from a computer and disseminated by uninvolved third parties.

Other Forms of Unauthorised Dissemination of Images

Of course, there are also other cases of unlawfully distributed private photos beyond those described above. Particularly through the disclosure of the most personal details on social networks and the public sharing of holiday photographs, users of social media themselves facilitate making their images available to the web; even the supposed “security guidelines” of these networks often turn out to be a joke. Companies frequently use holiday or party photos of private individuals – primarily from other countries, if not even other continents – for their own corporate websites in order to suggest a special closeness to customers and to save on usage fees charged by major photo agencies. One client of the Kurtz Detective Agency Bochum was shocked when, during his summer holiday hiking through Thailand, he recognised his own face on an advertising billboard for coconut milk: it showed Franz T. from Bochum smiling with friends on a beach near the Danish coastal town of Skagen, where he had spent his holiday three years earlier. Our private detectives from Bochum established that the advertising agency behind this coconut milk campaign had not only searched Franz T.’s Facebook profile and misappropriated photos from it, but had even used private images from European and North American network profiles in a large proportion of its produced advertisements.

Through the evidence provided by our detectives proving that the right to the image lay with Franz T., the advertising agency was forced into an out-of-court compensation payment in order to avoid being drawn into a lengthy legal dispute. Whether it has since completely refrained from using unwilling advertising faces is open to doubt, because here too the rule applies: what I do not know does not bother me. As long as those affected do not complain, their photos will continue to be used without permission and misappropriated for advertising purposes. And where there is no suspicion, our IT specialists from Bochum are, of course, unable to provide assistance.

My Personal Photos Have Been Disseminated – What Now?

If you yourself or a member of your family has become a victim of such unlawful dissemination or unauthorised use of private images, contact the Kurtz Detective Agency in Bochum directly. Our detectives identify the perpetrators, obtain court-admissible evidence and, where necessary, also assist you as witnesses in court in order to bring the offenders before the judiciary and secure your compensation and your rights. If you merely suspect a possible misuse of your private images, our corporate detectives can work together with IT experts to investigate whether images of you are indeed circulating without authorisation. Should your images have been used commercially without your consent, our Bochum private detectives will endeavour to achieve a swift and smooth resolution of your case; in such circumstances, in addition to a claim for damages (§ 97 BGB), you are entitled either to a proportion of the profits generated using your image (§ 252 BGB) or to an appropriate licence fee.

Note

All names and locations have, of course, been altered to ensure complete anonymity.