Picrights Reviews 246

May be legit, but what a lousy way to earn a living. We received a letter regarding a blog post that reused a photo that was published in our local newspaper related to an interview with our firm. Three years later, we received a notice that the image was copyrighted and we owe $500 for our use of the image. I thought it was a scam and ignored it. I just now received a nastier letter from a law firm asking for almost three times as much. We endeavor to never use images that we don't have the rights to. This could have been resolved by simply asking us to remove the image. But, Picrights apparently trolls the internet looking for any violation - large or small.
Just a completely distasteful organization, in my opinion.

With scammers all over the internet, when I first received the demand from PicRights.com I thought that this was just another scam, as did my webmaster. I did a number of internet searches and found countless posts stating that PicRights was just a scam. So I called and spoke with their agent, Mr. Hussain and he assured me that this was not a scam and that PicRIghts was the legitimate agent for the Associated Press. Unconvinced I decided to contact the AP myself and left a message on their website asking if PicRIghts was in fact their legitimate agent. Within an hour I received an email back from the AP verifying that PicRIghts was in fact their agent and advised me to continue working with PicRights to resolve this issue. That settled it for me; PicRIghts was in fact the legitimate agent of the AP and this demand was real and not just an internet scam. My webmaster agreed, and she then contacted PicRights and made payment for the unlicensed use of an AP image.
Be advised that if you choose to ignore the letter PicRights can and will escalate their demand to their legal department, at which point lawyers become involved and their monetary demand will increase substantially. My suggestion is to contact PicRIghts directly and see if they are open to negotiating a lower fee; it cannot hurt. Ignoring their demand will not make it go away, it will only lead you to more grief and anxiety.

A bunch of crooks trying to get people to pay unreasonable money for just using a photo.

SCAMMERS...SCAMMERS....BE AWARE AND TAKE LEGAL ADVICE. I AM FOLLOWING MY LAWYER ADVICE....THIS IS NOT LEGITIMATE..

I believe this company is a scam.
They contacted us about an unlicensed image on our website on an old blog post and demanded money for it. They said they have given us warning letters & emails, although we had not received any of these. We are a very small education company, and of course, we immediately took it down. They have since kept demanding money from it, and keep sending us their bank details. After researching the company and reading the comments, I believe they are a scam company. Be careful.

UPDATE:
"It is now 2025, and this scam company has done nothing. My solicitor was right all along; read my review until the end, and they'll leave you alone. "

REVIEW:
I had an office in London, which I paid for two years in advance. I couldn't use it due to COVID, and a week ago, I went to collect my belongings and terminate the contract. I found 27 letters from this company!!! (Nov 2019, the first one, and last week, the last two) threatening me with the court if I don't pay for 3 pics on my site. I have the rights (licenses) to use those pics, so I called them right away. Had a chat with one of their directors over the phone. He tried to talk me into paying for the pictures, despite insisting I have the licenses and stating that I want him to check them, remove me from his database, and cease sending me letters. He said that checking the licenses is a very complex and lengthy process, and it is not something they can do right away. Moreover, in his opinion, it was best to pay him first, and only then, prove that I have the right to the pics and request a refund. Otherwise, I might go to prison, he added. I then asked how come they did not take me to court yet, after 2 years and 27 threatening letters, and he said "I'll put you right now at the top of our list and make sure this reaches the legal system". I then called my solicitor, explained the situation, and was told to stop engaging with them as long as I have the rights of the pics. Upon closer examination of the letters, I notice that they conceal the business name and frequently change their address, suggesting a potential scam. The last address is P.O. Box 14622, Erdington, Birmingham, B23 3GS. Here's another tip that my solicitor gave me on how to deal with this kind of letter threat and abuse.

1. Check the address on the letter. If it is from them, don't open the letter.
2. Write on the letter: "NOT KNOWN AT THIS ADDRESS"
3. Put the letter back in the post. The letter is then sent back to the scammer, and the scammer has to PAY return postage, depleting the scammer's funds.

Just had an interaction with this company recently. I inadvertently used a picture copyrighted by the AP on my website of a building that we helped to construct.

No warning was issued, they sent me a form email stating I was violating the copyright by using the image and that I owed them $1,000 or they would pursue legal action.

We of course removed the image, but there was no negotiating or any maneuvering room with this company. It was an honest mistake, but for them there was no solution but to pay.

The whole process seemed very shady and underhanded in their approach.

I got a letter saying I owed $750 for the use of an image on my non profit site. I read that some people ignore it, then end up slapped with a lawsuit so I called Picrights and talked them down to $225. I removed the pic and learned that I will always get my images from shutterstock or elsewhere from now on. Although I was not happy to have to pay so much for a photo that I did not make money from, but glad I took care of it and it didn't turn into a lawsuit. Paying them off $225 is much better than the cost and the headache of hiring a lawyer and going to court. Is this ethical practice on their part? Not exactly but I could understand if I was a photographer and people were using my images I would not want people stealing my work without crediting me, and companies hire people like them to ensure their work is safe. I am relieved and moving on...

This is the second time this disgusting business has threatened me. They put tagged images onto google without any copyright info, but with a tag to find out who is using them and then claim £900 to use the image ... Parasites. Don't fall for their disgusting activities. I purchased a licence £45 for a similar image from shutterstock. Don't Pay them a Penny !! Only way to put these con artists out of business

Just received an email from Picrights demanding £700 for two pictures used on our blog post, we are a tiny educational company and we downloaded from Royalty Free image website. However, we could not find it on stock photo website anymore (mysteriously), it just says everything about this despicable company trying to extort money from micro company. I also just checked company house record, guess what, it’s only registered Nov 2020 with one director, a French national. I am going to write to Reute about their ownership of House of Fraser and Jack Ma photos used in our purely educational purpose blog post, there is no financial gain for our micro company, especially, we downloaded from Istock in the first place. I will definitely fight this case, even if it means I have to contact House of Fraser and Jack Ma directly.

This company is a disgusting parasite that preys mostly on non-profit charities to suck dishonest and unearned profit from others by deception. Most of the positive reviews are clearly from the source. Read the language, obviously self justifying propaganda. These scumb@gs should be picked up in a poo bag and discarded in the dog waste bin with all the other stinking tu!ds - yuck.

They sent a demand for £1300+ for an image innocently used on a non-commercial blog in sharing a Guardian article. We paid them £45 so they'd go away, but I'm sure if we'd stuck to our guns they'd have gone away anyway and tried to bully someone else. They don't even seem to understand the copyright law they threaten you with. They appeared totally amateur to me.

PicRights use clever software to identify old blog posts that use obscure pictures and then auto-email the companies, using tracking software to build up a profile of the people who open the email, so they can keep emailing them. After identifying receipt of email but no engagement, they send letters to dupe the companies into thinking they have a serious adversary who will go all the way to collect exorbitant fees. These fees, they say will increase as legal costs get applied if no action is taken.
Its all a lie. Don't waste your breath. Put the emails in spam and the letters in the bin.
Over many months, maybe a year, we received emails and letters from PicRights telling us we had breached copyright on a blog post 3 years ago and owed them £350. There has been scant detail on the owner of the copyright, just some reference to a picture agency that anybody could have found using Google picture search. No information on the photographer, or who commissioned the photo etc. Like others, we eventually got a letter from Burness Paull LLP. Now I've had threatening letters from solicitors in the past which are always addressed to me, and they clearly come from a named solicitor. The letter I had from Burness Paull was nothing like it.
I've now built up a picture of PicRights. Their mission statement: extort money from individuals and small businesses that don't have access to consistent legal advice. Use copyright as its obscure and there are bogus legal experts on forums who are keen advocates for the payment of copyright fees. Write fake reviews on Trustpilot and lies on forums. Use case management to project a professional and consistent image, and have case handlers who always negotiate the price down. Bingo, created an income stream. Hang on they said, we could extort more money if we got a law firm to write a letter. Somebody has a contact in IT at Burness Paull who can get their hands on stationary and create a group name on their mail server; wallop, we can extort even more money.
PicRights lie on Trustpilot. They impersonate and lie on forums; my favourite "I phoned AP who told me they employ PicRights to take care of infringement problems". They are a scammer in plain sight. They have no authority over the images they pursue. Don't take the bait; DO NOT RESPOND to them. They have no right to know your name. Do not pay a penny. Hold your nerve. Don't get angry; relax, pretend it never happened, because nothing will (apart from more emails and letters which you promise me you will put in the bin)

Bunch of scammy c*nts, trying to export money unethically. Delete and ignore if you are emailed by them

Our non-profit organization occasionally uses stock photography to represent natural disasters and suffering around the world when we do not have photos of our own. The goal is always to raise funds to help relieve that suffering. The images are used for editorial purposes. We do our upmost to ensure that we use all images fairly. But apparently a past staff member mistakenly (and unintentionally) chose a few images for our blog that we shouldn't have used. We received letters and emails from Picrights demanding over $1,500 in compensation. We regret not being more careful in screening these images, but this license violation was completely unintentional. This is a very hefty fee for our non-profit and a hindrance to our mission, even with the non-profit discount they offered us. I admit I feel taken advantage of. While I understand the need to protect the rights of photographers, it seems that Picrights is using these violations to line their own pockets. I wish that Picrights would consider the financial burden being placed on small business owners and non-profit organizations who were not even aware they were guilty of using images unfairly. We would gladly have taken those images down or purchased licenses if we had known.

PicRights is a bona fide company that we have employed since 2018 to manage copyright compliance on our behalf. We strive to protect the intellectual property and livelihoods of the artists and creators of the imaging we represent. Our business is licensing imaging to brands, design agencies, advertising agencies and publishing houses for an agreed use in return for renumeration. When images are used without being agreed or paid for, this damages not only our business, but the creators of those images that have invested substantial amounts of time and money producing these images. Throughout our relationship with Picrights, they have been both ethical and transparent in the process of pursuing monies that are both rightfully and legally owed to us. If Picrights has contacted you about a potential copyright infringement, please deal directly with them to resolve the matter. If you are obtaining pictures from the internet, please double-check that you have the rights necessary that you need.

I run a small business and PICrights are trying to extract €472 from me and i will fight this to my dying day.

They are a despicable company.

What makes them suspect, spam-ish and Phishy is the fact that all the positive reviews on here are literally on the same day or days posted from each other. It's like they paid people to post reviews. Listen, there are ways to go about communicating with people, and threatening and aggressively demanding high amounts of money from images are absurd. Like how do they come up with the fee amount? How do they base it?

Big time scammers, going after random web blogs, go f yourselves

picrights protect my images , i am a photographer and photos i have taken being used without my permission or never bought from me.
the same way you wouldn't want people stealing work you create i don't want people stealing my photos but it happen - this is why picrights exists.