Finally sent my first cease and desist letter after a contractor stole my deck design photo for their website

I was just browsing around and saw my exact photo of that curved staircase deck I built in Denver last fall on some random contractor's site. No credit, no nothing. I was so mad I almost called them but my wife said wait and talk to a lawyer first. So I paid a lawyer $350 to draft a simple cease and desist letter and send it. I honestly thought they'd ignore it or argue. But they took it down within two days and even apologized. I never thought a piece of paper could do that much. Has anyone else had to protect their work photos?

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1 Comment

cora8133h ago

Did you ever find out if that $350 lawyer letter could also let you ask for some payment for them using your photo without permission? I read somewhere that if someone steals your work and profits from it, you might be able to get paid for that use. It's wild how fast they folded when they got that formal letter though, sometimes that's all it takes to scare people straight.