Copyright Aid

If the alleged infringement took place on publication - in my case 2015 - why are they trying to charge me a fee quoted on their current 2023 rate card? This would be like a builder doing some work on your house in 2015 but not invoicing you until 2025 and charging you his 2025 hourly rate.

You have to understand that the analogy you used is if you had entered into a contract with the rights holder - this is not the case. You have been accused of using a copyrighted image, the claimant is free to ask the court for their normal licensing fees (not the lowest you can find on Istock) and also dissuasive damages (plus additional uplifts for non-attribution etc). Various IPEC judgements by Judge Birse (senior IPEC judge) are very clear on this and are usually relied upon in the quantum part of the hearing. This is backed up by the Copyright Designs & Patent Act 1988 and various pieces of EU (which the UK is still signed up to) and the Berne Copyright Convention. My feelings given the several recent rulings, as long there is clear evidence of the copyright holders licensing charges that the court would easily rule in their favour and defendant runs the real risk of significant dissuasive damages. Last week, a colleague was awarded 200% uplift plus interest and costs (approx £5300) on 3 qty images. I am awaiting a copy of the judgement. The defendant ran up a legal bill of nearly £15k with a very similar defence which they now have to pay themselves plus the court order.