Copyright - Haiti Observer Blog

I did not know that a simple picture taken during the 2010 earthquake in Haiti could be worth $1.22mn. This is what Daniel Morel will get following a verdict against AFP and Getty Images for wilfully infringed his copyright in 2010.

Not bad

A jury of seven-member reach a unanimous verdict against AFP and Getty Images over the use of Daniel Morel's pictures that were taken during the 2010 Haiti quake.

AFP obtained a total of eight photographs from the Twitter account of Lisandro Suero. According to the report, Lisandro had posted the picture on his own account without given proper credit to Morel

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Haitian photographer, Daniel Morel, was awarded $1.22 million in statutory damages in a copyright infringement case in late November. The lawsuit brought by Morel and Corbis Photo concerned eight photographs taken by Morel of the aftermath of Haiti's 2010 earthquake.

The trouble began after Morel posted the photos on his TwitPic account. Another Twitter user re-posted the pictures on his own timeline, neglecting to either credit Morel, or layout the owner's restrictions for other conditions regarding their usage.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) and its U.S. affiliate, Getty Images, published the photos without asking Morel permission. Although AFP tried to make reparations after discovering their error, he was unavailable. Prior to trying to reach him, AFP emailed their subscription base, correctly crediting Morel as the real photographer. Getty Images also issued a mandatory kill to tell their clients the photos were not to be used for any purpose.

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Before becoming the President of Haiti, Michel Martelly had a long career of 25 years as a musician. He was popular by the nickname Sweet Micky. Martelly has been one of most popular Haitian musicians in the history of the island nation. On Friday, May 31, 2013, he registered his music at BHDA (Haitian Office of Copyright). BHDA was established in the year 2005. The intention of the institution was to protect the rights of the authors and artists.

After over two decades of a successful career as a musician, President Martelly eventually completed his application form and to this, the National Palace responded by saying that this action by President Michel 'Sweet Micky' Martelly actually demonstrated the registration to set tone for all creative people that include writers, composers and artist. Some twenty other artists were also registered the same day.

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