The photo of that beautiful sunrise you found through a Google search? It would look great on your Airbnb website to show guests how nice South Florida’s beaches can be in the morning.
Just copy and paste it next to the pic of that charming beachfront cottage you’re renting out.
Perfect — until you hear from an attorney representing the owner of that photo.
The letter says you committed an act of copyright infringement and you need to cough up a good chunk of cash if you want to avoid having to defend yourself in federal court.
You’ve just learned that the free-wheeling internet isn’t so free.
A phone call alerted John Abdelsayed, a Realtor with the West Palm Beach-based Trends Realty USA Corp., that he was being accused of illegally using a photo as a profile image of a community that included a property he was trying to sell.
“At first I thought it was one of those IRS scams — you know, ‘send money now or someone will be at your house to arrest you.’ I had used a photo from MLS [Multiple Listing Service] but thought I was allowed. Then I got a demand letter and thought it was a scam,” he said. “It wasn’t until they filed…
