Quote:
Originally posted by jact
No, if it was an issue of copyright infringement I wouldn't have an issue. But we have infringed on nothing, we used their content under their guidelines.
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OK, I'm trying to think this thing through.
The partner accounts are your first priority. The way to protect them is, leave the galleries up. That's EASY.
The sponsor/content provider wants you to take the galleries down. So?
If you are using their content pursuant to their guidelines, you have a licence. They tell you to pull the content, just say "Sorry, that would have commercially unacceptable consequences for us, we won't do it."
What are they going to do? Send you a DCMA "Notice and Take Down"? So send 'em an "I have the right to this content" DCMA counter-notice. Your hosting provider, if he's good, will honor your counter-notice, and you'll be good until the sponsor sues you.
When he does, so what? He'll try to establish actual or statutory damages, you'll try to establish that you had a licence and so no damages are due. It sounds like this dispute is worth some lawyer fees. At some point during this process, your lawyer can point out to their lawyer the economic value of your partner accounts, and explain that if they terminate your license without cause, they will be liable for the damages you suffer. Odds are, your potential damages are at least as big as the damages they could recover in a copyright suit, even if they could win one.
So what am I missing? If the partner accounts are the priority here, tell your sponsor to go fuck himself, and let the lawyers sort it out. The volume of business you are talking about, it sounds like a no-brainer to me.