02/14/2024
I decided to speak publically about this and make this a public post to to share with others who may have had the same experience. Please share.
As many of you know, I no longer work for Northbank. I have no hard feelings against the organization, but I want to share more about what happened. My goal is to promote transparency in an industry where, all too often, perceived wrongdoings are kept quiet.
I would also like to encourage those who have been in similar situations as me, to speak out. Nothing will change unless we can call attention to the issues in the industry. Comments for this post will be turned off. Please reach out to me directly to share your story, which I promise will remain anonymous.
In 2021, I observed the Vancouver-based social media marketing firm Zzeppelin, Inc. using over 25 photographs I took on their website and social media accounts without my permission. I contacted the company, stating my position that their unauthorized use was copyright infringement.
Zzeppelin hired a lawyer to write me back, advancing the theory that I had granted Zzeppelin an “implied license” to use my photographs and, for this reason, there was no infringement. With this letter, Zzeppelin’s lawyer also warned me against going public with this matter on the basis that doing so would harm Zzeppelin’s business and constitute defamation. The letter concluded with “cease and desist” language, demanding that I abstain from making false public statements about infringement by Zzeppelin.
After I got that letter and realized Zzeppelin intended to aggressively defend what I viewed as wrongful conduct, I reached out to my photography insurance plan Pixsy. This is an online platform that allows image owners such as myself to discover where and how our images are being used online. Pixsy will match its members with an intellectual property (IP) lawyer if unauthorized use is identified. I submitted a claim to Pixsy and moved on.
As the years passed, I continued to work as a photographer while providing social marketing services to several local brewery clients.
In November of 2023, I learned that the Northbank Brewer’s Alliance was looking to hire a Marketing Director. At the time, I expressed my interest to Northbank’s President Sunny Parsons. Since Zzeppelin’s owner, Michael, also now owns Vice Brewing, which is a member of Northbank, I felt it necessary to be upfront with Sunny and disclose to him via email the underlying copyright infringement claim from 2021. We even discussed the matter further on a subsequent Zoom call.
In December, I was told Michael was concerned that, as the Marketing Director, I would not fairly promote Vice as a Northbank member.
Sunny and the other members of the Northbank Board seemed to accept whatever potential conflict may or may not have existed by me serving as the organization’s Marketing Director and offered me the job.
I would like to state that I can only describe what happened next from my subjective experience of how events unfolded.
On February 6, I received a text message from Sunny telling me that my outstanding pre-litigation efforts against Zzeppelin were a “conflict of interest” for Northbank. I was given an ultimatum: drop the copyright claims against Zzeppelin or lose my job.
Before making a decision, I consulted with a civil lawyer, in which I shared my feeling that my copyright claim was being used against me. This lawyer suggested we discuss the matter with my IP lawyer. But before I could even get in touch with my IP lawyer, Sunny informed me that Northbank was terminating my contract.
It’s hard not to speculate, but it stands to reason that Michael told Sunny and/or the Northbank Board about my IP lawyer’s recent demand letter. It wasn’t long after Michael received my lawyer’s demand letter that Sunny contacted me, talking about this supposed “conflict of interest.
I don’t know exactly what Michael intended or did, but I can say that I was given a choice: drop the copyright claim against Zzeppelin or lose my job. It’s understandable that Northbank would want this kind of drama to go away. Still, for the time being, I am going to exercise my rights as a photographer and continue to pursue my copyright claim against Zzeppelin.
In closing, I want to emphasize that it is very hard for me to share this story, particularly because of the potential repercussions I may face if Zzeppelin or Michael bring allegations of defamation against me as previously threatened.
I want to be clear, it is not my intention to harm Northbank, Zzeppelin, Michael, or Vice. I’ve made my best effort to include all the relevant facts in an already lengthy post. If certain facts are left out, it is unintentional on my part and certainly not meant to convey a false impression.
