Submissions copyright issue / model or photog is screwing me

[furrygirl]

I'm dealing with an irritating situation today, and I'm wondering if anyone else has an experience like mine.

On my site Veg Porn, I advertise that I buy exclusive photos submitted by models. I am very clear with models that I only buy exclusive content, so they can't submit the same pics to other sites. Veg Porn is not a fancy set-up, and as far as I know, most of the models shoot their photos with their partners or friends. (Harkavy shot one set, and he's credited with it.)

Today, someone emailed me that a guy going by "Skulz" is giving away free CDs of content I purchased from a model on his Geocities page. (I've already complained to Yahoo about a possible copyright issue.) The page tells people that it's stupid to pay for porn when he'll happily send you the full set for free on a CD, and he names another site he claims to have taken photos for and is giving away content from. The sites says,

"Some of the photos above can be found @ (Veg Porn :: Models : Ewon) and many other porn related web sites. ~ I posted some photos here as I was the photographer yet I did not get credit for this work. I have posed some of the images here for free. No need to pay to see them @ (Veg Porn :: Models : Ewon) or if they are still on Suicidegirls.com I am not clear on that issue. The set was taken for Suicidegirls.com in May of 2004. I am a general photographer, it was Erin Crabill who sold the photos I took to porn web sites, not H Street Studio / Nowhere Productionz."

So, either this guy is lying, or the model purposely sold me something she didn't own, or she did not understand the concept of exclusive and made an honest mistake.

Anyhow, I've been screwed by someone. I do realize that the law side with the photographer as the owner of copyrights, but it's bullshit that there's no way for me ensure that, buying submission from a model, that I actually "own" them.

I guess I should add a clause in my model release with something to the effect of the model stating that his/her photos are both exclusive and owned by them solely. (But it would still feel like a catch-22, such as if an under 18 person signs a contract: it's null and void since they are under 18.) A model can't sign away the copyright on photos she didn't take.

I don't know what else to do besides scratch this as a loss, but I have emailed the model to get her side of it. I've asked to either get a copyright release from her photographer or get back the $240 I've paid her for "exclusive" content, but I'm not counting on getting either.

Any advice on not getting screwed again in this arena?