I received a subpoena beacuse of a picture I posted on Google map. How do I deal with it? Do I show up in the court as notice say ! this is a nuisance. Please share if any of the Google Guides came across this situation. Thank you for suggestion.
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Is the image still on Google Maps?
Are you accused of stealing the image (copyright issue)?
What you upload to Google Maps is your responsibility. It is very unlikely Google will help you.
Please share what they accuse you of having done wrong if you can.
Best of luck
Morten
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Hello mortencopenhagen,
No accusing! A personal injury lawer Subpoenaed me. She was filing a lawsuit against a business and she was using the photo of that business I posted in google maps back in 2018.
I removed the image though!
Oi, @Kathmandu_Nepal
Eu sempre digo, o Google é uma empresa Global, mas com regras locais.
Não sei como funciona direitos autorais no seu país mas:
No Canadá, mesmo que uma foto esteja visível no Google Mapas, elas não podem ser utilizadas sem autorização do proprietário da foto, que não é o Google, é quem postou a foto. Então se alguém usa uma foto, mesmo que seja em um processo sem autorização, esse indivíduo pode ser processado por uso indevido de imagens.
No Brasil, a utilização de uma imagem visível no Google Mapas sem autorização, se utilizada a “bem do público” sem ganhos financeiros geralmente quem fez uso, nestes casos específicos não é punido.
Se o problema não é com a imagem, e ela está sendo utilizado por um terceiro para um fim processual que nada tem com você, a remoção da imagem do Google Mapas pode não encerrar a intimação. Verifique aí, localmente, de preferência com alguém com entendimento Legal.
Sucesso
Gil
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Hi @Kathmandu_Nepal no one here can advise you on your local laws and court processes. It is up to each Local Guide to ensure they stay within local laws and customs. I would suggest you consider legal advice from a qualified practitioner.
I would be curious as to how the lawyer even found you from your photo. Your username isn’t exactly obvious either her or on Maps.
Paul
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Hola Gmapas,
I translated your suggestion into englinsh.
Muchas Gracias!
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@Kathmandu_Nepal Hi… if I understood your situation correctly, I had a similar situation happen to me.
Disclaimer: This is my personal experience and the details may not be accurate because it happened a while ago so the memory is a bit foggy and your situation may be different due to local laws.
My situation was that a lawyer in the US contacted me on behalf of their client for a personal injury lawsuit against a business in the US. A photo that I posted on Google Maps showed the condition of the grounds in front of the business and they wanted to use my photo as evidence in the lawsuit. I have attached a snippet of the email and hid any personal information on it:
I consulted a lawyer friend and he said that:
- there was nothing for me to worry about since it’s only about asking to use my photo as evidence if it goes to trial
- I can choose to ignore the email since I am not a citizen of the US and is very unlikely (because it’s expensive) for them to chase me on this issue
- it’s just a formality in their proceedings
In the end, I decided it wasn’t a big deal and replied to the lawyer but never received a response in the end. I can only assume that the matter never went to trial and at the end, they didn’t need to use my photo as evidence.
Anyway, that was what happened to me and I hope that my experience would help answer your questions. 
PS - When replying to a comment, it is useful to use the @ to tag the user with their username. That way they will receive a notification.
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