what are my options?

[jarin4all]

Two years ago I made a web site by experimenting with different web designs to sell arts and crafts products. I was new to the process of setting up web pages and I was trying different styles and I used an image from google to see how the picture would look within the confines of the website. And after a couple of days I removed the image and replaced it with images that I had taken. Now its been well over six since I shut down the website and I got an email stating that the image has been used without license. And I don't recall still using the image when the site was active. I shut down the website because I couldn't sell a single item from the site. I am being sued for a settlement of $2500, which i don't have anything to offer. What are my options? Also after doing research on my past site, i realized one image was used before i shut down my site. I got the email 4-5 months after the site has been shut down. What are my options against a law suite concerning infringement rights violations? What if I don't want to agree to settle?

[stinger]

jarin4all,  First calm down.  Don't react emotionally to any of this.  Chances are they will not sue. 

First, get educated.  There is lots of information on this site to help you calculate your chances of being sued. 

Make sure you have taken down all images that you may not have a valid license to.

Read all that you can about whoever is coming after you, before planning your strategy.  Unfortunately, there are no easy answers but lots of options.  The option you choose should be based on what you prefer as well as the particulars of your situation.

Step away.  Breathe.  Come back, Get more educated.  In a week or two, you will feel better that the world is not going to cave in.  If you want comments on your specific situation, you should post as many specifics as you can.  In the end, you will need to make the best decision for yourself.

[Greg Troy (KeepFighting)]

First, you mean you received a extortion settlement demand letter not that you have actually been sued, correct?  There is a world of difference and the opinions on how to proceed we provide would be completely different.  The letters are designed to look like there is an eminent lawsuit to instill fear in you and get you to pay.

Second, Getty uses a program called Pic-Scout to scour the net and find images.  It may take awhile after an image is found for a letter to be sent.  Unless the image was behind a password protected area then Pic-Scout could find it. So it is not unreasonable to get a letter over such an image.

If you have just received a letter and are not being sued you have 3 options.  I suggest as Stinger says to read and get educated before attempting ANY sort of communication with them.

Option 1: 
Do nothing.  Many favor this option and may be the best if you have little stomach for confrontation or dealing directly with Getty and/or McCormack IP Law.

Option 2:
Fight it yourself.  This is my personal choice but it is not right for everyone.  There is a detailed thread called "An Experiment Against Getty" that documents everything I did to make Getty go away.  I have not heard from them again since filing my complaints against them. You must follow through if you choose this route.


Option 3:
See legal help.  Whether it by a competent local copyright attorney or Oscar's defense letter program. If going the local route make sure the person is well versed in copyright and IP law.  You wouldn't go to your general practitioner doctor for heart surgery, you would go to someone who specializes in it and the same holds true for this.

This is also an option if you do not want to be contacted by Getty anymore, once you have council they may no longer contact you.

Those are your options, now it's up to you to read and get educated and ask questions when you don't understand something.  Please keep up posted.

[jarin4all]

Thanks Stinger for quick reply and suggestions- the site was shutdown for over 4 months, i made the site as an experiment with the little knowledge and there was not single visitor other than myself and later i discontinued the hosting coz i couldn't afford the monthly fees. The site is still registered under my name because it was paid for 1yr period, which i planned not to renew anymore way before they sent me a letter. So i don't think any of their image has been used. In fact i even don't have access to the site.

Greg Troy thanks for the option. Well i want to add one more info, i emailed them regarding the letter supposedly they sent me for the first time which i have never received.
i am not sure if i can post it here coz they clearly mentioned as a confidential at the bottom of the email, i dont want to be in trouble again but heres the portion of the email they sent me.

"I am writing to confirm receipt of our letter dated September 25, 2014 regarding ---------- claim against -------- for the unlicensed use of imagery at http://------.  If you have not yet received our letter, please let me know and I can forward a copy.
 
To resolve this matter, the imagery must be removed from the website, if not already.  --- is also seeking payment for the prior unlicensed use and is currently willing to accept $2,678.20 in full and final settlement of this matter if payment in full is made by October 16, 2014.  This offer is made without prejudice to Mr. Molon’s legal rights and remedies available under law, all of which are expressly reserved.
 
We look forward to hearing from you by October 16, 2014"

And unfortunately i should have done research before i emailed them back but i got nervous and was not sure what to do and what they were talking about. Because the site was inactive for a long time from my side. Heres my response to them, like i said i didn't know what to do and i did a quick online search and some body had posted on a blog an article about the issue and mentioned not to avoid contacting them.I wish i visited this site prior to my response.

"I have not received your letter about this situation, and the website has been shut down for well over six months. I don’t have access to the site anymore because I shut it down as I was unable to sell anything. I am not sure what image that you are referring to. I’ve stated that the site was shut down because the business was a failure and I do not have the money that --- is requesting for the damages for his mentioned image."

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

pay no mind to their "confidentiality" clause, it means nothing unless both parties agree to it and it is signed somewhere, by both, kinda like a contract..your free to share it, and they have no recourse. I wouldn't worry to much about this, the site is gone and if you have no money and they sued, you'd still have no money.

[stinger]

I would NOT correspond with them via email.  It is too easy for either party to claim they never received an important communication.  Spam filters and such sometimes grab these things.  Your first email communication did let them know that they found you.

All my correspondence was via registered mail.  This leaves me with a solid written record of all that was said in case it should ever get in front of a judge.  And I often waited till the last minute to send my response.  Legally the statute of limitations gives them 3 years from the moment they discover the incident to collect.  Why help them by being prompt?

Robert is right, there is no confidentiality without both parties written consent.  Your willingness to publicize their every move might slow them down a bit.

Keep getting educated.  Time is your ally

[Jerry Witt (mcfilms)]

Oh, this is an email? Wait for them to send you a legitimate business letter via mail first.

[jarin4all]

@Buddhapi,Stinger and mcfilms   thanks for the response, well i shouldnt have mailed them in the first place but i know one thing for sure they are not getting shit. I dont think they have my valid address because the address registered on my site is old one and i have moved to two different state. They might have my phone no and email on my registered site. But anyway after going through a lots of reading and understanding on this site, Its interesting to see how it goes. McCormack Intellectual Property Law is sending me the email for Alfred Molon’s copyright  infringement claim. I assume they will shoot me another email pretty soon.

[jarin4all]

Update-- after doing a research i found the image on my laptop. Now i wanted to check the metadata for the image and all i got is this info, i tried different way but thats all i got. By the way i used Exiftool 9.72
any thoughts??

ExifTool Version Number         : 9.72
---- System ----
File Name                       : kathmandu-city-tour.jpg
Directory                       : /Volumes/
File Size                       : 63671
File Modification Date/Time     : 2013:04:02 03:05:54-04:00
File Access Date/Time           : 2014:10:12 22:02:47-04:00
File Inode Change Date/Time     : 2013:06:21 12:23:55-04:00
File Permissions                : 777
---- File ----
File Type                       : JPEG
MIME Type                       : image/jpeg
Image Width                     : 678
Image Height                    : 240
Encoding Process                : 0
Bits Per Sample                 : 8
Color Components                : 3
Y Cb Cr Sub Sampling            : 1 1
---- JFIF ----
JFIF Version                    : 1 2
Resolution Unit                 : 0
X Resolution                    : 100
Y Resolution                    : 100
---- Ducky ----
Quality                         : 60
---- Adobe ----
DCT Encode Version              : 100
APP14 Flags 0                   : 49152
APP14 Flags 1                   : 0
Color Transform                 : 1
---- Composite ----
Image Size                      : 678x240

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

this exif doesn't tell us anything of importance. Many times the exif data is stripped by software, depending on what is used..Facebook for example strips all exif info when something is uploaded there, while flickr does not. Whats more important is to search and see if the image is registered with the copyright office.. Seattle Attorney Timothy B. McCormack is a hack attorney and most serves as a collection agent, he won't be the one to file suit.

[Matthew Chan]

Robert, Jerry, and Stinger are very knowledgeable. I support their answers.