Am I doing this right?

[gumby]

I opened my business about 6 months ago.  On one of my website pages I used a picture I found off a Google search (I know, big mistake).  The picture was relatively small, and only used for 4 months.  I realized it was mistake and took down the picture about 6 weeks ago.  Last week I received "the letter" asking for nearly $800.  I looked up the cost of the image on Getty's website and it's being sold for $387 for a 6 month license.  I'm not unwilling to pay for my mistake, however I have a couple questions...

1.  Should I call, email, or write a letter to respond?
2.  What should I ask them?  Should I ask for proof of exclusivity?  How they came to the number they're charging me?  etc.
3.  Do I need to contact a lawyer or seek professional help for this?
4.  The image on my website was inverted (not by me) compared to the Getty image.  Does that matter?
5.  How long should I expect to this to go on?

Any additional advice would be very much appreciated!  I freaked out when I got this letter, especially since the image had been taken down 6 weeks earlier.  I don't have that kind of cash around since we're so early in business.  Please help!

Thanks!

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

when the image was removed from the page was it also removed from the server?

What is the date of the Getty letter, is it before the date the image was removed or after?

If it's after I think you might be in good shape, as it shows you were pro-active. naturally getty won't care about this, as they have a screen shot..

All of your questions have been answered on the forum multiple times, keep reading the posts, and get educated as to your next step. there is no "magic answer". Bottom line is that they won't sue you for 1 image, but they will continue to be a pain in the ass.

[gumby]

The website was made by me, using Weebly, a free internet-based website program.  When I delete it from the page and hit "publish" I assumed it deletes the picture from the server, because I have no access to that.

The Getty letter was dated last week, well after the picture was removed from the site.

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

Contact weebly, ask them if it is removed from the server, tell them the situation and that you were proactive and removed the image well before getty came along, they may offer to assist you with this, given that you don not have access to the server.

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

also are you using your own domain name or it is a subdomain? you may also be covered by DMCA, again something to ask Weebly

[SoylentGreen]

Gumby, don't forget that your questions have been asked by others many times, and there lots of rich discussion about those very issues on the forum.

ProTip: in google enter:
site: extortionletterinfo.com (your query)

You should leave out the brackets, of course.
This will help you find specific posts of interest.

S.G.

[Peeved]

Here is one recent discussion...

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/getty-images-letter-forum/my-letter-experience/

You can also use the "search" link up at the top of the forum page (red tab) to search for specific keywords.

[SoylentGreen]

Anyone else find that google works better than than the search thingy?

S.G.

[Matthew Chan]

Hmm.... you might be on to something here.  Maybe we should be using or incorporating Google to do local searches.

Anyone else find that google works better than than the search thingy?

S.G.

[gumby]

So I went about things a little differently and wanted to share with everyone...

I went online and found that they were selling a 6-month license for about half of what they wanted to charge me.  Since I used the image for less than 4 months, I sent them an email with a proposed settlement of the prorated amount for a 6-month license.  This wasn't the case of buying a template, I simply downloaded an image and used it, so I felt a certain amount of culpability.

Anyways, a day later they sent me a follow-up email with a revised demand for the proposed settlement I offered.  Basically, they took it.  I'm sure they're just looking for the low hanging fruit and would probably have taken any reasonable amount, but I'm just glad I didn't have to pay for a penny more than the licensing price.

I'm way too busy trying to build my business to spend the necessary time to "get away with it", so I'm satisfied that I won't have to worry for the next 3 years about whether I'll get harassed with letters or other demands.

Thanks for everyone's feedback and commitment to helping people!

[rock]

DO NOT FALL IN THE ABOVE TRAP

Getty Outrageous prices  - Getty New Strategy

After getty bought picscouts, getty raised the prices per license/photo
In 2008 - 2010, the price per license/photo was , $20 - $50 ,
In 2012, the price of the same license/photo is $ 500- $1000

Getty has always gone after "actual damages" since they don't register their images (and therefore cannot get statutory damages) Their pricing regimen is one thing, how often they sell them at those prices is another and what the fair market value of the image is a third!
Anyone receiving a demand should also insist on seeing the pricing history for that image before trying to settle for these outrageous numbers.
Historically, they NEVER sued for one image.

DO NOT FALL IN THE ABOVE TRAP

[SoylentGreen]

So, another "infringer" turned into a "customer".
It's like having one of those dreams during a high fever, and you think that you're wearing your worst enemy's shoes.
You don't have to worry about stepping in dog shit because they're not your shoes.
Squish, squish, squish... look down... they're your shoes after all...

S.G.

[Peeved]

So I went about things a little differently and wanted to share with everyone...

I went online and found that they were selling a 6-month license for about half of what they wanted to charge me.  Since I used the image for less than 4 months, I sent them an email with a proposed settlement of the prorated amount for a 6-month license.  This wasn't the case of buying a template, I simply downloaded an image and used it, so I felt a certain amount of culpability.

Anyways, a day later they sent me a follow-up email with a revised demand for the proposed settlement I offered.  Basically, they took it.  I'm sure they're just looking for the low hanging fruit and would probably have taken any reasonable amount, but I'm just glad I didn't have to pay for a penny more than the licensing price.

I'm way too busy trying to build my business to spend the necessary time to "get away with it", so I'm satisfied that I won't have to worry for the next 3 years about whether I'll get harassed with letters or other demands.

Thanks for everyone's feedback and commitment to helping people!

Sorry to hear that you felt that by "fighting" this "extortion" issue, that you would be "getting away with" what appears to be an innocent mistake on your part. That's too bad, another win for Getty! It must have been a significant offer for them to have accepted.

We are ALL very "busy with our businesses" as well but I personally refuse to be EXTORTED!

Best of luck to you!

[Matthew Chan]

If Gumby is happy with his decision, I am happy for him. For some, it is better for them to part with their money. After all, he appears to have more money than time and he doesn't seem to feel the extortion like the rest of us.

I am a big believer in only helping those that will help themselves. And only help fight with those willing to fight for themselves.

If people are foolish enough to pay an inflated amount and support the extortion machine, it's their money, not ours.

[Jerry Witt (mcfilms)]

So Getty burned you for a couple hundies? Well I guess the peace of mind was worth it. Just please do us a favor, as your business grows, please make a commitment to not do business with these creeps, okay?

The only way to change their behavior is to stop funding them by paying outrageous demands (too late) and stop being a customer. For your information iStockPhoto is also owned by Getty. There is a list of Public Domain and stock companies NOT affiliated with copyright trolls in this forum. And of course you can always hire your own photographer or shoot your own stuff.