Copyright registration by Getty

[blindsided]

I've read through the forum and have seen a lot of discussion about whether Getty does or doesn't hold the copyright to the images it's trying to get money for. This is an important question, since if they don't, they can't get the big bucks they're after in damages.

Am I missing something? I went to the website of the US Copyright Office and did a search for "Getty Images" in combination with the number and/or name of the image they're demanding settlement for in my case, figuring I'd find out for myself.

I noticed Getty does hold plenty of copyrights on various images, but mine did not come up. I also looked under the photographer's name, and struck out.

Having done this, can't I be reasonably certain that Getty does not in fact own the copyright for the image in question?

Mind you, the online database only goes back to 1978, but you can pay the copyright office to do a search further back if you want to be extra-sure. (Of course, if your image is of a computer small enough to fit on top of a desk you can be pretty confident with the online search.)

I feel like I'm missing something here. Can anyone clarify whether the search I did would turn up their registration if in fact they owned it?

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

I "think" GI does not have all of the images in question registered, however i would not depend solely on your search results, some may be registered as "collections" and may not be returned in your search results.
Naturally GI is not going to provide you proof that they are or are not registered, they like to tell us that, this is something that would be shown in court..again a part of thier scare tactic.

[Oscar Michelen]

Getty has registered several  of their collections including the Stone Collection which is a large group of photos. But the vast majority of their images are unregistered. I agree that I would not rely on the search  A simple typo by the USPTO on the registration and it will not come up.