Contact information for Getty Deputy Legal Council

[stopextortion]

I have looked and apologize if I missed it but does anyone have the contact information including address for the Deputy Legal Council that Oscar refers to.  Susan....?  I have formulated a response to an alleged one image infringement.  The letter however would be best sent to the top dog in order to get a higher level of review.  In the letter I have indicated that further pursuit ensures and triggers the hiring of Oscar.  I wonder how the deputy legal council would respond?  Hardly financially advantageous for Getty.  I suspect that the hourly rate for the deputy legal council at Getty will be in excess of what would be reasonable to pursue for one alleged infringement.   

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

You could probably send it here attention of whomever.. I suggest sending it certified / return reciept for your records.

Copyright Agent
Getty Images Legal Department
601 N. 34th Street
Seattle, Washington 98103
Phone: (206) 925-5000
Fax: (206) 925-5623
E-mail: [email protected]

[stopextortion]

Thank you for the address.  However I am intent on sending my letter to the same place and person that Mr. Michelen sends his letters.  If the all of the letters were addressed to Susan, the deputy legal counsel, the cost of handling such matters may swing the financial equation in a different direction.  Also I have a trigger in place that tries to put the pursuit of expensive resolutions on the back of Getty.  If a low level idiot gets my letter they will choose to pursue further action.  However, I like to think Susan has a head on her shoulders and might consider using it in a more positive way than going after ONE alleged image violation.

Funny thing was that the photographer wasn't interested in going to court and having depositions of his involvement and seemed concerned at the notions proposed by Getty.  Of course the photographer of the one image, "an electrical meter", realized why his income may be dwindling.  I took appropriate measures to perserve this moment under Georgia law.

"In the event you, Getty Images or its affiliates choose to pursue this matter further then please forward all correspondence to Mr. Michelen at the following address and my family attorney Tom ......  at the following address.  Any further contact by you, Getty Images or its affiliates with the exception of a letter of non pursuit from your company or affiliates , will be considered a violation of the law and refusal to honor my request.  To be clear, by pursuing this alleged claim by you, Getty Images or its affiliates ensures that I immdediately hire attorneys and that we both spend considerable time and money. Your cost margin on this ONE image and pursuit of this alleged claim will not be advantageous for anyone.  While not admitting any liability, the one image in question, an electical meter, has been removed and I have applied the only reasonable potential remedy by ceasing and desisting."


Possibly I should include the $195 check to Mr. Michelen for Susan to send when or if she corresponds to pursue it further.

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

I can onyl tell you that my letter was sent to the above address, only difference being the Attn: was not a Susan, but someone else

[stopextortion]

Thank you again,  possibly someone with close contact with Mr. Michelen could obtain the name of the deputy general counsel.  I hate to be another person who isn't paying to ask for this. I did donate and recommend to donate if others haven't.
However,  Might I suggest that in addition to Mr. Michelen's letter program that another letter be created.  Basically an open templete letter that says in part:   Dear Getty General Counsel,  Please back off!  If you don't here is my $195 check made out to Mr. Michelen and letter of retainer for Mr. Michelen. Please forward to Mr. Michelen. Have a good day. 
I wonder if it would have an impact?
If a letter like this were avaiable I would use it in a heart beat.  Thanks again.

[stopextortion]

All,
I finally found where Mr. Michelen mentioned in the videos the contact person at Getty Legal Department.  Mr.  Michelen refers to Lisa Willmer as Deputy Legal Counsel. 
601 N. 34th St., Seattle, WA 98103. Lisa Willmer.  She is listed as Director Corporate Counsel but this may be old. 
She looks like a real nice lady on Linkedin.  I think I will send her a Starbucks coupon with my letter to her.


Also I found that the photographer identifies on his website the he uses mulitple stock photo outlets, "such as Getty, Tetra Images, iStockPhoto and Alamy".  The words "such as" mean not limited to. Could be others.  It appears that commonality of the image and the failure to protect the original image is a much bigger concern. 

Thank God for this site!

[Matthew Chan]

I will agree with you that dealing with the low-level, front-line folks are generally a waste of time if you want some true opinions and decision-making authority.

Having said that, there is really no incentive for anyone even at the higher levels to reply to you either.  At best, the case quietly goes away as it had for me.

I do believe that someday in the future, a letter will hit one person too many or hit the wrong person and it will trigger a set of events that will be very unhappy for the PR department of Getty Images.

What most people who do not get educated on this subject get is that THEIR case is actually pretty small in the big scheme of things.  There is no particular reason that any single person will be target for a lawsuit vs. any other especially when the violation involved is around the 1-3 images.

MatthewC

[stopextortion]

Mr. Chan,
I was amazed when I typed Getty images in google and the other possible options to select from are in order: getty images scam, getty images editorial, getty images wiki, getty images lawsuit.  Two out of the four choices are horrific Public Relations for Getty.  Mr. Chan, congratulations, they are already being undone by google.  Its obvious that Getty is in the business of the scam and not just in the business of digital imagery.  Targeting the small companies, mom/pops and individuals is what really rips it for me.  If someone is willfully stealing photos then Getty them to death.  But as clearly revealed in your research Getty is after the scare and intimidation scam to derive some of their income.  Somewhere I read or heard here that Getty was for sale and this scam income might boost their books.  Can you image buying Getty only to learn that you purchased a morally bankrupt business?  Digital imagery photographers and the likes are probably wondering where the business is going.  Of course they will blame it on the economy.  I can only imagine how many people like me that have given instructions to their web designer similar to what I did.  I used to purchase or have my web designer purchase stock photos.  Not anymore!  Get everything off my site even though I already paid for it.  We will take our own digital images!   

[Matthew Chan]

I have always said before that my websites would never win any design awards.  And that is more true now than ever because I have taken the extreme tact of using only my photos, photos in public domain, or those that actually want publicity.  I tend to gravitate to self-created graphics when possible.

I know people will think I have an extreme reaction but I have personally boycotted the entire stock photo industry and invested in my own camera, camcorder, and software to create my own content. In fact, I wrong a long article on this over a year go about this.

I have also grown tired of the majority of professional photographers I have encountered in years past and their approach to business.  Given all this, I want no part of it.

And yes, Google has been quite kind to the ELI website as we continue to focus on providing solid, high-quality informational content and commentary. I love Google much. They have made so much of what I do in business much more successful than I could have ever done on my own.

Matthew

[Oscar Michelen]

Stopextortion is correct I send my letter to: Lisa Willmer as Director Corporate Counsel.
601 N. 34th St., Seattle, WA 98103. I have been dealing with Ms Willmer for over three years now. I will not be buying her a Starbucks coffee anytime soon.

[Jerry Witt (mcfilms)]

LOL. Oscar cracked me up.