ExtortionLetterInfo Forums
ELI Forums => Getty Images Letter Forum => Topic started by: Jerry Witt (mcfilms) on September 14, 2015, 01:29:25 PM
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Great news! Note that if this applies to DMCA takedowns could ALSO be applied to copyright extortion schemes.
From a recent 9th Circuit decision:
"To be clear, if a copyright holder ignores or neglects our unequivocal holding that it must consider fair use before sending a takedown notification, it is liable for damages under ยง 512(f),"
The judge also adds that copyright owners need to do more than pay "lip service" to fair use, and further, that the "willful blindness doctrine" can be applicable to these type of disputes if a copyright owner deliberately avoids learning of fair use despite high probabilities.
So the next time a site is using an image for purely educational purposes and not for profit and one of the stock companies tries to squeeze them, they can sue for damages.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/appeals-court-copyright-owners-consider-822954
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Good find, Jerry!
I hope this slows down Getty and their clients or sub companies. Perhaps if they have to review things before sending out their picscout generated letters, it will raise the cost of doing business for them.
If they choose not to review things before sending out letters, I hope this forum's readers stick it to them good.
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I read this today also, it does indeed pertain to DMCA takedowns. The issue I see with the demand letters are they don't always request a take down, they always request payment for using the images. The letters don't follow dmca and the sender is not "swearing" to anything like in an official DMCA takedown.
In my opinion all owners should have to file an offical DMCA take-down notice before sending a demand letter, regardless of whether the site has a registered agent or not. But this won't happen, as this was largly how copyright law was set-up before DMCA, you had to send a cease and desist first, I highly doubt that will be brought back, these big companies, Getty, Masterfile, etc.. have deep pockets and can easily lobby asshats in Washington to not go that route..and we all know money talks.