Getty's 3rd Letter and My Site Doesn't Exist Anymore!

[luis1984]

Hi,

In Feb, 2012 I received the first Getty letter on an image that I didn't know what copyrighted.  I took it down,  and a month after the first letter, my domain expired, so now  not even the domain that the image was on exists.  They still keep sending me letters, I got my 3rd one today and want their payment by July 1, 2012. 

In all honesty, these letter sound really scary and they don't even give you a choice on a payment plan if for any reason you don't have the money, such as myself, they seem to want their money right away.  I make around $800/ month , there is no way I can pay the $844 they are asking for.  These letters are stressing me out. 

Anybody gotten the third letter.  Please let me know what to do. The last line on their letter says "Getty images looks forward to settling this matter between our companies quickly and amicably."

They think I'm a company, I'm not.  I only barely started doing freelance web design and that was what my website was about, I was trying to get jobs because I don't make much money.  I honestly had no idea that I had used one of their images or that it was copyrighted.

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

keep reading the forums, just about all of us have had multiple letters...naturally they want to settle, they want your money..doesn't matter if the site exists or if the domain is expired, they have screenshots (I presume) and they most likely have info on archive.org, unless you have removed it, which I doubt, since you basically ignored the letter from the get go..

[Moe Hacken]

Luis1984, welcome to the ELI forum. It's understandable that this situation is stressful to you, especially during a time when you're feeling vulnerable because you're starting your new career. It sounds like you made an honest mistake, but this kind of stuff is happening to people with plenty of experience too. There are many circumstances under which people are getting these letters.

The first thing you need to do is conquer your fear. A lot of us have felt the stress of having to deal with people bullying you for money and threatening to escalate to ridiculous lengths to collect on an infringement issue. The "worst case scenario" sounds terrible, but there are some facts you could consider that would help you understand the situation. Knowledge will help you conquer that sick feeling.

First, you have to consider your realistic options:

1) You can pay them and make it go away if you don't want to deal with them. You mentioned you did not want to do this.

2) You can get some very sound advice from Matthew Chan for a very reasonable fee (a contribution to ELI for $50 or more) if you need to "quickstart" your knowledge curve with a coaching session by phone. Here's a link with more information:

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/eli-phone-support-call-with-matthew-chan/

3) You can hire Oscar Michelen, a very experienced intellectual property attorney, to take over as your representative by writing them a letter and fielding their communications on your behalf. This effectively means you won't have to deal with them directly so you can focus on getting back to work. Amazingly, Oscar Michelen only charges $195 for what should cost many times that much, especially from an attorney of his caliber. Here's a link with more information:

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/eli-phone-support-call-with-matthew-chan/

4) This option does not cost anything except your own time and effort: Read this forum carefully and learn as much as you can retain. It's a lot of stuff, but at least skim through the titles of the topics and check out the threads regarding Getty Images cases. The more you learn and understand about what these people are doing, the more you will feel that you don't have to pay them. The more you read, if you're anything like myself and other members of this community, the more you will WANT to learn. This option will be of invaluable help to you whether you take any of the other three options as you enter a career in which you will have to deal with this sooner or later. It should be required reading for the communications industry and every profession related to it.

Those letters are intended to sound scary. They want you to roll over and pay them to make them go away. The reality of it is that your case is really not that important to them. $844 is a relatively small amount of money and if they've already written you 3 letters, they're probably getting the feeling that they're wasting their time already. It does them no good to put an expensive attorney on your case to collect an amount that's insignificant to them and that you can't pay anyway.

I don't think anyone's ever been taken to court for an amount that small. They very rarely go to court at all, and when they do they're going for thousands of dollars and/or multiple infringements.

Good luck with your case and do keep us posted on your situation. We're keeping track of what these copyright trolls are up to. In union there is strength and in knowledge there is power.

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

@ Moe, I want to thank you for picking up the ball here, I just did not have the energy today, and for that I apologize..some days I just shake my head as this stuff has been covered some many times, thankfully we have you and some other young guns that still have the strenght and patience to put it all out there..

[luis1984]

@ Moe, I want to thank you for picking up the ball here, I just did not have the energy today, and for that I apologize..some days I just shake my head as this stuff has been covered some many times, thankfully we have you and some other young guns that still have the strenght and patience to put it all out there..

I apologize BuddhaPi, it's not my intention to bring up the same ole same ole.  It's just that when this image company is demanding more money than what I make in a month, the natural thing for me to do is  panic, and ask for guidance.  You're right though, i'm sure this situation has been covered here many times.     

[luis1984]

Luis1984, welcome to the ELI forum. It's understandable that this situation is stressful to you, especially during a time when you're feeling vulnerable because you're starting your new career. It sounds like you made an honest mistake, but this kind of stuff is happening to people with plenty of experience too. There are many circumstances under which people are getting these letters.

The first thing you need to do is conquer your fear. A lot of us have felt the stress of having to deal with people bullying you for money and threatening to escalate to ridiculous lengths to collect on an infringement issue. The "worst case scenario" sounds terrible, but there are some facts you could consider that would help you understand the situation. Knowledge will help you conquer that sick feeling.

First, you have to consider your realistic options:

1) You can pay them and make it go away if you don't want to deal with them. You mentioned you did not want to do this.

2) You can get some very sound advice from Matthew Chan for a very reasonable fee (a contribution to ELI for $50 or more) if you need to "quickstart" your knowledge curve with a coaching session by phone. Here's a link with more information:

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/eli-phone-support-call-with-matthew-chan/

3) You can hire Oscar Michelen, a very experienced intellectual property attorney, to take over as your representative by writing them a letter and fielding their communications on your behalf. This effectively means you won't have to deal with them directly so you can focus on getting back to work. Amazingly, Oscar Michelen only charges $195 for what should cost many times that much, especially from an attorney of his caliber. Here's a link with more information:

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/eli-phone-support-call-with-matthew-chan/

4) This option does not cost anything except your own time and effort: Read this forum carefully and learn as much as you can retain. It's a lot of stuff, but at least skim through the titles of the topics and check out the threads regarding Getty Images cases. The more you learn and understand about what these people are doing, the more you will feel that you don't have to pay them. The more you read, if you're anything like myself and other members of this community, the more you will WANT to learn. This option will be of invaluable help to you whether you take any of the other three options as you enter a career in which you will have to deal with this sooner or later. It should be required reading for the communications industry and every profession related to it.

Those letters are intended to sound scary. They want you to roll over and pay them to make them go away. The reality of it is that your case is really not that important to them. $844 is a relatively small amount of money and if they've already written you 3 letters, they're probably getting the feeling that they're wasting their time already. It does them no good to put an expensive attorney on your case to collect an amount that's insignificant to them and that you can't pay anyway.

I don't think anyone's ever been taken to court for an amount that small. They very rarely go to court at all, and when they do they're going for thousands of dollars and/or multiple infringements.

Good luck with your case and do keep us posted on your situation. We're keeping track of what these copyright trolls are up to. In union there is strength and in knowledge there is power.

Thank you so much for your advice and encouragement, and yes it seriously was an honest mistake.  Now, every time I use an image that is not my own, I purchase it and keep it in record although I've read that most of these stock companies are owned by Getty anyways. Option #3 sounds like a good idea for a good price.  I will look more into it.

[Moe Hacken]

Buddhapi and luis1984, it's a pleasure to be of help. This forum did for me what I hope it does for others — it empowered me to take the reins in the situation and make level-headed decisions instead of rushing into committing unforced errors.

I will always be grateful to Matthew Chan for this forum. Let's not forget he didn't have an ELI to turn to, so he had to deal with his trolls solo, like some kind of Chuck Norris plotline. Not only did he succeed, he created ELI for the rest of us.

I guess this is my way of showing my appreciation. Right on, Matthew, thanks again for launching this great resource.

[stinger]

Well said, Moe!