Click Official ELI Links
Get Help With Your Extortion Letter | ELI Phone Support | ELI Legal Representation Program
Show your support of the ELI website & ELI Forums through a PayPal Contribution. Thank you for supporting the ongoing fight and reporting of Extortion Settlement Demand Letters.

Author Topic: Getty Letter received today, help!!!  (Read 7442 times)

gugy

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 5
    • View Profile
Getty Letter received today, help!!!
« on: November 03, 2008, 08:56:24 PM »
Hi,
I just received Today my Getty letter like you guys have been discussing here.

Well, what should I do?
My understanding after reading this forum and many sites is to ignore it, not to worry too much. Am I correct?

Getty is charging me $5000 for 5 images. I had no clue. I was infringing anything.
Shall I contact Getty and offer a settlement? It seems that folks that tried this did not get much result.
I don't mind paying $49 for the 5 images and forget about this whole thing, but I think Getty will not accept it.

I want to point out I am a freelance graphic designer and these images were provided by the companies I worked. These same companies no longer are in businesses, since these images were provide 10 to 5 years ago. The images I used are highly composite alongside graphics making then somewhat different than the originals, also they were small in size.

I am very upset by the way Getty is treating me. I removed the images from my site immediately. They were there just to show my line of work (my portfolio). I referred Getty many instances and my clients always purchased from them due my referrals. Very sad.

I appreciate any advice. Sorry, for my newbie questions. I guess I am a bit scared like anyone else when it first received the letter.

I also want to thank you for creating this forum.
All the best

rublev

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 9
    • View Profile
Re: Getty Letter received today, help!!!
« Reply #1 on: November 03, 2008, 10:22:30 PM »
As they say in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - "Don't panic!"

Take time to read through the website and this phorum. It helps and explains a lot!

Oscar Michelen

  • ELI Legal Warrior
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1301
    • View Profile
    • Courtroom Strategy
Re: Getty Letter received today, help!!!
« Reply #2 on: November 04, 2008, 09:37:42 AM »
The last post is good advice.  This forum has attracted many others like yourself and it has provided them with the information they need to address this issue. Do not engage Getty any further.  The next step will be that you will contacted by NCS Recovery (their alleged collection agency).  There is a post here that discusses what to do when you get to that stage as well.
So read the site, get informed and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

gugy

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 5
    • View Profile
Re: Getty Letter received today, help!!!
« Reply #3 on: November 04, 2008, 10:50:20 AM »
Thanks Oscar,

Would you recommend me to send the letter your office drafted to Getty in order to stop them harassing me?
If yes, How should I proceed?

I read many posts in this forum, this seems to be the best course of action, but sometimes there are conflicted posts about what to do.

Take care

Gettyisajoke

  • Guest
Re: Getty Letter received today, help!!!
« Reply #4 on: November 04, 2008, 08:12:47 PM »
I also got a Settlement Demand today from Getty Images requesting $1000.  I took some advice from the posts on this site and requested the documentation that the image has been registered and the woman said that she could not provide me with it.  She said "the only time we provide the registration is if we got to litigation."  She said she could provide me with the documentation that stated that they legally represent the photographer....

Then she asked how long the photo was up for and I explained less than a year but i wasnt certain.

She said she would check and see.  Most likely using the wayback archives.

I had been on the wayback archives myself and the siteas usual was down. She then got back on the phone and said that she was unable to check but would take me on my word and reduce the settlement to $650.

I told her i would call her back and she said that its a final settlement and i had 7 days to pay.

The funny thing is that she didn't have any way of finding out if i really was the person that owned the site.

I asked her how she came up with the figure of $650 or $1000 and she responded with "thats simple, one photo, single use is $1000."  

Thats it!

Then she said that the money would go to the photographer and administrative fees.

gugy

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 5
    • View Profile
Re: Getty Letter received today, help!!!
« Reply #5 on: November 05, 2008, 01:12:21 PM »
Reading this forum is very clear Getty is trying to extort money from people.

I am still debating what would be the best course of action. Ignore them altogether or send a letter from Oscar Michelen.
Could anybody clarify this issue?

I appreciate any feedback.

Oscar Michelen

  • ELI Legal Warrior
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1301
    • View Profile
    • Courtroom Strategy
Re: Getty Letter received today, help!!!
« Reply #6 on: November 05, 2008, 02:55:24 PM »
There is no "right" or "Wrong" way to deal with this only because no one case has ever gone to conclusion. Either the website user settles or Getty lets it go for a year or so. I think the above post from Gettysucks is very informative.  They claim they only provide that proof in litigation - but they have never gone into litigation so what are they talking about? Either the image is copyright registered or it is not.  If Getty will not provide direct proof of registration then I would consider it unregistered. If the image is registered: Copyright law allows a federal court to reduce the damages to $200 per image - for innocent infringement. I have posted some language from federal decisions on this site to show that this is the routine response as courts do not like big companies doing this to innocent infringers; so while it is correct to say that innocent infringement is no defense to copyright infringement it is fact that the party's knowledge plays a critical role on the issue of damages. So if the image is registered I would recommend offering $200 per image as a final number.

If the image is not registered (as is almost always the case) they cannot get statutory damages and legal fees They can only get what the market would pay for the image (their "actual damages" In most cases that would be $49 per image. So offer $100 per image to show good faith and avoid a problem. Getty will likely accept neither anyway. Remember that if these images were placed on other sites by the photographer then you may owe no money in damages as you could have downloaded it from one of the other sites.

The main thing you get from having me send a letter is that they will no longer contact you or "put you into collection" through NCS Recovery. (Make sure you read the thread about that on this forum as well).  So it is entirely up to you how to proceed. I welcome any other comments or suggestions.

gugy

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 5
    • View Profile
Re: Getty Letter received today, help!!!
« Reply #7 on: November 05, 2008, 03:27:16 PM »
OK Oscar,

Thanks for your time.

I will think about this. Probably it would be best just to avoid having Getty and NCS bugging me. So, I might consider you writing them a letter on my behalf.
That way, I have an attorney behind me and will send a message to Getty that I am serious about fighting their extortion actions. Maybe this way, they will eventually drop the issue altogether.

Once again thanks!

 

Official ELI Help Options
Get Help With Your Extortion Letter | ELI Phone Support Call | ELI Defense Letter Program
Show your support of the ELI website & ELI Forums through a PayPal Contribution. Thank you for supporting the ongoing fight and reporting of Extortion Settlement Demand Letters.