So, I have reached out to the Washington ATG and these are the two responses Getty has provided. I presume these are boilerplate. My complaint to the Washington ATG is that Getty has yet to provide the information requested as proof, and continues to harass me.
Response #1We are in receipt of the complaint regarding the referenced matter that you forwarded to us recently.
By way of introduction, Getty Images is a leading creator and distributor of digital content, including still and moving images. We license thousands of images each day on our website,
www.gettyimages.com. Customers such as graphic designers, advertising agencies, and publishers license our imagery for a variety of purposes, including but not limited to print advertising, billboards, newspaper and magazine articles, brochures and websites. Our license information is clearly available from each page of our website, and we do not permit the use of our imagery without a license.
Notwithstanding the license requirement, like other digital media companies, Getty Images does fall victim to individuals pirating its intellectual property. To combat this, Getty Images uses both employees and digital image recognition software to locate entities that have used Getty Images’ imagery without paying a license fee. We recently identified the Complainant as having used unlicensed imagery from our collections.
We sent the Complainant a letter with notification that we had found use of our imagery on their website; that we had been unable to locate a license for such use; that use of the imagery without a license constitutes copyright infringement; and that the Complainant must either: (i) provide evidence that a license was issued, or (ii) pay a fee for use of the imagery. We included an internal case reference number and provided proof of use, showing our image and associated data, along with a screenshot of the image in use on the Complainant’s website. We also asked the Complainant to contact us immediately if they believe they received our letter in error. The unauthorized use fee is in line with what we would typically charge for a license under these circumstances.
Even if the Complainant has removed our imagery from their website, removal alone does not resolve this matter. Our imagery is protected by copyright. Getty Images either owns or is the exclusive licensor for the image(s) at issue. Copyright law holds responsible anyone who copies or publicly displays an image without authorization of the copyright holder. Copyright infringement is based on strict liability, meaning that the act itself establishes liability and no intent is required. Thus far the Complainant has failed to produce a valid license or raise any valid defense to copyright infringement. The Complainant’s use of our imagery without a license constitutes copyright infringement, for which we are entitled to seek damages.
We understand that copyright law can be confusing; however, the campaign to file complaints against us is misguided and misdirected. We encourage review of the license compliance information provided on our web site at:
http://company.gettyimages.com/license-compliance/. As noted above, Getty Images has acted appropriately and in good faith, and we are well within our legal rights to seek damages for unauthorized use of our images.
Should you require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us. We remain hopeful of reaching an amicable resolution to this matter.
Regards,
Getty Images – Copyright Compliance
Response #2We have received the above Complainant’s response to our previous letter summarizing Getty Images’ claim for copyright infringement.
The Complainant states that Getty Images has not provided proof of copyright, but the Complainant appears to confuse copyright registration and copyright ownership. Copyright exists the moment a work, including a photograph, is created. Registration is optional and is not a requirement of copyright ownership. Consequently, copyright registrations are not required of us to pursue infringements on behalf of our contributors. While it would be necessary to provide these registrations in order to file suit, this is our attempt to settle any infringement without further action.
The Complainant questions whether Getty Images owns the copyright in the Image. While confidentiality provisions prevent us from providing copies of our agreements with our photographers, Getty Images is the exclusive licensor of the Image, with the responsibility to protect our represented photographer’s intellectual property from unauthorized use.
We are not alleging that the Complainant owes a debt; we are alleging that the Complainant used intellectual property without authorization and therefore is liable for damages. We are simply asking the Complainant to pay for the images used and the damage caused by not licensing the images in the first place. The unauthorized use fee is in line with what we would typically charge for a license under these circumstances.
We note that the Complainant has not addressed the legal issue of having displayed our imagery without authorization. We have provided screenshots and links showing proof of infringement. Should you require any additional information about this matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
Getty Images – Copyright Compliance
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Now what? My next guess is to ignore everything from here on out until the McCormack letter comes? This is getting old, fast.
Topic: Complaint with Washington ATG (Read 3198 times)