Is GI monopolizing the image industry?

[denise1]

can we sue GI for it?

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

anybody can sue anybody for any reason, it's really a question of one has the stomach and the funds to persue something like this.rememebr GI has very deep pockets, would you get a return on your investment?? thats the main sticking point here.

[denise1]

I mean class action.  One person of course can't fight against them.  But if everyone donate US$10-100, it will be a large sum of money.  Dun forget they sent millions of extortion letters throughout these few yrs.  I'm sure if we got a good plan, a lot of people wanna join us.

[Jerry Witt (mcfilms)]

This isn't the way.

I know you are hurting and want to "hit 'em back." Me too. But there is no way you could successfully win a claim that GI controls a monopoly over the Stock Image industry. There are just too many other options out there. Sorry.

But here are some things we can do:
Choke them off: It almost goes without saying that we need to stop doing business with copyright trolls. And not just companies like GI, but their affiliates and subsidiaries. I have talked two clients out of sourcing images from iStockphoto because They are owned by Getty.

Education: If you belong to a user group or have a blog, I think it is important to get out honest information about what these stock companies are doing. There is a link on here that has someone from one of these stock agencies saying half of their income comes from PicScout. That indicates that HALF their income comes from these "extortion letters."

Help Matt: The top of every page has that Donate button. But even if you are broke, you can always volunteer to help out. Draft a letter to the EFF and post it and ask for feedback. Write a concise overview of the issue at hand and post it for comments. Use this to start contacting local media or blogs - like http://www.chillingeffects.org.

I honestly think these actions will do much more to "correct" the industry than any accusations of monopoly.

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

Thanx for chiming in MC, very well put, and I could agree more that we need to band together and get more exposure. Matt has spent a great amount of time with this week alone, just dealing with the latest barrage, so yes the donate button is helpful, as is , doing a small part by researching and getting word out.

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

I will be embarking on a journey on chillingeffects.org as well as eff.org, I think they may be interested to see whats been going on as of late.. as has been stated many times before, those who make the choice of entering this arena need to be prepared for whatever comes their way. I encourage all community members to help spread the word via various channels as I strongly feel that the events of the past few days can work to our advantage going forward.