International - any difference?

[swecs]

Hi all, thankyou so much for this informative site and resources. We too have fallen victim to Indian webdesigners, who we subcontracted a couple of years ago, to build a website for our client. Now our customer has been sent the Getty letter, seeking $1300 for an image they say is theirs. The Indian designers are simply saying they never steal images, but are not able to provide proof where they got it from, so I guess we've got a problem.

I have one question though which I'm still not sure about after reading through the site and forum:

We are in Australia. Do you think that makes any difference to Getty's resolve to proceed with enforcement or court action? Or doesn't it really make any difference?

The other problem for us is that Getty are chasing our customer. I don't mind having a dispute/discussion with Getty myself, but I don't want my customer involved, and obviously I can't just tell my customer to ignore the letters etc. So, I'm not sure if it was the right thing to do, but I sent Getty an email just advising that we were the right contact, not our customer. No admissions, no discussion, just advising that we are the right people to contact and that we will get back to them.

Oscar, your letter sounds great. We would certainly be interested in paying for assistance if you think it would help. But would a US attorney representing us be useful if we are in Australia? If not, I'd be happy to pay for the content and we could send something similar ourselves.

Anyway, I already feel a bit better after reading through this site. I'll keep watch and will certainly appreciate any ideas/thoughts people have.

Cheers
Graeme

PS - just for the record, I'm totally in favour of protecting people's copyright, but am obviously very keen to work out something that doesn't mean I pay the cost of someone else not doing the right thing

[Oscar Michelen]

Dear Grame:

Thanks so much for the post. I cannot advise you on the details of Australian Copyright Law but from my contact with other sites that have dealt with this issue, Australia's law mirrors much of the UK and America's Copyright Acts.  Actually Wikipedia has a fairly good explanation and outline of the Australian Copyright Law.  What I can state is that no lawsuits have been commenced in Australia to my knowledge either.  So  I don't think they are taking a different tactical position in your country as opposed to what they are doing in mine.

With respect to them attacking your customers or the end-users of the image, that has been their approach here as well.  We currently have sent letters on behalf of three site developers who want to protect their clients. As a service to their customers, they are paying the fee for the letter and it goes out on behalf of both the developer and the customer. In the State of Idaho, a website template company entered into a signifnicant settlement with Getty ( in my mind they overpaid) and part of the agreement was that Getty would not go after the end-user customer.  Getty did of course anyway and even received money from some of the customers as well.  The  Idaho Attorney General got involved and Getty returned the money to the end users.  There is a report of this on this website.  

While I would be delighted to send a letter for you I can't practice law in Australia and I am not familiar enough with your country's copyright act to be sure I am drafting a coherent response. I would be able to send you a copy of what I have drafted  for my clients (with their names redacted of course)so you can see what the letter I send here states.  You might then be able to tailor it for your purposes.  I charge only $150US for the letter. That $150 also includes a second letter should Getty respond to our intial letter.  I have sent letters out on dozens of clients, the first one being mailed about six weeks from today. So far, I have no received a response from Getty. Later this morning I will post my letter policy for all to read.

I would be glad to communicate with you further on this. My email is omichelen@sbmlegal.com and my office number is 212-517-3200.

Thanks for the post and don't pay them yet!

[rich the ozzy]

Hi Graeme, I have exactly the same situation as yourself, my client has received the letter and I dont want them get all ther hassle. What responce did you get from Getty when you told them to contact you, have you any tips from an Australian Perspective?

I dowloaded the Australian Copyright Act 1968 at the link below, it is 673 pages long and to be honest I get lost as soon as I start reading it!

http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/ActCompilation1.nsf/0/EC126C490B824915CA25748F00049D53/$file/Copyright1968.pdf

If you have any info that can help me out I would be most grateful

Cheers
Richard

[Oscar Michelen]

Dear Richard:

As I stated in myprevious post, Wikipedia has a pretty good site about the Australian Copyright Act. You may want to take a look.  I sent Grame the lettter I prepared for him last week, so I doubt he has heard from Getty yet.  We will definitely keep the site posted if Getty ever responds to any of the numerous letters we have sent them on behalf of clients. Thanks for the post

[swecs]

Hi Richard, Oscar

I did send the letter you gave me Oscar, and received a response today. I'll email it to you Oscar, and have no problem with you sharing anything from it if you feel it would help others.

Richard, I've had no luck finding any more info about how all this is panning out in Australia, or Australian copyright law, but I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has any info!

Cheers
Graeme

[Oscar Michelen]

Great Graeme - look forward to seeing it

[rich the ozzy]

Hi Oscar & Graeme,
could you please tell me what the letter from getty said so I can assess the best form of action to take. If you do not want to post it on the net for some reason, could you please email it to richtheozzy@gmail.com

Thanks In Advance
Richard

[swecs]

Hi Richard, the letter was no different to the ones posted on extortionletterinfo.com, stating that we still owed the money, and claiming that they do have proof of exclusive copyright (but not providing that proof).

Oscar, I emailed you the letter last week, let me know if it didn't arrive for any reason.

Cheers
Graeme

[Oscar Michelen]

Grame:

I did not get it please re-send to omichelen@sbmlegal.com  thanks

Oscar

[swecs]

just resent, thanks

Graeme

[Oscar Michelen]

got it

[rich the ozzy]

Can you please tell me if there is any reference to specific Australian Copyright Laws in the letter?

[Oscar Michelen]

email me at omichelen@sbmlegal.com and I will forward it to you

[swecs]

Hi all, just a quick update to say that Getty have finally got back to me, and are basically saying no to any offer, and demanding the initial amount (over $1000), claiming that in this case that would be there actual damages. So unfortunately I guess I'm back where I started, and they don't look like slowing down at all. From other people's experience, is debt collectors likely to be the next step if we don't pay?

Cheers
Graeme
(Australia)

[Oscar Michelen]

Graeme:

Sorry to hear that.  I don't know what they next step is in your country, but, yes, here  in the US they would send it to NCS Recovery (see my prior post on that to get more info). Please email me (xxx)their response and I will take a look at it and give you some specific advice on the strength/weakness of their position.