Nordic Photos

[Bigted45]

We put one of our constant contact emails on our website that has a picture in the banner at the top.  Now we get the demand letter from Nordic Photos in Iceland.
I've read through the posts here, but no one has addressed the issue of a demand letter coming from out of the U.S.  Is this common?  It seems like they would have a pretty tough time collecting without going through a U.S. company.

[Matthew Chan]

We have never heard or seen a settlement demand letter from Nordic photos.  We would like the opportunity to take a look at this. You can email it to: [email protected] or fax it to 888-696-3441.  We will redact it to anonymize the letter.

The ELI community would be happy to do an analysis and commentary on it if we could see it.

We put one of our constant contact emails on our website that has a picture in the banner at the top.  Now we get the demand letter from Nordic Photos in Iceland.
I've read through the posts here, but no one has addressed the issue of a demand letter coming from out of the U.S.  Is this common?  It seems like they would have a pretty tough time collecting without going through a U.S. company.

[Bigted45]

Thanks - it's on its way.

Bigted

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

Sure enough Nordic Photos is on the list of picscout "clients"... I use that terms lightly, I think from here on out I will refer to their "clients" as "trolls"

[Matthew Chan]

Thanks to BigTed, we can now being the analysis & commentary on the NordisPhotos Settlement Demand Letter.  Let the commentary and analysis begin.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/79905440/NordicPhotos-Settlement-Demand-Letter

One thing I will say is their FAQ looks strangely like the Getty Images FAQ.

This is the 2nd time we have seemingly found someone plagiarizing Getty Images FAQ. However, it may be a form letter that Getty Images has allowed PicScout customers to use. After ll, Getty Images now owns PicScout.  And all the other stock photo companies are now customers of Getty Images via PicScout!

[Extortion-Victim-No Longer]

Unbelievable! PS owns GI? Well that makes sense...I like your comment buddhapi...This will be an interesting read.

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

Just what I needed...a little something to sink my teeth into...Thanx for sharing BigTed!

[Extortion-Victim-No Longer]

Why was my demand letter asking $10,000...everyone else seems to be getting letters for sooooooooooo much less???

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

EVNL - how many images in your case? and was that letter from Brandon Sand?

I think alot of times they just come up with a crazy number, so they have a little more wiggle room, in coming down..naturally in the hopes that the recipient will just roll over and pay the whole amount right out of the gate..

Getty's numbers seem to be more consistent, than some of these other stocjk photo companies, and if a "lawyer" sends the letter the amount are always higher...hmmmm I wonder why that would be??

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

I guess I'l just keep adding to this post as I do my digging...

Firt tid-bit is the artists / photographers site: http://www.fotografninahellstrom.com/index.html

you will need to translate it.

Looks like this image is not only available on Nordics site but also this site as a rights managed image:

http://www.visualphotos.com/search.do?kwdPPack=en,np00434197,0&fastSearch=0&srcString=np00434197&tvsPPack=


also available here: http://www.fotofinder.com/preview/40C2DACF4F98D628/?usrtrck=searchresult_link_icon_preview&searchresultid=857618e6cd904244832b1984625b0442&start=0&ownerid=287&text=np00434197

[Extortion-Victim-No Longer]

It was for 1 image...300 pixels by 225 pixels & was only on my site for 2 weeks...!!!

EVNL - how many images in your case? and was that letter from Brandon Sand?

I think alot of times they just come up with a crazy number, so they have a little more wiggle room, in coming down..naturally in the hopes that the recipient will just roll over and pay the whole amount right out of the gate..

Getty's numbers seem to be more consistent, than some of these other stocjk photo companies, and if a "lawyer" sends the letter the amount are always higher...hmmmm I wonder why that would be??

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

We need to find out if this image from Nordic is even registered with the US Copyright Office, my search has not yielded anything as of yet, but it's not very search friendly as we all know.

and then there is this in the letter  "settle your invoice", don't they even realize this is a claim at this point.

[Matthew Chan]

At the time Getty Images, Masterfile, and Imageline got most of our attention. You were at the bleeding edge where little was known about Hawaiian Art Network. It was your letter that started the ongoing coverage of HAN and their lawyer's shenanigans.  Brandon was one of the first lawyers that we learned worked with HAN. And being the dumb young lawyer he was, he never imagined anyone would ever get wind of the $10K threat. Nor did he imagine that he would get caught saying that you would go to jail for not settling.

Make no mistake, the folks at HAN and those who work with them better watch themselves.  Hawaii is a small place and word has gotten out on HAN and their entrapment friends like Vincent Tylor. This is no longer idle speculation.  There is just way too much evidence to the contrary that a lot of this is one big EEE (excessive/entrapment/extortion) scam.

To directly answer your question, HAN is being more careful what they release because they know it could end up here on ELI and subsequently on Google, Facebook, and Scribd.

Getty Images came down quite a bit on the amounts they were seeking some time ago. Oscar and I believe that ELI's ongoing pressure and exposure forced them to adjust their strategy a bit. Oscar alone had hundreds of cases on his desk. That doesn't include those people who ignored Getty or independently fought Getty. It was enough of an impact to force some adjustments.

And as much as we are loathe to admit it, Getty's approach starts looking much more professional and attractive when compared to Imageline, HAN, and their lawyers.

Why was my demand letter asking $10,000...everyone else seems to be getting letters for sooooooooooo much less???

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

And as much as we are loathe to admit it, Getty's approach starts looking much more professional and attractive when compared to Imageline, HAN, and their lawyers.

Why was my demand letter asking $10,000...everyone else seems to be getting letters for sooooooooooo much less???

Funny how I actually did gain a very small amount of respect for Getty images, compared to these other asshats, but that respect has now been lost in light of Oscar's recent post about the folks doing work for veteran in Kentucky..Getty Images and the rest have no heart, scruples or anything. They are all  scummy trolls of the highest order!

[Extortion-Victim-No Longer]

Trolls is really what they are...bottom feeders too. Well an adjustment was in order. Had I been in a position where I could have paid them, I might have given the fear that was instilled. But, since they left me no other choice but to fight back, I am somewhat satisfied for their exposure...

The Kentucky scenario is a prime example, showing these "trolls' have no boundaries.