Received My 2nd Letter!!

[jvs]

I received a letter from Getty in Feb, for a picture that was up on our website (not on the main page). They gave me 14 days to take the image down and make a payment of $875.00.  The website was only up for for 9 mnths, and the image they are claiming is theirs wasn't the full image that was posted on the website, it was only the lower half of it.  Our website was created by a 3rd party and I cannot reach them to find out if they had a license for it.  I did some quick research as soon as I received the first letter and immediately took down the picture and wrote them a brief letter stating the picture was removed and I was unaware they held a license for it.  Today I received my second letter thanking me for the quick removal but I still owe $875.00.   I am too much of a nervous nelly to ignore this second letter and am contemplating writing a return letter to them kindly asking for 1. proof that they hold the rights to this image and 2. if I receive the request proof can we negotiate on a lower price.   I guess I am looking for confirmation that this is a reasonable request and won't provoke them further.  This is a very hard lesson to learn for small businesses.  Thanks for any thoughts, ideas!

[Lettered]

I would definitely be ready to hear more from them if you do write them.  If you don't want to hear from them directy again, you can get a lawyer to send a letter.  That way they should only correspond with your lawyer and not with you directly.

If you want to get an idea of how "risky" not paying is, read through the website and watch the videos Oscar and Mathew posted.  Its a lot of material, but it is a bit of a complex issue.  I would guess that in your case, you will feel a lot less nervous, and that you'll be a lot more comfortable with your position if you take the time to do this.

Best of luck.

[Oscar Michelen]

The videos and forum posts on the site are here to provide you with enough information to educate yourself to respond to a single image letter