Recent activity from getty is escalated

[TWT]

Hi all, Thanks for being there. I am new, obviously, to this forum.

I received the Getty letter almost 3 years ago for a thumbnail I used on a blog post. I do not remember the source, so it may be or may not be a copyrighted image. I did reply to the letter right away and informed them the image had been removed.

I got letters off and on for a couple of years which I did respond to. I even offered to settle for $250. They want $600 usd for the thumb which was for sale at less than $25 at the time I got the letter. I looked it up.  they are saying I must pay the full amount. It is with the collection company now and they will not reduce the price either.  My initial contact from them is  early in the year almost 3 years ago. I wonder if I should just hold out till the 3 years is up? Or if I wait, will they put this to legal before the statute is up?

I would really be happy to pay them the $250 and move on, but $600 for a thumbnail on a local blog seems steep and malicious.  I have asked them to prove they had the copyright for the image and they refuse to give me any information.   I have no way of knowing if they really have exclusive rights or not. That to me is the extortion part of this whole deal.  Any suggestions?

Thanks to you all. I have not really heard any stories of anyone actually being sued over a single image. Have I missed something?

[Greg Troy (KeepFighting)]

Greetings and welcome to the form. If it has been almost 3 years your statute of limitations is almost up. If Getty is not willing to provide any proof whatsoever of their claim I personally would not pay them a dime.

This was the major issue I had with them, besides the amount requested, that they were presenting me with a bill it I was clearly willing to negotiate with some yet they refused to provide proof and threatened me by saying they would only provide proof when they sued me.

To answer your question Getty has sued over a single image for the first time just this year and it is the opinion of many on this forum including myself that it was a case they knew they could win just so that they could say they will sue over a single image.

The odds of them taking you to court over single image are so small they are almost indistinguishable from zero. But it sounds like you have done the right things by requesting proof in making a reasonable offer which can be shown in the unlikely event they were to take you to court. You could also show that while you were willing to negotiate they refused to provide the reasonable request of proof to continue negotiations.

Again welcome to the forms and I hope you will continue to stick around and participate in the future.

[stinger]

TWT, Greg gives good advice.

Also, you should be advised that if Getty has turned this over to a collection agency, you should inform them that this is a claim, not a debt.  Let them know that Getty has refused your requests for proof of that claim and that they are not to contact you about this again.

If they do bother you, I suggest complaint letters to every agency you can think of.  The more of their time you waste answering agencies, the less time they have to pursue people like you, me, and the rest on this forum.

[Greg Troy (KeepFighting)]

Thank you Stinger, I meant to mention that and got side tracked.  Good catch!

[Oscar Michelen]

Three years is the statute of limitaions so if you got your letter three years or more ago, Getty cannot sue you  anymore.

[Doc]

Theoretically, if it's been turned over to a collection agency and if they have damaged a person's credit as a result, couldn't one take action on defamation of credit or something like that?

[Greg Troy (KeepFighting)]

The credit agency can't do a thing to anyone in this case as it is a claim and not a debt.  If they were to put it on a persons credit file you can report the violation to the FTC.

If you receive letter from the credit agency all you have to do it send them a letter stating it is a claim not a debt and you are dealing with Getty so do not contact you again.  After that they have to leave you alone or again you can report them to the FTC.

[Oscar Michelen]

As Greg correctly and astutely states, this is a CLAIM and not a DEBT. If they sued you and won a judgment THEN it would be a debt. If they report the claim to a credit reporting agency, (which they never have) they would be in violation of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. That's why they have never done so since 2005 when they started this infringement program.