Should i settle???

[jt]

i received  a demand letter from getty (3 images; $2530 ) in Oct 2011 and immediately removed the pics from my website.  April's letter from Mc Cormack demanded $3900.  The reality of the situation is that infringement probably occurred but unknowingly.   I negotiated with Mc Cormack to settle for $1000.  My company has been hurt hard by recent times,  3 yrs consecutive losses.   i was going to pay using a personal credit card because i do not want a liability growing. (yes, their fear worked). 

Then i discovered ELI?  Help? 
I feel ripped off; i stopped using the pics upon notice of infringement; there was no actual damage. The website has not generated any business, no funds for SEO (i wondered how Getty discovered them, i suspected they had some revenue generating trolling bot)

In other's experience, is this a reasonable settlement offer by Getty (i.e. mcCormack)?  I feel stupid for asking.  All cases are different, but if infringement occurred and i have no other excuse except "the employee didn't know any better" will i eventually have to pay something, such as $200 per pic(example only )  or can Getty attach fees and interest on the amount and from the date originally demanded? 

Have there been any resolutions in any of the earliest cases?   Where do these cases stand? Is Getty pursuing them?   


Also, I am not sure of what is provided in the Oscar’s Defense Letter Program?   I have tried to  digest  "all" the info on the site.  Help

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

If you're feeling ripped off, why settle?? A settlement is something agreed to by both parties.
Timothy McCormack is grinning from ear to ear and patting April on the back for a job well done.

You should at the very least drop Aprils; last name so she can be added to the running list of trolls..

If I were you I would reading, perhaps consider a 50.00 support call, and also Oscars Program, they are all better options than charging 1000.00!

[Greg Troy (KeepFighting)]

JT welcome to the forums. I agree with Robert why settle, if this is an innocent infringement then the fees they are asking in their demand letter are unreasonable. I would continue reading the forums as there is a wealth of information contained in them. The other issue I have with Getty is that even if you are trying to settle with them and request that they send you proof that they hold exclusive rights to the images by and are able to collect copyright infringement damages, they will not provide you with any proof. In my opinion if someone is presenting you with a bill but refuses to justify the total on the bill I will not pay it.

If you do not have the time to read through the forums, again I agree with Robert and I would consider using the ELI support call with Matthew, he can give you a lot of ideas and strategies that you can use to defend yourself against these extortion letters. Again welcome to the forms JT, continue to read and ask questions and please keep us posted.

[anakin]

Have there been any resolutions in any of the earliest cases?   Where do these cases stand? Is Getty pursuing them?   
Also, I am not sure of what is provided in the Oscar’s Defense Letter Program?   I have tried to  digest  "all" the info on the site.  Help

I'm hoping you haven't paid Getty yet as I would NOT settle. The only time I would settle would be if I was a web designer with a client that was on the hook - and then I would settle just so the client doesn't have to deal with the problems that Getty would cause. (unless you have a really good relationship with the client and they understand what will happen).
If it's just images used for your company site though, I would fight tooth and nail.
I would personally opt for Oscars letter defense program in your case.. since after reading his example letters I can see he puts a lot of work into defending your company and in the best case you might not have to pay anything as they might drop it, but in the worst case you will likely pay less than the 1k.
Obviously there is no guarantee but heck I would rather fight them even if it cost me a little more , and I think chances are good it will cost you less and then you don't have to feel cheated..
Another good thing, from what I understand with Oscars program is that they stop pestering you and have to deal with him directly.

I don't think there have been many cases in which Getty actually took a case to trial. There have been some cases of being submitted to collection agencies I guess, although it's not happening much now it seems.

[stinger]

jt, the decision to settle or not can only be yours.  But before you make that decision, I strongly encourage you to get educated.  This forum is a great place to do that. 

Don't take the things McCormack might be saying about the law as gospel.  There are many sides to every story.  They paint thousands of pictures of the law per month aimed at trying to collect money.  They are good at painting their side of the story.  And they have a vested interest in doing so.

Besides some excellent "free" advice, this forum allows you some paid options if you would rather manage the fight than get into the ring.  Consider all your options before making a decision.

[Akeia]

It's certainly a personal decision but I didn't settle. I almost did in the initial phone call I made to them from receipt of their letter. My fine was only $800 and I was going to settle at $600.

Upon further reflection and inner guidance, I sent an email saying I was pressed to come up with the money (little did they know I have the money but it’s not how I choose to spend it). Told them I looked into what my rights are a little bit and have learned a few things, that I have rights in such circumstances. Also told them that I learned that "the law recognizes that some people 'innocently infringe' others copyrights (as is true in my case). If the infringer proves in court that his or her infringement was innocent, the statutory damages are often dropped."

They responded via email with a seemingly rational argument that none of my points were valid and I still was liable to pay them the fine. She wrote, "this is not going to go away." I initially fell a bit prey to this but still, per my inner guidance, I wasn’t going to cower to their fear-based strategy.

I felt it was worth taking chance to not pay, prolong the case and see if they would really do anything legally (and doubted that they would). It's been 9 months now and I never heard from them again. So, I think it's worth not succombing to their "threats" and they'll probably just let it fall away like they did with my case.

P.S. This website and forum posts helped support me a lot. THANK YOU to all who contribute!!

Patrice

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

@ Patrice, glad to see you did not fall victim, but be aware, just because it's been nine months doesn't mean it has gone away. The statute is 3 years, so you have awhile to go . Don't be surprised if you get the now infamous letter from Timothy McCormack hounding you more...we have ways outlined here in the forum of dealing with this ass-hat..

[Oscar Michelen]

Listen, with all the material and information available on this site, we shouldn't entertain such general and generic questions as "Should I settle" or "What should I do?" or "What will happen next?" Read the forums, look at the videos, get educated and then make a decision based on what you've read and learned. Why would you even think about settling before you have evaluated the value and strength of Getty's claim?