It's arrived in the Czech Republic!

[RHPrague]

Greetings. Thank you for this site. A week ago I had hardly heard of Getty Images. Now I'm signed up, paid up and ready to participate.

I received the letter out of the blue from a debt collection agency. It is actually even worse in some ways than the standard one described here. For example there was no illustration at all, and we were puzzled as we have just redesigned our website (www.hunter.cz)with no stock images at all. And the amount demanded equates to about $1000 for just one image! That is more than one months net salary for the average Czech!

However it was very easy for me to track down the company behind it. Its a Czech company dealing with fotobanks and related services for the creative industry. Getty is one part but not all of their revenue stream. I was easily able to track down the CEO and find out a lot about him. I could not get him on the phone but was passed to his 'marketing' manager, a young lady who presumed to lecture me on copyright law (not knowing that I've been working in advertising longer than she's been on the planet.)
The CEO has a LinkedIN entry which describes his relationship with Getty thus: "is selected partner/master delegate for getty images. "
The previous website with the alleged infringement was designed by a very good digital agency who are investigating the allegation for me. I have already told the company representing Getty that their claim is ridiculous, not least because the entire website doesnt exist.
The interesting thing here is the local rep of Getty. Prague is a small town, especially in the area of creative communications. His company is not much bigger than mine. We have  3 direct connections on LinkedIn. Two of them are top local creative directors of ad agencies, and he needs them whereas they tend to need me. He and I feature in the same local magazines. It seems to me that because he is just a rep of Getty the playing field between bully and potential victim is more level than usual.
Right now I feel that I want not just to remove his claim against me, but to get him to change his business practice. I am an experienced and assertive British national but I am worried about the naive local people who could be intimidated.
Any thoughts and advice much appreciated.

[Oscar Michelen]

Hey RH:

Thanks for letting us know that this pesky problem has reached the beautiful Czech Republic. Its hard to give you any advice because I am not familiar with Czech copyright law but I doubt that you will get him to change his business practices. He is likely making a nice amount of money off of this program and playing up his connection with Getty to his clients and prospective customers. So I don't see him losing that without some incentives.  I would hold firm against paying him anything especially with the situation you describe.  That's the best way to get him to stop, by not making it worth his while financially.  Good Luck and keep us posted please!

[RHPrague]

Here is an update from Prague and then a question for Mr Michelen.

The debt collection company is called Logicall, and they act on behalf of Isifa (note, not Getty Images) Isifa  "is selected partner/master delegate for getty images. " . I wrote the MD of the  debt collection company that they should cease their ‘automated’ process of harassment, and that if I hear from them again I hold the CEO of Isifa accountable for this.
A week or so ago I got another letter from them. It says that the process is not automated, they pursue a specific case against me, and that they are in contact with Isifa and “of course” with Getty Images. They then adopt a notably less belligerent tone than in the extortion letter. They say that there is an outstanding issue and that if I would contact them directly they would expect that there can be a resolution of the case. That’s a rough translation, but there is no figure mentioned now, nor any deadline for payment.

However I was pondering the legality of their situation, and wanted to run this past Mr Michelen, while of course acknowledging that he cannot comment authoritatively on Czech law. But I would suppose that there are some legal principles here that would apply anywhere in the civilised world. Firstly: The debt collecting company’ s extortion letter states that it is acting on behalf of Isifa (not Getty Images) to collect a debt. So Isifa would have to be the company that goes to the Czech court. Now Isifa’s relationship with Getty seems to be recent, at earliest 2007. Supposing the entity they pursue has bought the image much further back, say 2003. It could not possibly have had any contractual obligation to Isifa, let alone know how much to pay Isifa. Can you imagine then that Isifa can argue in court that it should be paid 2 times the alleged fee for usage of the image, when at the time of purchase, Isifa simply were not involved in the business?

Would you advise me to go back to the debt collecting company and ask them when Isifa became the legal entity responsible for collecting the image right fee, when they suppose the transaction should have taken place, and how I would have established what the fee should have been? Or would you advise me to just repeat to them that I am satisfied i don’t owe them a koruna, and to leave me alone. Or would you advise me to just ignore them?

[Oscar Michelen]

Dear RHP:

I cannot possibly comment on your situation as I am wholly unfamiliar with Czech law regarding copyright; contracts and collection law. I can only tell you that here in the states I can assign (give over) all of my rights in a claim to another entity. So it is possible that Isifa is Getty's assignee and that they have all the rights of Getty.