I wanted to encourage others with my story regarding the dreaded Getty Image letter. I've been designing websites as a side business for 10 years. I've always been careful to use stock photos and have used template monster layouts as a starting point for many clients.
One of my former clients sold his company and the new owner received a letter from Getty. Needless to say the new owner was very upset and let me know that he was seriously considering paying Getty and suing me for damages plus his legal fees. (I received more than one email from his lawyer). To add insult to injury, the last time the disputed image was on his site was nearly two years ago. To make a very long story short, I was able to trace the image back to a template I purchased in 2005 and managed to get a copy of the invoice from Template Monster (whose customer service very helpful). Once I produced the receipt, the next day Getty Images dropped the case. This entire ordeal lasted two months and caused everyone involved a great deal of stress.
To sum it all up: Getty sells rights to their libraries to many third parties such as Template Monster but acts as if they don't. Getty would like you to believe that if you can't produce an receipt from www.gettyimages.com you are a thief and will end up in court. It is deplorable that Getty waited nearly two years to dispute the image and that I had to prove my innocence with receipts from over seven years ago. This is a complete scam.
If you are going through this ordeal, you have my sincere sympathy. Please don't reward Getty's detestable business practices buy paying the extortion letter.
One of my former clients sold his company and the new owner received a letter from Getty. Needless to say the new owner was very upset and let me know that he was seriously considering paying Getty and suing me for damages plus his legal fees. (I received more than one email from his lawyer). To add insult to injury, the last time the disputed image was on his site was nearly two years ago. To make a very long story short, I was able to trace the image back to a template I purchased in 2005 and managed to get a copy of the invoice from Template Monster (whose customer service very helpful). Once I produced the receipt, the next day Getty Images dropped the case. This entire ordeal lasted two months and caused everyone involved a great deal of stress.
To sum it all up: Getty sells rights to their libraries to many third parties such as Template Monster but acts as if they don't. Getty would like you to believe that if you can't produce an receipt from www.gettyimages.com you are a thief and will end up in court. It is deplorable that Getty waited nearly two years to dispute the image and that I had to prove my innocence with receipts from over seven years ago. This is a complete scam.
If you are going through this ordeal, you have my sincere sympathy. Please don't reward Getty's detestable business practices buy paying the extortion letter.