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Author Topic: The Perfect Storm  (Read 2918 times)

ewk

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The Perfect Storm
« on: February 18, 2011, 10:05:18 AM »
I just signed up and want to say what a terrific job you are doing with this web site. It is really a public service.

After years of being customers of Getty products, my company and our customers have received a few Getty letters. Like others here, they came from graphics we purchased from another company that we assumed were produced with licensed images. Big mistake!

Getty is taking advantage of the perfect storm. The complexity of intellectual property law, combined with the evolving Internet, has resulted in scores of people being caught in this trap. In the early days of the Internet, if a company wanted graphics to use in online products, it turned to small companies and individuals. Large graphics firms were not always available to do this work. Many of these small players outsourced to unscrupulous parties and/or  have now gone out of business.

There is no way to defend yourself in these cases.

We contacted an IP lawyer who knew nothing about Getty letters. I spent time explaining the situation but he still doesn’t fully understand. So finding this web site was critical for us. Finding Mr. Michelen who fully comprehends what this all means, and can explain it in plain English, is HUGE. (I have called Mr. Michelen’s office for an appointment and sent him an email … I am waiting to hear back.)

It is very rare for an attorney to give away free legal advice like this. We want to hire him but I am touched by the fact that he is trying to help people who can't afford an attorney.

I also love Mr. Chan’s article on NOT using stock photography anymore. I am in the process of doing this at my company. Many Getty images are simple … many people can create them. My goal is not to buy anything from Getty, despite the fact they have a near monopoly in the marketplace. We have not been buying masterpieces from them! And the fact that we are customers means nothing to them. Why should we remain?

Keep up the good work!!!

 

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