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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Asking Getty to change future communication to me - am I asking for trouble?

« on: February 28, 2017, 10:13:26 AM »

Hello all,

It's been nearly 5 years since my original post, so I thought I'd post an update with the good news that using Oscar's service worked perfectly for my situation.  Once Oscar delivered his letter, my mother was never contacted again and we're now more than 2 years outside the SOL!  I just found the original Getty and McCormack letters in my desk, and threw them in the trash - what a feeling!

Best of luck to those fighting a similar case, and a sincere thank you again to Matt and Oscar for helping so many with their information and services!

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Removing images from web page, hard drive and archive.org??

« on: May 03, 2012, 07:54:36 PM »

Thanks Mulligan, appreciate that.  And thanks to every member of this forum for sharing your own stories, advice, and experiences.  Matt and Oscar should be proud of what they've established since this is definitely not something to tackle on your own. 

Sharing information from this forum, as well as some of everyone's experiences with my mom has made it a little easier for her to cope with the scenario, but unfortunately she still doesn't quite understand everything in it's entirety.  Getty and McCormack's letters are absolutely terrifying to their target audience, and because of that, Getty Images will forever live in a "bad place" in the back of her mind.  Way to go Getty, you've certainly invented a unique way to achieve unforgettable brand recognition.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Removing images from web page, hard drive and archive.org??

« on: May 03, 2012, 06:49:21 PM »

You technically don't have to explain your reasons why you want your website taken down. However, I wonder if enough people stated that they are removing themselves from the archive because it is being corrupted by sleazy corporate interests like Getty Images, would they say anything or make a public statement how it is eroding their mission.

Matt, you summed it up perfectly.  The site I took down was a simple 7-page static website promoting my mom's single-employee (her) beauty salon.  It showed a price list, services offered, and a map showing potential clients how to get there.  Did I want to take it down?  Of course not.  However, I cannot allow Getty to continue harassing my mother any further, since she is their perfect target who would have just paid them what they asked for without first educating herself on what they're really doing.  Therefore, I've hired Oscar to intercept their communication going forward, and on her request, wanted to simply remove all history of the site to help her mental state going forward.  It's what is currently helping her sleep at night, and I pray Oscar sends them his letter before they send her the next one - I can't go through another week of her instability in thinking she's done something wrong.

If they were harassing ME, however, I would have certainly left the site archived.  It really all depends what helps you get through this, mentally.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Removing images from web page, hard drive and archive.org??

« on: May 02, 2012, 10:39:37 PM »

For what it's worth, I was successful with having archive.org remove my site with an email stating that I was a Getty target. I just had to prove that I owned the domain by emailing them the request from the email listed under the Whois registration contact page.  It took about 4 business days for them to take it down.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Asking Getty to change future communication to me - am I asking for trouble?

« on: April 19, 2012, 08:36:30 AM »

Please tell your mother that she didn't break the law. You did. But ultimately she is responsible because the site is registered in her name (I presume). The bottom line is you are not allowed to use another's work (art, photography, writing, etc.) without permission.
 

Believe me, lesson learned.  The site was registered to me actually, but they've still been contacting my mother because that's the only number and address they have from the website.  They've actually yet to contact her by her name.  They've only been addressing the letters to the salon's name, and "attention: legal department".

You spend a couple hundred bucks, but Getty cannot contact her.

I guess this is what I want to make sure of, as Oscar's letter seems to make the most sense.  Should this ever go to court, I would certainly be the one representing the scenario.  I just want this mental anguish to be deflected from my mom, as she had no part in it.  As Matthew states below, my mom is most definitely her own worst enemy - she's the perfect candidate for what Getty is targeting.

Your mother will be her own worst enemy. It is very difficult to help someone who becomes irrational and overly emotional.  It is very difficult to help someone who can't get it together. Hiring Oscar will be the easiest solution since she will not listen to reason or get educated.

Randomly hiring lawyers without qualifications and spending crazy money on legal fees is stupid.

It really doesn't matter what YOU are willing to do. They are targeting your mother and she is the one getting the letters.  The best thing you can do is just offer to pay for Oscar's services and then go from there. If your mother gives you permission to speak on her behalf, that will be good.
 

Thanks Matthew.  She has given me permission to speak on her behalf, but then she becomes irrational again and wants to continue looking for local legal representation - which I know is the wrong direction.  Having to educate a brand new attorney on this entire scenario and what Getty is doing would probably cost more than just the few thousand dollars they are looking for.  I need to just let her know that I've taken action, so she can rest.  This is essentially what Oscar's letter does, correct?

Thanks again for the help and information.  It's not much, but I just made a small donation to this site as I'm sure it's helped a lot of people in a similar situation.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Asking Getty to change future communication to me - am I asking for trouble?

« on: April 18, 2012, 05:34:22 PM »

Hello all, first post here as another victim of the Getty extortion letter.

I have a similar background as most of these go, however, it’s my mom who is getting contacted for a few images found on her salon’s website.  I built her a simple 7-page static website for my her beauty salon in 2004, just to give her a “presence” on the web listing her services, pricing, and contact info.  She’s a one-woman small-business who owns the salon and performs all services herself – mainly skin and nail care.  I’m by no means a web-designer, I’m just savvy enough to build basic pages in Dreamweaver, and found some images on the web that were good fillers for her page.  “Woman on phone” and “manicure” were some of the simple images that I found, that Getty is now claiming are theirs, 8 years later.  (By the way, I’ve documented other sites that these images are currently available on as well).

She got her first letter in September, and didn’t know what it was so she threw it out.  Her second letter arrived in November, to which she brought to my attention.  Like everyone here, I found a lot of resources online about this whole ordeal and decided that it was best to just remove the site altogether – which I did in December of 2011.  I would be amazed if she gained even 5 clients from the site in the 8 years it was up, but it made my mom feel like she had “made it”, so it’s really too bad that a nice gesture on my end has to be spoiled by such a nasty, and relentless action.

That said, my question revolves around the mental agony my mom is currently going through, thinking she’s “breaking the law” and will be sued for everything she owns if she continues to ignore these letters.  She just got her third letter with the “legal” document from Timothy B. McCormack, and I know the next steps will be phone calls.  She is scared out of her wits, and no matter what I say to her she does not have the strength to stand up to these people and wants to investigate hiring lawyers to handle this for her.

We have not called or written Getty to date, however, now that I’m somewhat educated on the subject, I wish they were contacting ME instead of my mom.  So, that’s my question.  Has anyone been successful in contacting Getty on behalf of another party receiving their first communications, with the only goal being to change the focus contact point to someone else?  Is this basically what Oscar’s letter does?  Like all, I have no intention of paying what they are asking for and would actually welcome the chance to state my case in court.

Part of me wants to write them a scenario of the situation, ask for the licenses of the said images, and request that all future communication be sent to me.  Would this work, or am I asking for trouble?  Look forward to all feedback!