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« on: June 18, 2012, 07:14:36 PM »
Well, it turns out Getty cashed my FINAL offer check of $100.00. Probably more than I should have offered, but I really didn't want to deal with this for the entire of my summer break--I want to have some fun! (I'm a public school teacher). Below is a cut/paste of the letter that I sent them, along with a check for $100.00 with "final settlement" written in the memo section:
Gettyimages
601 N. 34th St.
Seattle, WA 98103
Regarding Case: xxxxxxx
This letter is in response to your letter dated May 24, 2012. In this letter you state that an image used on the website xxxxxxxxx.com was identified as being in violation of U.S. copyright law. The webpage in question was removed immediately. This website is a personal website and is currently password protected and unavailable to anyone other than my wife and myself.
After a considerable amount of research, I found many similar images ranging in price from $10 to $50 with unlimited use. Such images were found at istock.com as well as at canstock.com. I am enclosing a check for $100 in order to take care of this matter, in spite of the fact that this amount is greater than the going price for similar stock photography and is far in excess of what would be owed for a low-res thumbnail photo of an indistinguishable image (see below).
Understand that the website in question is simply an online portfolio and does not generate any revenue; it is not nor ever has been a business website in any way nor it receives only negligible web traffic. My wife is not a freelance artist and is not currently looking for employment. It simply serves as a place where samples of my wife’s past design work is collected and stored. This work includes her own art pieces as well as web comps and samples she has created through the years. The alleged image was actually part of a screen capture and was incredibly small and difficult to see on the original webpage (and doubly difficult to see on the copy you sent us.)
In spite of this, I have included a payment of $100 in order to put this matter behind us and stop wasting both of our times and resources on what is inevitably seems to be nothing more than a minor misunderstanding on both ends.
As per the guidelines your legal team has laid forth, you too will have fourteen days from the date of this letter to respond. If no response is received in the 14 days it is understood that you accept the $100.00 settlement and no further collections or legal action from getty will be forthcoming.
If you do not accept this settlement, please return the check promptly within the agreed upon 14 days. Also include with your response the following items: a) proof that you are holders of the copyright, including copies of the signed paperwork verifying that you are now the copyright holder; b) the method by which you formulated your settlement amount; c) a clearer copy of the infringement and d) the date which the infringement began.
Please understand, you are obligated to provide legal standing when collecting a debt, this includes the proof that this is the image in question, proof that you are the owner of the alleged image and proof that the amount owed is consistent with the going rate for similar images. If you are unable to provide all of this information in the timeframe set by your own legal department, then I will consider this matter closed.
Thanks in advance for your prompt attention to this situation, I look forward to settling this quickly and amicably.
Sincerely,
Jxxxxx
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