Messages

1

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Received a letter... No longer own the site

« on: March 14, 2013, 01:33:47 PM »

Thank you all for the advice. I sent the response that I listed above back to them. In my mind, there was no need to go further than that as a first response. If they come back (and I absolutely expect them to), that is when a more defensive, aggressive response makes sense.

I'm in no way worried about this going to court. My original concern was not even the subsequent letters from them. It was whether or not this could affect a credit report. After a little more reading, it seems that there's no way this could be put onto a credit report. For that matter, I'll gladly play the back and forth game with them. As pointed out above, a court case (while unlikely for one image anyway) would be a financial gamble on their end given the circumstances involving the ownership transferring prior to the letter date, and possibly the screenshot date.

I'll update this thread if/when I get a response.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Received a letter... No longer own the site

« on: March 12, 2013, 12:54:03 PM »

Is it better to be that aggressive up front?  I had planned to be short, but cordial in my response so that it didn't come off as overly defensive.  We wanted to come across as an innocent party, because I do believe that we are.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Received a letter... No longer own the site

« on: March 12, 2013, 11:13:21 AM »

We have already started contacting people that are currently affiliated with the site.

You bring up a good point about providing too much information. This is the current draft of my letter, as the letter from Getty Images came to my address (but did not reference my name).

Any additional input from anyone?
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Name
Address
Date

Copyright Compliance Team
Getty Images
605 5th Ave S
Suite 400
Seattle, WA  98104

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is in response to the letter that your company sent to this address regarding an allegedly infringing image on a website, ***** (Case Number: *****).

I regret to inform you that I do not own or operate *****.

I kindly request that you cease pursuit of this matter with relation to my name or address.

Sincerely,
Signed

4

Getty Images Letter Forum / Received a letter... No longer own the site

« on: March 12, 2013, 09:17:10 AM »

Yesterday, we received "the letter" from Getty Images dated March 5, 2013. It references one of their images on a site that we owned and operated up until the beginning of February of this year. However, we sold the domain, site, and all ip/content at the beginning of February. Considering the date of the letter, we assume that we received the letter because the WhoIs information was not updated until late February.

The problem that we have is that the new owner has taken down the website. We have no way of confirming that the image was used on the website, and if it was used during our time of ownership. Archives of the site do not contain the image in question. If the site did contain the image, it was provided by a third party. We understand that does not release someone of liability. However, with no way to prove that the image was used (other than the low quality screen capture in the letter), we are not comfortable in dealing with this situation. In addition to that, the domain, website, and all content were sold to a new owner. Unfortunately for the new owner, we feel that this matter is no longer our concern.

We had considered drafting a letter to Getty Images explaining that as of February, we no longer are affiliated with the site and to please update their records with the current WhoIs information. There was a delay of 20 days between the sale of the site and the update of the WhoIs information. We do have proof of the transaction (with date) when the site was sold.

Do you have any advice on this situation?