Messages

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Getty extortion letter ruined my memorial day

« on: June 28, 2017, 05:54:35 PM »

In answer to Clist's question, yes, my full contact info was on my website including home address and telephone number.   When I first built my site, I was told by an acquaintance who worked for Microsoft that websites had to have a physical address on them somewhere.   That rule may only apply to businesses, but I'm not really sure.  But if you aren't a business, it might be a good idea to remove your physical address.  It would certainly make it harder for this sort of situation to occur!   Maybe someone else on here knows the "legal" requirements regarding having addresses on webpages? 

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Getty extortion letter ruined my memorial day

« on: June 27, 2017, 04:53:19 PM »

I guess you could completely ignore them from the get-go also.  It hard to say really.  You could be right!   What upset me was that I didn't just get an email from them, I got a physical letter in the mail.  I knew nothing of the Getty extortion when I replied to them, and I assumed I was dealing with reasonable people.  I also assumed that since I wasn't a business or corporation, but just a teacher with a webpage, and let them know that the image in question was no on the website any longer, and also where it originally came from, I'd be fine.  In retrospect, would it have been better to have just ignored them and not to reply?  I have no idea?  I do know that in part because I along with thousands of other people have filed complaints against GettyImages with the BBB, they have a F (Yes, F!) rating.  I also filed a complaint against them with the Washington State Attorney General's Office for what its worth.   But now I don't communicate with GettyImages anymore.  I've really done all that I can to reason with them, so any further communication would be pointless.  I would add that had I only gotten an email from them and not a physical letter, I probably would have not replied to them at all. 

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Getty extortion letter ruined my memorial day

« on: June 27, 2017, 09:57:23 AM »

I still continue to get upset when I get either an email or physical letter from GettyImages.  But then I step back and remind myself that they have little ground to stand on.   When they targeted me for one tiny image that appeared only for a week or so on my teaching webpage, an image I got from the image gallery at Vistaprint, I became very curious about how many images Getty claims to hold the rights to that other companies also offer users for free.  I found literally dozens of images that were an exact match to Gettyimages.  When you went to Getty's site, they were charging royalties of anywhere from $500 - $1000 for a single image.  The exact image was variable from other websites for free.   I sent my extortion letter to Vistaprint and they provided me with a letter stating they held the rights to the images in their gallery.   I think that in many cases, Getty just searches for the images, assumes you took it from them, and then tries to hit you up for the royalty fee.    I made a list of all the images I found in the Vistaprint gallery that also matched images that Getty had.  I don't expect to have to actually go to court, but if I get any sort of attorney letter from them, I will simply forward this to them.   In my case, I did nothing wrong.  I'm a Vistaprint web subscriber, and just used images that are part of Vistaprint's web-builder program.   I will bet that Getty has done the same to thousands of other people.  I tried reasoning with Getty.  I tried forwarding my info to Getty.  I even offered a nominal payment just to stop the harassment.   None of it works.  My advice is to just ignore them.  I would take down any images in question from your page just to be safe even if you know you got the image "legally."  But unless they turn matters over to an attorney, any communications with Getty seems to be fruitless.  I'm not a legal expert.  Just another victim of Getty's extortion scheme. 

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: School tutor

« on: May 25, 2017, 05:35:57 PM »

I brought my problem to Vistaprint, and I received a reply letter from the copyright department at Vistaprint that stated that they had a license for all the images in their image gallery.  I forwarded it onto GettyImages;  they ignored it and sent me another email requesting payment of $833. Since my website contained a combination of my own pictures and generic pictures of school students that I had taken from Vistaprint, I decided to do a search using Microsoft Edge.  I don't think you can search photos with other browsers.  But if you right click on the image and select "Ask Cortana" she will match the image with the same image found elsewhere or other similar images.  I found at least four other images that matched EXACT images

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: School tutor

« on: May 13, 2017, 09:13:37 AM »

I hadn't heard anything for over a month and then yesterday got another Getty email stating I owed them the $800+   I wrote back that I had received a letter from Vistaprint maintaining that they held the rights to all images in the Vistaprint image gallery.  I added that I had since discovered quite a few images in the Vistaprint gallery that were exact matches for what GettyImages also claims are theirs, and that to avoid any confusion regardless of who has the rights, none of these images appear on my website. I let them know that if they took the matter further, I'd simply present my Vistaprint letter in court.   I'm wondering at this point if I should stop replying to GettyImages.  I'd be eager to know if others just stopped replying to the GettyImages email demands?

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: School tutor

« on: May 03, 2017, 10:28:01 AM »

I received a reply letter from the copyright department at Vistaprint that stated that they had a license for "all the images in their image gallery."  Since my website was a combination of my own pictures and generic pictures of school students that I had taken from Vistaprint, I decided to do a search using Microsoft Edge.  Something I did not realize you could do -- but a very handy tool!  I don't think you can search photos like this with other browsers.  But if you right click on the image and select "Ask Cortana" she will match the image with the exact image found elsewhere on the web.  If there is no match, she will provide images that come the closest to your image.  If your image is your own, she probably will reply that she cannot find anything on that image.  I found at least five other images that matched images in the Vistaprint gallery and were also the EXACT images that GettyImages claimed were theirs and listed for fairly high costs ($500+).  I immediately took the images down and wrote to Vistaprint about those as well.  So who owns these???  Vistaprint or Getty or both???

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: School tutor

« on: April 06, 2017, 10:57:43 AM »

Thanks Matthew!  My last email to GettyImages informed them that Vistaprint would be providing me with proof that they had the license to all images in their gallery, and the image in question came from their gallery.  I have heard nothing back from GettyImages since I sent that email.  I sent Vistaprint a copy of GettyImage's first letter to me with the image in question attached.  Vistaprint has provided a reply that the image belongs to them.  I'm now in wait and see mode.   I found your video you posted on Vimeo also very informative.   I know far more about GettyImages than I ever cared to know and am systematically building my defense file folder.   Every time I find another article about GettyImages practices or a lawsuit against them, I add it to the folder.  I assume that IF they turned this over to one of the attorneys that they retain, I would then send their attorney everything I have to counter this.  My letters from Vistaprint, etc.   But for now, I think I'd rather simply see if this has brought matters to a halt.  It seems like when I initiate letters to them, it only generates boilerplate replies from them about how they are well within their rights.   Thanks again.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: School tutor

« on: April 04, 2017, 02:09:37 PM »

Thanks for the advice.  So far, only two letters in the physical mail and at least 3 via email, all from GettyImages -- no attorney.  The second physical letter was triggered because I sent my reply letter arguing my case both in an email and through physical mail.   I now think that rather than send them what Vistaprint provides me, I'd simply wait to see if they do bump this up to some attorney.  I'm tired of getting these two page boilerplate replies from them.  Just as aside, GettyImages apparently don't care what their Better Business Bureau rating is.  They never responded to that complaint.  They hold an F rating with the BBB.   If GettyImages is trying to drum up business, this is certainly the wrong way to go about it.  I've also found numerous articles that documents that GettyImages has been sued on multiple occasions for their "Settlement Demand Letters"   Copyright lawyers have proven that GettyImages is using "unfair, deceptive schemes."  Would be nice if there was a class action suit against this company.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: School tutor

« on: April 03, 2017, 10:53:33 PM »

Thanks for the reply!   I

I did get an email reply today from Washington's State Attorney General's office.  GettyImages replied to them regarding my complaint with what appears to be a standard legalese form letter defending their position.   I have contacted Vistaprint and have received a personal reply from their copyright office there.   Their rep asked for copies of the letter I received from GettyImages, and I supplied it.   I hope(!) that Vistaprint will follow up by providing proof of ownership of all their image gallery images that I can forward on to GettyImages.   I'm not planning on initiating any more correspondances with GettyImages.  In summary, I've told them the following:  I did not take an image from GettyImages.  Other than photos I personally took, all my images and graphics came from the Vistaprint gallery.   2.  I told them that the copy of my email page was over two years old, one of the first I ever created, and the image in question couldn't have been on the page for more than a few days before I updated my website and the image was no longer there.  3.  I told them I was not admitting any guilt, but if they really just wanted to settle the matter, I'd send them $20 based on comparable images they sold (I found over 100) for a price range of $12 - $33 just to avoid all this hassle.    I let them know I filed a complaint with the Seattle Better Business Bureau and with the State Attorney General because their letter sounded like extortion tactics -- telling me that all this would be dismissed provided I purchased one of their annual subscriptions to their service (at a cost of around $1,000! but they did offer me a "coupon."  If I acted on their offer within a few days ( I think they gave me 3 days to respond to the offer) they would discount the offer.   More and more I thought, this sounds like a total scam.   Some people have talked about the idea of cases going to court, but my understanding from the vast majority of people who have experienced this is that they simply take this to "collections."  I've never owed a penny in my entire life.  There must be a way to rebut an erroneous or spurious attempt to collect money from an individual?   I wouldn't think that a company can simply make a "claim" you owe them money and take this to collections.   If GettyImages does hand this over to an attorney, I plan to mail the attorney all my correspondences along with my Vistaprint letter that establishes that the images were the property of Vistaprint.   

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: School tutor

« on: March 22, 2017, 12:18:22 PM »

I did contact Vistaprint, and they told me to let GettyImages know that they have a license for all images they provide for their customers.   

I followed up with GettyImages when they rejected my offer to say that Vistaprint would be in contact with them and if they did not dismiss this immediately and continued to contact me, I would consider it harassment and take the appropriate action.

It probably will do nothing, but I've gone ahead and filed a complaint with the Washington Attorney General and with the Seattle Better Business Bureau.  Just an FYI:  GettyImages has an F RATING with the Better Business Bureau and dozens of complaints filed against them already according to the BBB page. 

I will hold tight and not contact GettyImages any longer.    I continue to find thousands (no exaggeration) of similar public speaker images that sell for $10 - $33.  I assume if this were to go to court, the issue of "fair market value" would be important to the case.  (Who in their right mind would pay $815 for a $12 image?)

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Getty Images Letter Forum / School tutor

« on: March 22, 2017, 09:01:41 AM »

I am a retired teacher and I tutor grade school and high school students in my retirement years.  I maintain a webpage for my students through the Vistaprint Company.  On February 16, 2017 I received in the mail what at first I thought was “junk mail” with a return address from the Getty Images Company in Seattle, Washington, but when I read it, I saw that had an old photo capture from about a year ago of the webpage I had first made.  This page was no longer in operation.  They had singled out one small photo and claimed the photo belonged to them and I was in violation of their copyright.   I became very concerned and contacted them at their email address.  I told them 1.) The page no longer appears.  2.)  I received all my images from Vistaprint’s image gallery – the gallery that Vistaprint makes available when you subscribe to its web services.  I received back an email stating that I owed GettyImages $815.00 for the use of the image.  This amount seemed unusually high for an unremarkable generic image of the back of a  public speaker, so I investigated their site and found that hundreds of similar images were for sale for anywhere from $12 to $33 per image.   I replied with a polite letter offering a settlement of $20 based on their costs.   The company told me that they would “make this all go away” if I bought one of their annual subscriptions at a cost of around $1000.  My other choice was to pay the $815 or they would sue me.  They declined my offer. 

I am aware that one can only ask the “fair market” price of anything and I asked why they would seem to think that this one image was worth 1000 times more than other similar images.   They did not explain their reasoning only that they owned the image and that’s what they charge.

I began to think that this sounded like an extortion racket.  Should I pay them or wait to see what happens?  This is very distressing!