Messages

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Let the Fear & Paranoia, Fire & Brimstone Begin!

« on: April 16, 2011, 11:31:02 AM »

Thank you, Mathew.  This client is very high profile on the internet and is under fire by the PTB.  So he is already paranoid.  Because of this issue and a few others, recently, I'm not sure I am not a target, myself.  Therefore, I'm doubly thankful for help such as yours and Oscar's.  

I'm somewhat philosophical, though; taking the long view that events like this actually steer you where you need to go if you do your best to act for the highest good as you can see it.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Let the Fear & Paranoia, Fire & Brimstone Begin!

« on: April 15, 2011, 03:00:00 PM »

Thanks very much for your quick, helpful response.  I'm trying to do what I can to be responsible for what now appears an ignorant mistake on my part.   I've been a professional creative for 30+ years and had no idea how the copyright laws had been made so much stricter and inclusive in more recent years.

But I still feel that much of these current laws, even if well-intended, are very over-reaching and ultimately damaging to the creative community--even those they are designed to allegedly 'protect'.  Kind of another version of 'Homeland Security' imho...

It has and will certainly change how and what I do as a creative professional.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Something to think about - Online Photo Editing

« on: April 15, 2011, 01:41:27 PM »

I looked into using PicScount (it's available to use their 'free service' to find license data in pics you upload to their site) for work I've already used photos from the web in, but I'm similarly paranoid the info will be passed on before I myself can act on it.    I DO NOT knowingly use copyrighted material, but since getting singed am worried I may have done it elsewhere and want to inspect past work so it can be changed (any licenses appropriately paid for or offending material deleted) before I get zapped again.  I've been trying to find open source programs that will reveal that sort of data.  I tried JpegSnoop, but, although it delivers a lot of data about what is embedded in jpegs, I couldn't find any ownership information included, unless I didn't know how to interpret it.  I've written the program designer for more information and will post it here if it is of use.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Let the Fear & Paranoia, Fire & Brimstone Begin!

« on: April 15, 2011, 01:24:25 PM »

I've sent him the link and some information about Oscar and my offer to retain Oscar but have not heard back from him.  Getty will not deal directly with me, but the client says he'll sue me if they come after him.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Let the Fear & Paranoia, Fire & Brimstone Begin!

« on: April 13, 2011, 12:01:04 PM »

Dear Mathew, I heartily applaud your spirit of community service with your site and again, am grateful.  

A client received the letter and the 'deadline' is today.  He is innocent and I, as a designer, am the one who actually inadvertently used the image.  He is threatening to sue me if Getty sues him.  Is it possible for me to retain Oscar for him, as I am a third party?

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Getty Images Letter Forum / anyone countersued Getty for damages to your own business?

« on: April 13, 2011, 10:09:41 AM »

I'm wondering if anyone has offered to counter-sue Getty over their heavy-handed letter?  Getty's letter to my client has clearly damaged MY business because of what and how they presented the issue to him. So he of course now considers that I 'stole' images in my work for him, and put him at high risk for loss.  He's threatened to sue me for all fees Getty extracts PLUS any court costs if they win.  Both he and another client who recommended me will now no longer give me their business and Getty is directly responsible.  (Same client that looks very covered by Fair Use doctrine).

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Fair Use doctrine

« on: April 13, 2011, 10:03:47 AM »

I haven't found any discussion of this aspect of Copyright law, here.  My client's deadline for responding to Getty is April 13 (today as I write).

I've put in a fair amount of research on this topic and after reading the Fair Use clauses on the law, he looks very clearly covered by it to me in spite of them pointedly telling him he wasn't.  His use of the image I created for him (an illustration in which I used, highly changed a portion of their allegedly (none was present on the page I pulled it from) copyrighted image was not for commercial but for educational purposes.  He does sell a product, but this illustration was used in a discussion he had put up for public education that had nothing to do with the product he sells.

I wondered if this has been successfully used in warding them off.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: A New Twist in the "Getty Letter"

« on: April 05, 2011, 06:45:52 PM »

I have made some posts I can no longer find. As I believe I observed the rules, along with expressing my gratitude for the site and willingness to donate and retain Oscar, I'm wondering why I can't find them.  May I be PM'd as to what occurred?  Thanks.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Thread Separation: Rebuttal to Oscar not responsive

« on: April 05, 2011, 04:17:38 PM »

I thank you both, as well. Your site gave me insight into the problem (and what I'd been ignorant of inspite of a long career in the graphics industry) and lessened the 'fear factor'.  This situation has enormous impact on me because I'm an artist who may have ignorantly put a number of clients at risk.  I am a freelancer with little assets and not wealthy at all because of age and disability.  Even one demand (such as I just received through a client) is a severe strain.  I not only have to think of ending my business because of this issue, I have to do whatever I can to protect past clients and how to keep them from 'getting the letter' if I possibly can.  I really can't backtrack and check all the images I've used to make sure they were truly fair use, but have offered to rework any images I created that attract Gettykind.  Sounds like if they were going to, they'd have gotten the letter by now.  If this is a fair free question, am I wrong about this?  

I don't want to presume on your services, Oscar and will gladly pay your stated fee if your help will pull me out of this fire.  I'd just have to take bankruptcy if Getty comes after me for more than this one demand, at this point.  Although in today's credit climate, I've heard bankruptcy doesn't really help you either and there are rumors of 'debtor's prison' being reinstated here.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Is PicScout Legal? - Cyber Trespass

« on: April 05, 2011, 02:02:55 PM »

I have a digital camera and actually do take my own photos where I can, but sometimes the demand of the project requires images of things or places I have no access to, so that is why i look on the web for them like anyone else.  As others have noted, it is generally easy to find free to use material and I try to be careful to avoid copyrighted material,unless I am prepared or have approval to pay the requisite license fees, but as I'm now learning, that is not always easy to do.  Rather than put myself at considerable risk, I have to find ways to verify fair use materials or make sure my techniques do not infringe on anyone.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Is PicScout Legal? - Cyber Trespass

« on: April 05, 2011, 01:02:21 PM »

Does anyone know if  there is any software available (that isn't exorbitant to buy or license to use) that I could obtain to scan all my images for the fractal code to make sure I'm not infringing anyone before I'm attacked for it?