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Getty Images Letter Forum / Windows Vista sample images

« on: May 02, 2009, 04:32:22 PM »

Hello, I just received the lovely Getty letter for 2 images and a bill for $2000 or $1800 with the 10% settlement demand discount because someone uploaded two thumbnail images (used as avatars) on my site. These are included as part of the Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium sample pictures! Has anyone else seen this? A better question though may be, does Getty Images have the right to claim copyright infringement on an image that is distributed by Microsoft, as part of an operating system. I just did a quick Google search for the same images they claim (green sea turtle and lit dock/sunset) and there must be thousands of sites with these photos being used, displayed and distributed! Not to mention they are distributed as part of the operating system that could be in use by literally millions of users worldwide. I realize that as the website operator, I am responsible for what my users do, but come on! I highly doubt that anyone who uses Windows (or Mac or Nix flavors for that matter) have any idea that the images are copyrighted and they cannot use them for anything. I haven't had a chance to read over the billion pages of Microsoft's user agreement yet but I wonder if there is any sort of disclaimer or copyright assignment on the images they include. Any thoughts or suggestions?