Topics

1

Getty Images Letter Forum / Got Nancy Monsons' e-mail reply. How much is court?

« on: July 18, 2013, 04:24:52 AM »

Summary: Getty charged me $1065 for a single image; I responded with a generous 'best offer' (I'm a former union steward) of $75 and a demand to know how they arrived at their figure.

So I got an e-mail from Nancy M. today, rejecting my offer and coming back with this: "A breakdown of line by line items would be made available at the time of trial should this progress to that point" and "Getty Images needs to recover the lost licensing fees for payment to the photographer, along with costs of enforcement.   Had the infringement not occurred, Getty Images would not have had to deploy the additional resources needed to pursue this matter with respect to the infringing website.  Both issues of settlement must be accomplished on or before July 25, 2013."

They're also seeking proof that I had a license. What I'm tempted to do is tell them that the picture I posted (gag picture of polar bear + penguins) is all over the 'net as 'Creative Commons' but the picture they own is of the polar bear alone. I know it won't go far, but it would satisfy me.

Since I have an attitude problem, I'm also tempted to throw down the gauntlet and dare them to take me to court (in so many words). Assuming the worst, and they throw the book at me, what are the costs?

2

Getty Images Letter Forum / Background images?

« on: July 11, 2013, 01:24:43 AM »

When I started building web sites several years ago, the trend was to use background images that your web-building program would tile. It looked sharp but as time went on they fell out of vogue.

My question is, has Getty (or anybody else) ever tried to recover damages for the use of any of these background images?

3

Getty Images Letter Forum / A technical question

« on: July 11, 2013, 01:18:12 AM »

This program that Getty is using to scour the 'net to look for pictures, can it 'read' images that are part of a Flash display in an .swf file?

4

Getty Images Letter Forum / HOLY #@*&$! Everything's just changed!

« on: July 03, 2013, 03:14:20 PM »

The image that Getty is skewering me over is the sleeping polar bear and penguin with cymbals. We've all seen it.

So I tried Tin Town, Tin Ear, or whatever that site is that searches for images. It yielded over a thousand hits, which I expected. And the first page is what I expected...this image appears on the blog sites of the usual suspects.

However, what I didn't expect is this:

https://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/elizamarlow/gGMK3K

 

How 'bout that: it's on the official web site of the election campaign of the President of the United States! Granted, it was uploaded by a blogger not associated with the campaign; but don't they have people who check this stuff?

I guess this is my opportunity to perform a public service, pro bono, for my country. I'll make it easy for Getty by supplying them with the next address for one of their letters...1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC.

Ah, I feel so patriotic.

5

Getty Images Letter Forum / Velvet fist in the iron glove?

« on: July 03, 2013, 03:00:00 PM »

Now that the dust has settled, I'm reading this extortion letter in more detail. I let it sit for about a week to view it with fresh eyes. It's 8 pages long, plus the screen capture of my 'offense'. Much of it is devoted to the easy ways I can pay for my sin. And highlighted on Page 2 is an offer of assistance of future use: Once I 'settle' with them, they'll give me a coupon code for 5 free images from Thinkstock. And they'll make it available as soon as I make payment! Then, they invite me to peruse their web site to learn more about them and the wonderful things they do, since this is the first time I may have come in contact with their company.

Gee...hit me in the face with a shovel, try and steal my wallet, then offer me an ice pack and a candy bar. I'm touched by their generosity.