Messages

1366

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: An Experiment Against Getty

« on: October 04, 2012, 08:18:33 AM »

Thanks for the clarification!  Perhaps that amount reflects the number of extortion letters that are being ignored! 

Getty's purchase of Picscout was 2011 and was for a reported $20 million.

Trade Debtors are amounts owed by customers who have purchased something which wouldn't relate to picscout.

As I said, it could be a restructure of the way they released images, but to be owed that much at year end is strange. Doubt we'll ever know for sure though.

1367

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: An Experiment Against Getty

« on: October 04, 2012, 06:39:55 AM »

don't forget Getty Images recently purchased Picscout for a large sum...could this be part of these numbers below?

Something that may be of interest.

I have some data on Getty UK's accounts filed in 2009 and 2010.

In 2009 they listed their trade debtors assets as £72,000.

In 2010 their accounts showed trade debtors as £69,185,000, a small increase of 95990%

Of course it may be something unrelated such as a change in policy that means charges aren't paid up front but it seems a drastic swing in just 12 months.

Just for the record. This information is freely available in their accounts which in the UK are open to the public.

Something else that may be of interest is this:

http://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-downgrades-Gettys-CFR-to-B2-from-Ba3-assigns-B1--PR_256183

Probably couldn't afford to sue anyone even if it was their policy :p

1368

Righthaven Lawsuits Forum / Missing Righthaven attorney surfaces, airs grievances about company

« on: October 03, 2012, 07:11:15 PM »

A Righthaven LLC copyright lawsuit attorney who has been missing in action for seven months resurfaced Wednesday and publicly aired his grievances about his experience with the company.

Las Vegas attorney Shawn Mangano, who was last heard from publicly in February in relation to Righthaven cases, filed court papers responding to a federal judge’s order requiring him to explain why he missed deadlines in one of the Righthaven cases early this year.

In his response, Mangano said he’s been under stress because he’s been spending a lot of time caring for his ailing mother in Southern California. He acknowledged making mistakes and asked the court for leniency should it impose sanctions.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/oct/03/missing-righthaven-attorney-surfaces-airs-grievanc/

1369

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: New wording and interface on Getty's site

« on: October 01, 2012, 07:59:20 PM »

Just to be clear there is no "small claims court" for infringement  it's a federal deal.I think if small claims were an option, they would be more likely to harass people to go in front of Judge Judy.

1370

Getty Images Letter Forum / Lisa Willmer, Senior Director, Corporate Counsel at Getty Images

« on: October 01, 2012, 05:01:59 PM »

Family Fun Fact:

Muslim: from a personal name probably based on Arabic sawīya ‘equality’, a derivative of sawī ‘well-proportioned’, ‘shapely’, ‘harmonious’.

1371

UK Getty Images Letter Forum / Getty Images London is hiring!!

« on: October 01, 2012, 04:12:40 PM »

Thanks to Matthew for sharing this with me, which I now share with our community, with commentary of coarse!

"You are eager to protect intellectual property and understand that the unlicensed use of our images erodes their value in the marketplace and has broader ramifications for Getty Images."
In other word drink the Getty Images kool-aid

"Your role is to ensure you deal with licensing infringements in a fair and responsible manner."
What a line of BS this is, we ALL know how responsible Getty copyright clerks are..

"You are focused to educate your customers around the value of our products and services in order to retain them as customers and upsell."
yeah pay Getty obscene amounts of money, because our pictures are not the same as stock images on pond5 for a fraction of the cost..

"You are also committed to enhance productivity to drive increases in revenue."
send more letters...collect more money = increased revenue

"Negotiating settlements. To settle and clarify with image users about copyright law and image licensing"
No need to know a damn thing about copyright law tho, just get the damn money!

"In-depth research of image licensing and use as well as customer research to obtain company information"
In-depth research of image licensing??? LMAO at this one!
"customer research to obtain company information" - must excel at this, as this is the number 1 requirement, without they can't send extortion letters.

"Review search results and determine the appropriate courses of action"
Send Letter, send letter, send letter...

What You'll Need:
"Paralegal experience or credit and collections experience is beneficial"
"Expediency to deal with high-volume workloads"
--->"Excellent verbal and written communication skills" <----
In other words, must be able to read the script from the monitor, and send out the same form letter we've sent a gazillion times already..

If anyone would care to read the specifics or apply use the link below:

http://uk.linkedin.com/jobs/jobs-Copyright-Compliance-Specialist-3699804

1372

Getty Images Letter Forum / copyright troll Hawaiian Art Network v. The Scott LLC update

« on: October 01, 2012, 01:52:56 PM »

From Pacer and filed on 9/26/12....Looks like Hawaiian Art Netwrok doesn't hjave what it takes to fight on multiple fronts..

HAWAIIAN ART NETWORK LLC,
Plaintiff,
v.
THE SCOTT LLC; and DOES 1–10
inclusive,
Defendants.

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m), Defendants must be served within
120 days after the complaint is filed, or else the Court “must dismiss the action
without prejudice.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m). This action commenced on April 19,
2012—no proof of service has been filed with the Court, and no Defendants have
appeared in this case. Plaintiff is hereby ORDERED TO SHOW CAUSE why
Defendants have not been timely served. Plaintiff has 7 days to comply with this
order; or if Defendants have been served, Plaintiff has 7 days to file the proofs of
service. Failure to respond will result in dismissal of this action.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
September 26, 2012

::EDIT:: Would also appear the other suit HAN filed against MND Events LLC is going in the same direction as the above, but nothing in PACER has been updated since June 2012.

1373

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Image not live, but got a letter...

« on: October 01, 2012, 12:03:36 PM »

I've seen a few examples of people getting letters when the image was only there for a couple of weeks.. It's fairly clear to me, that they saw this on either domaintools.com or archive.org, by pulling up the cached version...IMHO this would be very simple to defeat in court ( not that it will ever get there ) Heres how i would argue it...

yes sure they have a screen shot of the archived page showing the image....now show me the code that has the path to the image in question.... It would be like Timothy B McCormack sending me a letter because i have his image on copyright-trolls.com, but the truth of the matter is the image is NOT on my server, it's being pulled from his own site ( as in linking )..therefore no infringement.. the whole screen capture thing that Getty supplies is in NO WAY proof of anything excpt that the image "appears"...just another part of the scare tactics used..."look you're busted we hav an image of such!!

In the last letter we have from HAN and Attorney Street you can plainly see that they are supplying the actual path of the image as well as the screen capture.. It would behoove all interested to request archive.org remove your cached copies...

1374

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Alaska Stock - Chapter 11 Bankruptcy + Jeff Shultz Photographer

« on: September 30, 2012, 04:58:31 PM »

From : http://www.akb.uscourts.gov/pdfs/FAQs.pdf

Is bankruptcy information public information? Can anyone look at it?

The information contained in documents filed in bankruptcy cases are a matter of public record, and can be reviewed by members of the general public. The documents can be reviewed by members of the public in the Clerk’s Office during regular business hours or, for attorneys and creditors who have access to PACER, over the Internet 24 hours a day.
Access to pleadings and papers filed in bankruptcy cases is not restricted unless there is some good basis for “sealing” information that is contained in them. To have a document filed “Under Seal” or “In Camera,” a motion must be filed explaining the need to protect the information in that document from public view.

and

Computer Access: Electronic case summaries, docket information, and viewable copies of all pleadings filed since 2000, may be retrieved via the Internet through the Public Access to Court Electronic Records system (PACER). This system requires that you be a registered participant, and there is a fee for access ($0.08 per page, with a page being approximately 50 lines of text). This charge is limited to the first thirty pages of a document, but is charged each time you open a new document. For PACER registration information, please call (800) 676- 6856.

Also, Motznik Information Services in Anchorage has some bankruptcy case filing data available. For access and cost information, please contact Motznik directly at (907) 344-6254.

I've been checking on Pacer for several days, but nothing there and from what I read in another case ( Chaga v Masterfile) Alaska Stock filed on May 23rd 2012, so it should be in Pacer..

some info on the owner:

Jeff Schultz
Nickname: Jake
Business Title: Owner & Anchorage Photographer
What he really does: replace light bulbs, sand icy parking lot, pay bills <---apparently he doesn't do this very  well! 
What he'd like to be doing: shooting pictures, anywhere
Favorite past time in winter: watching old classic B&W Jimmy Stewart movies w/family
Favorite past time in summer: kayaking, hiking, fishing
Originally from: Bay Area, California
Why he lives in Alaska: For the Summers !!! & Great people, great lifestyle
www.iditarodphotos.com www.schultzphoto.com [email protected]

Entity Details: http://commerce.alaska.gov/CBP/Main/CorporationDetail.aspx?id=64168D

Meet Photographer Jeff Schultz:
He's a "member" of the copyright alliance
(another wayward Canon User!)

Jeff Shultz is/was the official photographer of the Iditarod Dog Race, you know the race where they abuse dogs, and make them suffer thru horrendous conditions...http://www.iditarodphotos.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/schultzphoto
he's also a memebr of PACA, who is still recovering from the Blackeye they recieved in the Chaga v masterfile case...

and here's a case of Alaska Stock sending out an extortion letter and getting payment, because the recipient was to lazy and ignorant to do any research at all..
How to Control (and Cash In On) the Sarah Palin Brand
http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2011/feb/16/how-control-and-cash-sarah-palin-brand/

Photographer Demanding Cash From Sites Using Palin's Official Governor Photo
http://www.techdirt.com/blog/?tag=jeff+schultz

FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jeff-Schultz-Photography/111205876335

not much to be found on the company, but I or someone else WILL find it...

1375

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Free Web Template Case and "Remix" Copyright Law?

« on: September 30, 2012, 05:57:47 AM »

 Masterfile has in the past, but they seem to be on hiatus for now.

S.G.

That's putting it mildly! Masterfile aka "MasterFail" has certainly lived up to their new moniker, Thanx to Oscar for a major beatdown..

1376

Getty Images Letter Forum / If ever there is a "good" infringement..this is it

« on: September 29, 2012, 06:41:37 AM »

Iran's news agency portrays satirical Onion story as its own

Fars News Agency used the story verbatim, giving the same headline: "Gallup Poll: Rural Whites Prefer Ahmadinejad To Obama"
Fars also took all the credit at the get-go:
"TEHRAN (FNA) -- According to the results of a Gallup poll released Monday, the overwhelming majority of rural white Americans said they would rather vote for Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad than US President Barack Obama."

http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/28/world/iran-news-agency-duped/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

1377

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Copyright Troll Randy G Taylor from Copyright Defense League on video

« on: September 28, 2012, 07:58:51 PM »

Lets also not forget, that in that big case Getty "won" by default, but received absolutely ZERO, which came down to among other things the fact that the "contributor" signed an "electronic" contract, but no-one on Getty's end signed anything...so chances are pretty good, what we're discussing here would be way over their heads, if they can't even comprehend that for a contract to be valid it MUST be signed by both parties.

1378

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Copyright Troll Randy G Taylor from Copyright Defense League on video

« on: September 25, 2012, 04:02:08 PM »

no to mention, that his "veripixel" thingamabob adds some sort of color coded pixels to the image, so he would also be liable for "altering copyright management information" on top of the infringement... Yo Randy you might want to bail on this idea...I see potentially more butt hurt coming your way...you can thank us later!

1379

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Copyright Troll Randy G Taylor from Copyright Defense League on video

« on: September 25, 2012, 01:53:39 PM »

I was thinking along the same lines...I could sign up, claim to own all of Tylors images, and before you know it, Randy Taylor would find himself in a lawsuit with Hawaiian Art Network...actually Masterfile images would be better, they like to file suit more so than HAN...a perfect example of "what goes around..." I don't see many photogs signing up for this, they are very protective of their rights and clearly his terms is a rights grab.

1380

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Copyright Troll Randy G Taylor from Copyright Defense League on video

« on: September 25, 2012, 07:07:30 AM »

Definitions from C-Regisrty.us Terms and Conditions:

CONTENT ? &amp;#34;Content&amp;#34; will mean copyrighted and not copyrighted intellectual property, including images, video, music, audio, movies, illustrations, graphics, icons, logos, and other 2D and multi-dimensional time-based, sound-based and image-based media, in whole or in part (herein referred to as &amp;#34;CONTENT&amp;#34;).

INFORMATION ? &amp;#34;Information&amp;#34; will mean individual and aggregated data, in various combinations of text, audible and visual presentation, including but not limited to URLs and dates of use of CONTENT, claimed ownership and authorship of CONTENT, identity and contact information of users of The COPYRIGHT REGISTRY and claimed rightsholders of CONTENT, and other information relating to CONTENT, whether provided by YOU, third parties, automated processes or other means (herein referred to as &amp;#34;INFORMATION&amp;#34;).

(this is directly from their site, someone writes really bad code.)