Messages

1726

Hawaiian Letters & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Advice needed on dealing with HAN: Just got letter from Aldrich Law Firm

« on: January 21, 2012, 02:07:39 AM »

The Aldrich Law Firm is new to us.  It would be very helpful if you emailed us your copy of the letter so that we can post it and have the entire ELI community analyze it.  We will, of course, redact identifying information.  Otherwise, the only advice we can give you is very generic.

Feel free to email it to: [email protected] if you want to us to post and study it. Again, we will redact it to preserve your anonymity. We want to see the format and language of the letter.

1727

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Has anyone brought a class action vs Getty yet?

« on: January 21, 2012, 02:03:31 AM »

What Getty is doing is not technically illegal.  Not a whole lot to sue over at this point.  Causing emotional distress is not enough to win.

However, providing inaccurate or misleading information to extract monies might be an interesting angle...

1728

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Masterfiles 3rd suit for 2012

« on: January 19, 2012, 01:25:53 AM »

Here is the 3rd Masterfile complaint for everyone to read. As Buddhapi said, pay close attention to the exhibits.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/78723976/Masterfile-vs-Intelligent-Enterprise-Solutions-Complaint

1729

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Beat the Getty Images Extortion Letter: Special Report!

« on: January 19, 2012, 12:13:38 AM »

I actually have Kindle and Nook ebooks already for sale for my real estate books.  I initially thought I might use the Kindle & Nook for the ELI project.  But I changed my mind given the very niche nature of the work and since this is an early version. I have no idea if this thing will sell 1 copy or 100 copies.  For now, I want to see who is ordering it and where people are coming from. If I sold through Kindle or Nook, I have no idea who my customers and readers are.

A buddy of mine has been going on about e-book publishing. Seems like with the lower price of tablets like the Kindle, there is a demand for affordable books and/or books on a very narrow topic. This is a great idea.

1730

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Beat the Getty Images Extortion Letter: Special Report!

« on: January 19, 2012, 12:09:47 AM »

All very good suggestions.  And don't give me too much credit, I may not have thought of several ideas. But there is no question that I will be sharing how I would handle pro se representation as I have a bit of experience in that area.

I will probably prepare an outline of the topics I am looking to cover and put it on display for critique.  The Core ELI Defense Team will be (at their option) given the opportunity to sneak peek my work to hopefully get some feedback.

Matthew,

THis is a wonderful initiative.

You've probably already thought about this, but right up front I think there should be a section on risk assessment.  That was the first thing on my mind years ago when I received the letter.

1) worst case scenario outcome vs best case scenario outcome and discussion of likelyhood of each
2) difference in Getty and MF (image(s) might not be registered) and whether statutory damages and legal fees would come into play ... or just damages (market value of image use)
3) a summary of Getty wins and losses in court
4) likelyhood of Getty suing for less than X images

Also some response template letters might be helpful

1731

Getty Images Letter Forum / Beat the Getty Images Extortion Letter: Special Report!

« on: January 18, 2012, 08:33:07 PM »

I have thought about this project off and on for the last 3 years. But I never took it seriously because I felt Oscar and I provided enough information over the years in our forum posts and ELI videos for most people to defend themselves.

However, that is simply not the case for many new people. Oscar and I continue to get private emails from people asking us what to do.  Despite the large number of posts over the years, many people want more structured guidance. I have finally decided to commit to this project.  Unlike the ELI Forums, this Special Report will NOT be FREE.

I am taking the time to painstakingly assemble and write this report in a detailed manual format. And because this will be a paid product, I will be writing and sharing ideas and thoughts I have never posted publicly (and I have definitely posted and shared a lot over the years).

Personally, I feel the ELI forums and the ELI videos are more than enough to get started. Nevertheless, this special report is for those people who want information on a "silver platter" without having to search or research the ELI Forums. This special report will not be available anywhere else except through the ELI website where I will personally monitor and fulfill each and every order.
 
When will this special report be completed? It is difficult to say since this is a side-project as I have spare time. But I hope to release this before the end of April 2012.

How much will this cost? It isn't finalized yet. I am guessing it will between $25-$45 all of which goes toward supporting ELI.

Should you buy a copy? Yes! Although much of the information is available on the ELI Forums, there will be quite a bit of commentary that is not publicly available. The special report will be in a 8.5"x11" manual format that you can print out on your printer and place into a 3-ring binder.  More importantly, I am giving you an excuse to make a contribution to the ELI website.  To continue actively expanding ELI, Paypal Contributions help a lot!

I will be releasing more updates as I progress. However, I am open to suggestions as to what you would like to see in this special report. This special report will probably be updated at least twice a year to reflect the newest information.

1732

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Name for Members of the ELI Defense Team

« on: January 18, 2012, 03:40:06 PM »

Thanks for asking. For now, this is not the topmost issue. I have concluded the name will flow from the imagery, symbol, mascot that is ultimately selected.  I am looking for the right graphic artist at the right price to do a customized and original image.  So I am giving it a bit of time at the moment.

1733

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Masterfile letter to a former client

« on: January 18, 2012, 03:36:43 PM »

That lawyer gave very bad advice to ignore it.  Simply dumb. I am surprised that so-called lawyer didn't take the time to Google the matter. A casual search would have brought them to this site, a goldmine of info on all kinds of extortion letters.

Since you are technically not on the hook but you want to provide assistance, I think your best bet is to offer to hire Oscar Michelen and cut through the learning curve and all the bull. If it was yourself, I would say you can try to handle it. However, given this is your client in trouble, you cannot really do much for him directly.

There are no shortage of lawyers making all kinds of bogus statements and arguments. It is up to you to quickly educated. If your LLC is long dissolved you should technically be ok. However, that will not stop someone from filing on your personally.  At which point, it would be your job to make the case, it was the LLC, not you personally that has the problem.

In any case, your client cannot technically sue you for damages UNLESS they have already incurred damages dealing with Masterfile.  If Masterfile doesn't get any money from them, they cannot go after you because do damage has occurred.  You cannot get compensated for average aggravation and nuisance issues. 

The minute the client received the letter, we took down the image and replaced it with a different one. His lawyer told him to ignore the letter. Last week, he received another letter acknowledging that the images had been taken down but still demanding the $4400. Now his lawyer has sent me a letter basically stating that this is my problem and asking me to respond to Masterfile. I don't feel comfortable doing that on my own and don't think I should even respond because that will bring my previous company to Masterfile's attention. 

I have no idea how to proceed. I know that I didn't "steal" this image from Masterfile, but can't find any documentation. My previous company is out of business and has no assets, but was an LLC, so I think that my partner and I could still be liable. I'm worried that my former client is going to come after me for this money. Any suggestions out there?

1734

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Masterfile starts it round of 2012 Lawsuits

« on: January 18, 2012, 12:10:52 PM »

This thread is taking a life of its own which is nice.  The information discovered in this thread of discussion will be incorporated into the Masterfile Analysis project I announced in this thread:

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/getty-images-letter-forum/analyzing-masterfile%27s-lawsuit-history/msg4605/#msg4605

So, keep going in your research, digging, and reporting. As you guys focus on current Masterfile lawsuits, feel free to incorporate any other Masterfile news you happen to find along the way.

1735

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Analyzing Masterfile's Lawsuit History

« on: January 18, 2012, 12:05:33 PM »

I need some help in this project.

I need to find some news stories about Masterfile's origins beyond the PR line. Did Masterfile, in fact, start selling stock photos from Day 1? Or did that come later? I am looking for some "meat" about the management, their employees, how they operate, how they hire, what they pay their employees, how they recruit, what kinds of businesses they are in, how they market to photographers and acquire their photos, etc. Steve Pigeon is the 60-year old CEO who has stated he would not be doing what he does forever.  Hence, he appears to be cashing out through his sale.

All I need from you guys are quality links you may run across as you dig through Google.  Just copy and paste those links to this thread.  Thanks so much for helping.

1736

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Masterfile starts it round of 2012 Lawsuits

« on: January 18, 2012, 11:59:19 AM »

There is a very good chance that it is a copyright case regardless of what justia may label. The reason why I say this is simply because I went bug-eyed downloading and eye-balling every Masterfile complaint and answer a week ago.  They were all copyright infringement cases even though justia lists them as "blank".

Masterfile is wasting no time this year.  They just filed another lawsuit yesterday against Global Services Worldwide.  However, it doesn't show up as IP, it shows "other" under type of suit. 

http://dockets.justia.com/search?q=Masterfile+Corporation

1737

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Thank You

« on: January 18, 2012, 11:51:36 AM »

The ELI website and ELI community loves you back!   

I love this website!

1738

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Analyzing Masterfile's Lawsuit History

« on: January 18, 2012, 12:51:25 AM »

Hi Bernice,

Yes, I see your Paypal contribution.  Thanks so much for helping fund the Masterfile Lawsuit Analysis project.

I cannot wait to see what the entire suite of lawsuits reveal.  Aside from the folks within Masterfile, I don't believe anyone has ever attempted to do an in-depth analysis of Masterfile lawsuits. 

Stick around. In the weeks to come, I hope to release a preliminary report.

I just made a small donation. Hopes it makes a small dent in that bill.

1739

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Analyzing Masterfile's Lawsuit History

« on: January 18, 2012, 12:21:25 AM »

Quick update.  I uploaded another batch of Masterfile lawsuits from 2010-2011.  I am down to the last batch of 8 Masterfile lawsuits that are rather complicated with a series of court documents that I need to sort and assemble. It also appears that I did not download everything I needed.  Ugh.

With nearly 40 Masterfile lawsuits uploaded, a preliminary analysis can begin soon.

1740

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: I found a copyright infringement!

« on: January 16, 2012, 06:11:07 PM »

No, but Facebook will remove posts that point to a copy of a well-written letter to a New York lawyer explaining why you won't take shit from a F.E.C.A.L.'s (FEmale CAnadian Lawyer) ongoing harassment. 

Well I guess Julie Stewart has read this thread...as the link to the bogus profile page and infringed photo is no longer available.

Or maybe Facebook removed it?? NOT