181
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Free Images of the Week from Masterfile
« on: November 24, 2014, 07:59:25 PM »
Well said.
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182
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Does Getty Actually Sue Anyone?
« on: November 24, 2014, 07:57:21 PM »Hi Greg, I've read a ton of the posts already and based on my first response letter based on a letter I found here. But my ultimate conclusion is that if you send a letter with anything other than a filled-out payment form and a check, they don't address one single thing you've said in any follow-up letters, and simply send out another letter a few months later, each one being a little more threatening than the next. Hasn't that been your experience, Greg?
Oh, well, I've had worse things happen to me.
Cheers, Robert
Yes, you will be told that proof of claim will only be provided if they sue, now pay or we'll sue. They will tell you it is up to you to prove your innocence even though if it goes to court they must prove their case not the other way around. In general you are correct.
I responded because 1) I was as many here are a true innocent infringer, the image was claimed by someone else who offered it for free 2) While I knew copyright law and that it is a statutory offense I knew they were asking way more than a court would likely award and wanted to negotiate in good faith. When I realized they didn't care about anything other than the money and refused to negotiate in good faith that is when my letters became more agressive finally letting them know if they didn't back off I would file MANY complaints against them with many agencies. Their response was to send me an escalation to the legal dept letter so I filed my complaints as promised. As Getty responded to each complaint I filed a follow letter addressing all of my complaints that were not responded to, glossed over or outright lied about. I let Getty know if I heard from them again there were more ready to print, and if I heard from anyone in McCormack Legal's office without the accompanying proof I asked for I have letters ready to print filing complaints against McCormack including the 3 states Bar association he is licensed to practice in.
My reasoning behind this if Getty were foolish enough to take me to court, I have hard copy proof (not emails) of me trying in good faith to negotiate, Getty's refusal to do so and a counter suit ready to go which would not be dropped and through discovery many questions about their operation would get answered.
If I ignored there letters and however unlikely Getty sued me they would be able to show attempts to contact me and my refusal to respond which may not look good to the court.
The result was after I filed my complaints Getty disappeared and I have not heard from them in 2 1/2 years now. I have outlined everything I did and copies of all letters from me and Getty along with complaints, replies and my responses can be found in the thread "An Experiment Against Getty"
You must decide what is right for you and your situation.
183
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Copyright Ownership
« on: November 24, 2014, 04:13:24 PM »At this point, the only contact I will be having with them is to request verification that they are in fact the exclusive copyright holder for that photo.
....and have the right to collect on behalf of the artist.
184
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Free Images of the Week from Masterfile
« on: November 24, 2014, 04:10:29 PM »
Good point Robert, also another point of confusion for many is that "royalty free" does not mean "free". You still have to licenses the image but they are greatly reduced from the "rights manages" images.
185
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Copyright Ownership
« on: November 23, 2014, 09:26:40 PM »
Please read and learn from this site before responding to Master Fail.
Good advice for any of the stock photo companies employing the settlement demand business model. You must educate yourself before talking to them or you may hurt or ruin your case without intending to.
186
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Does Getty Actually Sue Anyone?
« on: November 23, 2014, 09:23:42 PM »
Getty rarely sues for a single image. They did sue 4 or 5 small businesses over a single image and these were settled out of court. It is the opinion of many here, myself included that these were hand picked "slam dunk" cases they knew they would win either way and were done so they could say that they do indeed sue over single images.
It was designed to make people stop and question whether or not they want to pay just as you are doing. With out knowing the detail of your situation all I can says it in general they odds are very low and based on the number of letters believed to have been sent out verses the number of single file suits the number is so close to zero it is almost indistinguishable. Could they do it...yes. We would need to know the detail about your case before giving any more of an opinion than that.
Read the forums and get educated, most questions have been answered, provide more info and we can point you in the right direction.
It was designed to make people stop and question whether or not they want to pay just as you are doing. With out knowing the detail of your situation all I can says it in general they odds are very low and based on the number of letters believed to have been sent out verses the number of single file suits the number is so close to zero it is almost indistinguishable. Could they do it...yes. We would need to know the detail about your case before giving any more of an opinion than that.
Read the forums and get educated, most questions have been answered, provide more info and we can point you in the right direction.
187
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Copyright Ownership
« on: November 23, 2014, 01:53:37 PM »
Robert is right, if the ownership is in question the courts tend to side more with the defendant (each case is different and there is no guarantee what a court will do). A great example is the Masterfile v. Martin Gale. The Gale's bought a CD for their real estate business and paid 450.00 for it, it contained web templates and photos which the Gale's used. Masterfile claimed ownership of 27 of the images being used to promote the Gale's business. Between 5 years back leasing, statutory damages, regular damages and legal fees MF asked for just under a million dollars.
Masterfile finally admitted that the Gale's could have presumed they had rights to use these images on the CD since they paid 450.00 dollars for it and were innocent infringers. The courts then awarded MF the minimum of 200.00 an image or 5,400.00 and no attorneys fees. Masterfile claims to have paid 33,000 in legal fees which is what they were asking for, so they spent 33k to win 5.4k.
There have been other cases like this too, I think the stock photo companies are leery about filing suits if you can show there are issues as to who has rights to the image.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/213801682/66-0-Decision-and-Order
Here are the images and Masterfiles breakdown of the fees
https://www.scribd.com/doc/213801687/58-1-Apendix-Exhibits-1-3
You have to do what you think is best for you and your situation but I would fight this, big time.
Masterfile finally admitted that the Gale's could have presumed they had rights to use these images on the CD since they paid 450.00 dollars for it and were innocent infringers. The courts then awarded MF the minimum of 200.00 an image or 5,400.00 and no attorneys fees. Masterfile claims to have paid 33,000 in legal fees which is what they were asking for, so they spent 33k to win 5.4k.
There have been other cases like this too, I think the stock photo companies are leery about filing suits if you can show there are issues as to who has rights to the image.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/213801682/66-0-Decision-and-Order
Here are the images and Masterfiles breakdown of the fees
https://www.scribd.com/doc/213801687/58-1-Apendix-Exhibits-1-3
You have to do what you think is best for you and your situation but I would fight this, big time.
188
P2P/BitTorrent Lawsuits Forum / Re: Pietz Law Firm files Class Action Lawsuit Against Rightscorp
« on: November 22, 2014, 09:34:38 AM »
Interesting, thank you for sharing this. I know we will want to follow this and support out friends at FCT.
189
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Gallery Stock settlement letter
« on: November 20, 2014, 10:26:41 PM »
You can still and should ask for how price was determined but proof of claim is paramount. The contract you mentioned signed by someone else may be an issue. Getty sued Advernet for the use of 35 images, Getty won the case by default (Advernet could no longer afford to pay their lawyers and did not show up for court. Getty won, the courts looked at the evidence presented so far and determined that their were issues with the registrations, paperwork and contracts on every images that precluded Getty from receiving any monies. Getty won and got nothing, not even legal fees.
I would not negotiate with anyone who will not provide proof of claim and certainly not pay them anything without that proof. Think about it, what other business could get away with presenting someone with an invoice and demand a high dollar payment and when you ask about it and to justify it you are told no and that the proof will only be shown to the court when we sue you. Now pay us or will sue you.
I would also start invoicing them for your time as Jerry suggested for every letter you have to answer that does not contain the proof you requested.
I would not negotiate with anyone who will not provide proof of claim and certainly not pay them anything without that proof. Think about it, what other business could get away with presenting someone with an invoice and demand a high dollar payment and when you ask about it and to justify it you are told no and that the proof will only be shown to the court when we sue you. Now pay us or will sue you.
I would also start invoicing them for your time as Jerry suggested for every letter you have to answer that does not contain the proof you requested.
190
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Gallery Stock settlement letter
« on: November 20, 2014, 03:55:26 PM »
I would require them to provide a copy of the signed contract giving them legal rights to collect on behalf of the artist. They can ask for anything they want, I can ask for 20,000 for my old 1998 pickup truck, doesn't mean it's worth it. I can ask 20,000 for my neighbors new truck, is it worth it? Yes. Do I have the legal right to it? No.
I have never understood why people pay without proof of claim. I suggest making any offer or continued negotiation for that matter contingent on proof of claim being provided.
I have never understood why people pay without proof of claim. I suggest making any offer or continued negotiation for that matter contingent on proof of claim being provided.
191
Legal Controversies Forum / Re: Marc Randazza Response to DMCA-like takedown request....
« on: November 18, 2014, 08:32:07 AM »
Could you have imagined what it would have been like if he and the Oatmeal teamed up when Carreon was going after The Oatmeal?
192
Legal Controversies Forum / Re: Marc Randazza Response to DMCA-like takedown request....
« on: November 17, 2014, 11:00:16 PM »
That was great, I really like him. 
193
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: McCormack Threats Continue
« on: November 17, 2014, 01:40:01 PM »
I concur with Stinger on this, you are almost there, just hold on 6 more months.
194
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Hacker blog discussing picscout.
« on: November 10, 2014, 07:25:12 PM »
He did a great job, this was a great find Lucia!
195
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Masterfile - Case done
« on: November 09, 2014, 10:37:10 PM »
Well said and congratulations of the end of your SOL! I hope you will continue to stick around, join the fight and share your experiences with others. Again, congratulations!
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