I am "borrowing" from a post I made a few days earlier and making this visible for everyone to read. The truth is, the repetition and the irrational fear people are having is getting a bit out of control. So I just want to update one "master post" that everyone can refer and point to. I am not trying to be mean or uncaring but I am trying to create some order in what seems to be emotional chaos on the forums.
First, I understand everyone's frustration and concern regarding the Getty Images letters. I been there and done that.
This is the current reality regardless of what your personal feelings are. You are being informed as best as I can given this FREE service. You can either take it from someone has lived this for nearly 4 years or you can listen to your irrational emotions or someone who is uneducated in the matter.
1. Unless you simply have an outrageous case of 10+ images or you have gone out of your way to stand out, statistically speaking, you are NOT going to be singled out for any lawsuits. Threats are not the same as a lawsuit. And if lawsuits do come, start researching "Righthaven Lawsuits" and you can see what Getty Images can expect to experience if they pull that trigger.
2. Oscar has well over 500+ cases on his desk. No offense, there is nothing special about your particular case that would make your case go to the very top and a lawsuit filed. If any lawsuits are going to be filed, it will likely be the older ones first. Remember, you are only one of 500+ cases! That is less than 1/5th of a percent.
3. There is a serious backlog of Getty cases both with and without Oscar's involvement. As I said, unless there is something just outrageous with your case, the whole system is just backlogged because Getty continues to blast out extortion letters by the hundreds. Most of the deadlines are arbitrary and designed to increase your anxiety factor.
4. Everyone should know that the Defense Letter Program will ALWAYS have secondary priority to his primary litigation cases in his home state of New York. If you find that unacceptable, you can hire someone else.
5. Too many people are trying to directly email or call Oscar or me trying to consult "for free". The problem has grown worse. Everyone gets a blanket answer to post their issue on the forum or we simply ignore the messages. We should only be receiving emails from paying clients or ELI Support Contributors. Everyone else is trying to cheat their way in or cut in line. The "free stuff" is all over this website.
6. There are some people who want to "interview Oscar first" or "check him out". We will flat out say if all the hours of FREE audio and videos produced and the thousands of words he has written on the subject on the Internet is not qualification enough, then don't bother hiring Oscar. He really doesn't need your business because his time is so scarce. Go find another attorney and see if anyone else has the experience of 500+ active cases and willing to work for you for $195.
7. If you are too lazy to get educated on the issues, you will get little sympathy and little support. We have literally had thousands of readers come through with many of them asking the same questions on the same issues. Paying Oscar $195 is not a free pass for staying ignorant on the issues or absolve you from bringing yourself up to speed with the free audios, videos, and reading these forums. You are only paying for the Letter and the minimal legal representation that goes with it.
8. We will not allow these forums to get overrun with people overtly getting irrational or hysterical where they say they are FEARFUL, WORRIED, getting an ULCER, etc. All it tells us is that you still don't understand the issues. You will NOT speed things up or get much sympathy because so many people are in the same boat. Remember, chances are there is nothing special about your one case. Being concerned and being responsible is fine but don't be irrational.
9. We currently allow some latitude on the forums to vent/communicate your messages about trying to reach Oscar. But we have been upfront that hiring him you will have to be patient. These forums were designed for discussions and information exchange of extortion letters, not service-related issues. You will have to resort to email, phone, and fax but not these forums.
10. We now have an ELI Phone Support Call Option where you can speak with me for 30-minutes. It is a fast-paced, no-nonsense, and meat-and-potatoes conversation customized to your situation. You will get absolute clarity at the end of the conversation.
http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/eli-phone-support-call-with-matthew-chan/Sorry for the tough tone in this post. We had no choice. Without some order and rules in place there would be chaos and we would have to shut down everything out of sheer frustration. And then everyone loses and Getty Images and the stock photo companies win in a big way. Make no mistake, nothing would make them happier than if we shut down this website. Their extortion collection rates would go up dramatically. We are trying to find a fair and diplomatic way to accommodate everyone from people who want "free" to those who are willing to pay for additional help and advisory or legal services.
Matthew Chan
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