Messages

2056

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Asking Getty to change future communication to me - am I asking for trouble?

« on: April 26, 2012, 04:08:19 PM »

That still doesn't "prove" they have exclusive rights or even if the image is registered with the copyright office, which would greatly effect the amount they could legally collect IF they were to bring this to court and IF they were to win..they have to prove you are guilty, not the other way around

2057

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: NY Appellate Court Says: The term "Extortionist" is NOT Defamatory

« on: April 26, 2012, 03:51:49 PM »

And here is another reference to the word extortion being used in regardsto a Righthaven Case

"In a statement posted on its website Wednesday, VCDL said that Righthaven’s suit against it “was a form of legal extortion” in which VCDL suggested that Righthaven early on offered to settle in hopes of making a quick profit at the expense of VCDL."

http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2012/apr/26/nonprofit-seeks-donations-cover-righthaven-copyrig/

2058

Righthaven Lawsuits Forum / Nonprofit seeks donations to cover Righthaven copyright lawsuit costs

« on: April 26, 2012, 03:50:31 PM »

A Virginia nonprofit is asking for donations to cover the $30,000 it spent successfully fighting a Righthaven LLC copyright infringement lawsuit.

The Virginia Citizens Defense League Inc. (VCDL), a gun rights group in Newington, Va., was sued by Las Vegas-based Righthaven in September 2010.

VCDL was targeted in one of 275 no-warning lawsuits filed around the country by Righthaven since March 2010, a litigation campaign that ground to a halt early this year because of rulings finding Righthaven lacked standing to sue or that defendants were protected by fair use.

http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2012/apr/26/nonprofit-seeks-donations-cover-righthaven-copyrig/

2059

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: 2 Clients with Getty Letters

« on: April 26, 2012, 03:31:26 PM »

Yes, thanks Budd for the post! I knew you were nearing the end of the road and I have been wondering if you had heard from them after Oscar's letter. It is very interesting that after all this time they still tried to squeeze you for something! Good for you for declining!

Please keep us posted after the statue is offically over.

Hahahaha Peeved, I may even have a "Very Special Announcement" when my day arrives...3 years is a very long time to be pissed, and I've been pretty civil up to this point..you might even want to wear the butt hurt hat just to protect yourself....just sayin'

2060

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Asking Getty to change future communication to me - am I asking for trouble?

« on: April 26, 2012, 03:29:32 PM »

go to getty site and pull up the image in question, right click and copy the image URL, then go to google, click images and when the search bar appears, you'll see a little camera icon in the right of the bar, click that and paste the image image URL from getty in, it will pull up similar / same images.. This could show you that the image is available for sale on other sites, with prices that are more inline to what GI is demanding, this may also show that GI does not have exclusive rights to this image..you have to play the game on your terms and make it difficult for them.. you're understanding exactly what i'm saying about the demand amount..if you plan on making them an offer, offer what the image is worth, which is nothing close to what they are demanding..

2061

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Asking Getty to change future communication to me - am I asking for trouble?

« on: April 26, 2012, 03:04:23 PM »

I would NOT email them! why make it easy on them?! Lend them spend more time and effort and money! Now until offering a settlement..

If they are asking for say $1000.00 and you offer them 50.00 they will refuse, but if you offer them say 800.00, they'll probably take it in a heartbeat.. the question is WHY on earth would you offer to pay 800.00 for an image they and others may license for 50.00 per year?? even if you used it for 2 years, thats still only 100.00!

That's like blockbuster renting you a movie for 5.00 per day, but charging you 50.00 for everyday it's late, they can only rent that copy of thatmovie to one person per day, so they wouldn't be losing that much. These are digital images which they can resell hundreds of times over, which just brings the value of that image down.. You need to do more homewrok before doing anything..Have you even looked to see if this same image is available on other sites?? Does Getty have "exclusive" rights to this image?? Does the photographer still have a contract with Getty?

2062

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Asking Getty to change future communication to me - am I asking for trouble?

« on: April 26, 2012, 01:20:09 PM »

Since I've been involved in the Getty Extortion Demand Letter campaign, they usually went after the domain owner, if the domain has a private registration, then they would go after whomever is listed on the site itself, either way you look at it, they go for the low hanging fruit, and are most likely getting tired of those that fight back. So even if you tell them you own the domain, they're going to pick the softer target, it's all part of the their little game.

2063

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Oscars Letter Program for Canadians?

« on: April 26, 2012, 12:13:34 PM »

He may very well be ethical, but I don't know how he became involved, did you contact him for advice? If so he may be just "going by the book" as what Getty is doing is legal, albeit not very ethical. My guess if you asked him for his thoughts on the matter, he's just telling it as he sees it, and he's probably not in cahoots with anyone. Bottom line is if you used an image that you did not create, legally you have infringed, as most of the users on these forums have, HOWEVER just because you may have made a mistake certainly does not entitle Getty or any of the other trolls to the amounts they seek.. We've always said here and continue to do so, that it's not what Getty does, it's how they go about it, and the extortionistic amounts they demand, when clearly most if not all of these images are worth very little to begin with...

2064

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Oscars Letter Program for Canadians?

« on: April 26, 2012, 10:55:19 AM »

well who is Dr. Fewer??

2065

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: 2 Clients with Getty Letters

« on: April 26, 2012, 10:00:33 AM »

As you stated Getty won't want to deal with you on this, they will want to deal with your clients. In essence your clients would have to hire Oscar, and them you would / could reimburse them. The letter he drafts will get getty off your clients back, and they still won't accept a low-ball offer, but it puts the ball firmly on their side. The whole point of this forum and Oscars' letter is to not pay what they demand, but rather perhaps pay a reasonable amount. Getty however is not reasonable. Chances are good if your clients hire Oscar, it will go away..albeit after the 3 years SOL. In my case which is a bit different, I had Oscar draft the letter and never heard anything back for a long time, until they did come back with a "reduced settlement amount" which I quickly declined. I am now nearing the end of the road and feel fairly confident i will not here from them again.

I have also had clients receive the letter for images they supplied to me as their web developer. Even tho I was not responsible I suggested they hire Oscar and I credited them back, so in the long run it did not cost them anything except a little time and aggravation.

2066

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Oscars Letter Program for Canadians?

« on: April 26, 2012, 09:39:39 AM »

That is a good thread to reference, although I do love the butt crack idea as well, but iu'm not so sure that would to well!  It's good to keep a good attitude, while still being pissed, just rememebr whoever you decide to proceed it is best to fight this on your terms, not theirs!

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Super Stock - Demand Letter

« on: April 26, 2012, 07:49:45 AM »

Getty, Super Stock, shutter stock, Masterfile, they are all the same...look at it this way.
They are demanding 2240.00 in order to sue they have to file...thats 350.00 just to file the paperwork, they would need to file in your state, so they would need to find a local attorney...more expenses, IF they were to win the total amount, not only do theyneed to pay their lawyer, a portion on this goes tothe artist, leaving them with very little "profit". If they were to "win" without having properly registered the image with the copyright office, the judge can reduce the amount to as little as 200.00, which puts them in the negative..This is why  they hardly ever file suit, the profit margin tends to be much larger if they can scare the demand amount out of you.. I would be more concerned with choosing the best plan going forward as opposed to worrying whether they will file suit.
Thanx for the law firm info, I'll do some digging later today and post what I find.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Does this sound a lot like a Researcher getting a Getty Images extortion letter?

« on: April 26, 2012, 07:07:28 AM »

Getty for sure! and a "researcher" that should do some research... Oh wait it can't be Getty, not long ago the CEO clearly stated on video, that he has no problem with people using their images, especially if they aren't making any money!!

MY eye is twitching, which generally means it's getting high time for someone somewhere to get thrown into the public eye....

2069

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Super Stock - Demand Letter

« on: April 26, 2012, 06:46:01 AM »

As Matthew has pointed out so nicely, you will be making an investment of some sort, whether it is time spent researching these forums to decide your best course of action, or spending cash. I will however make one observation..The statute of Limitations does not start from when you first used the image, it starts from the time they discovered you using the image, in other words you're in this fight until the end of 2013, unless you decide to roll over and pay the demand, which IMHO gives Shutter Stock an automatic "win"

I am curious as to the "law firm" that is handling this, and would gladly spend some time researching them and their practice.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: My letter Experience

« on: April 25, 2012, 07:54:49 PM »

A number of lawyers have learned the hard way with their tarnished reputations.

I tend to look at the "tarnished" part a bit differently...They got FREE advertising, their names now appear much higher in the SERP's, which equates to potential clients finding them much easier...Maybe I'm just being the glass is half full type of guy!