If it were me, I would ignore these people because they are working out of the same building as Getty. That leaves me to believe that they are an offshoot of Getty, possibly a way for Getty to pursue their "claims" under a different name and get Getty's name out of the anti-troller's sights.
The reasons I would ignore them include:
- Getty often doesn't have their paperwork in order. Their copyright registrations and right to pursue infringers on behalf of their artists, often does NOT stand up in court. You will see examples of this if you continue reading through the forum.
- By observation over the last 2+ years, it appears to me that Getty pursues their collections through what I would consider a pyramid process. They have junior people chasing claims and trying to dig up as much information as possible while trying to collect. This is what I call Phase 1 - Phishing. Give them no info and they don't have any idea of what they might stand to collect.
- If they learn enough to believe they have someone with a conscience and money, they then turn up the heat and might bring in the more experienced collectors. Phase 2 - Pursuit.
- If they get too much push back, they threaten with their legal team. Phase 3 - Send in the dogs.
- Since they don't let that legal team pursue anything through the courts, if they fail, they threaten to go back to Getty and recommend litigation. Phase 4 - Ping Pong
- They pass the ball back and fourth this way for a while, hoping to catch their prey in a moment of weakness and collect a check.
By trying to be responsive to their initial request, victims tend to fall into their web. It is tough to play the ignore them game when you are trying to do a solid for Steve, because they will continue to pursue Steve. If they can play one party against another, they are very difficult to negotiate with. You can offer them a settlement, and they will say it is not enough and that they will pursue Steve.
Your situation is a little more complicated than mine because you have to find a solution that both you and Steve can live with. It just strikes me that in the worst of all possible worlds, if this did end up in court, no judge would find anything worse than innocent infringement based on the fact that no one alive today had any idea they were using someone's copywritten photo. That severely lessens the worst case scenario's they will throw at you while going through their collection dance.
Remember, this advice is pure speculation of what I would do, knowing what I know now, if I were in your shoes. Treat it as if it is worth what you paid for it, $0. Get educated. Do what you think is best for you.
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