211
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Another Victim
« on: August 07, 2012, 05:32:29 PM »
Good post. Now you're talking!
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212
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Why do people HATE Getty Image?
« on: August 03, 2012, 06:02:46 PM »
Boy, I'd love to see that guy who Tweeted the Haiti earthquake photos win a $100,000,000 judgment from Getty Images. Talk about poetic justice and karma. With that said, the cynic in me says he'll never see any money because the case will be drawn out by Getty's lawyers unto the crack of doom.
213
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Getty Images Complaints on a silver platter
« on: July 31, 2012, 01:26:24 PM »
Robert, wow. Thank you for the many hours you must have put into doing this!
214
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Getty Images and Complaints filed with the Washington State Attorney General
« on: July 28, 2012, 11:49:28 AM »
I like Lucia's point about Getty refusing to provide paperwork to support their demands.
The first complaint in the fifth PDF that Robert has on his site hammers beautifully at that point.
There's a lot of interesting reading in these PDFs. Thanks for doing all this, Robert!
The first complaint in the fifth PDF that Robert has on his site hammers beautifully at that point.
There's a lot of interesting reading in these PDFs. Thanks for doing all this, Robert!
215
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Getty Images and Complaints filed with the Washington State Attorney General
« on: July 28, 2012, 10:18:20 AM »
Prediction after reading some of File No. 1: The Washington State Attorney General's Office pushes a lot of paper around and writes a lot of letters to Getty and to those who file complaints, but absolutely nothing is ever done to sanction Getty or significantly change their extraction scheme business model.
We may find some patterns or nuggets somewhere in all this information that will help individuals with their Getty extortion letters, but I'll take a devil's advocate position here and say that it's probably absurd to expect government or state bar associations to affect real change in a business model that's making huge bucks for the largest image corporation in the world.
We may find some patterns or nuggets somewhere in all this information that will help individuals with their Getty extortion letters, but I'll take a devil's advocate position here and say that it's probably absurd to expect government or state bar associations to affect real change in a business model that's making huge bucks for the largest image corporation in the world.
216
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Another Victim
« on: July 27, 2012, 01:05:34 PM »
First, amen to what Robert posted above.
Second, you have three excellent options to defeat the copyright trolls without caving into their absurd demand for all that money:
1) Read the posts on the forum and watch the videos on the home page. This takes quite a bit of time and energy to do, but once you've done it you'll see that it's possible to take on Getty by yourself. If you don't tolerate stress very well, this option is not for you.
2) Have an informative talk with Matthew Chan, the owner of this website. Learn about Matthew Chan's support telephone call for $50 at http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/eli-phone-support-call-with-matthew-chan/
3) Turn the whole freaking mess over to Attorney Oscar Michelen. Learn about his $195 defense letter program at http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/2012-update-expansion-of-attorney-oscar-michelens-defense-letter-program/
I'm handling my own case with Getty for a single thumbnail image because I like a good fight and enjoy doing things myself. If I didn't like a good fight, I would have spent the $195 for Oscar's letter program.
But, for God's sake, do NOT pay Getty all that money. Getty is running a payment extraction scheme that is immoral and downright wrong. And anyone who pays them is encouraging them to continue. So choose one of the three options above and fight the bastards.
Do not pay trolls!
Second, you have three excellent options to defeat the copyright trolls without caving into their absurd demand for all that money:
1) Read the posts on the forum and watch the videos on the home page. This takes quite a bit of time and energy to do, but once you've done it you'll see that it's possible to take on Getty by yourself. If you don't tolerate stress very well, this option is not for you.
2) Have an informative talk with Matthew Chan, the owner of this website. Learn about Matthew Chan's support telephone call for $50 at http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/eli-phone-support-call-with-matthew-chan/
3) Turn the whole freaking mess over to Attorney Oscar Michelen. Learn about his $195 defense letter program at http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/2012-update-expansion-of-attorney-oscar-michelens-defense-letter-program/
I'm handling my own case with Getty for a single thumbnail image because I like a good fight and enjoy doing things myself. If I didn't like a good fight, I would have spent the $195 for Oscar's letter program.
But, for God's sake, do NOT pay Getty all that money. Getty is running a payment extraction scheme that is immoral and downright wrong. And anyone who pays them is encouraging them to continue. So choose one of the three options above and fight the bastards.
Do not pay trolls!
217
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Possible reasons for class action suit against Getty in the USA
« on: July 26, 2012, 08:06:00 PM »
I wish Ian all the best with his class action suit in Israel.
With that said, I appreciate SG's approach and agree with his bottom line thinking that ultimately all about what will win and what will lose in a court of law.
I figure Oscar would be all over a class action lawsuit the same way I'm all over free Oreos and milk if he thought he could build a winning case. And, again, as SG has pointed out, Oscar has repeatedly made it clear that he didn't see a way for a winning class action in the U.S.
For me, at least at this point, the best way to fight these folks is to poke fun at them when I have the time, as well as to support those just getting started with the process by sharing what I've learned from the ELI team, the regular forum posters, and from my own experience dealing with the trolls for a year now.
Though I don't know that I qualify for "forum regular" status, I think of myself as a "regular" so I'll just click the "Post" button below to feel that I've done my duty to drop in my two cents worth.
With that said, I appreciate SG's approach and agree with his bottom line thinking that ultimately all about what will win and what will lose in a court of law.
I figure Oscar would be all over a class action lawsuit the same way I'm all over free Oreos and milk if he thought he could build a winning case. And, again, as SG has pointed out, Oscar has repeatedly made it clear that he didn't see a way for a winning class action in the U.S.
For me, at least at this point, the best way to fight these folks is to poke fun at them when I have the time, as well as to support those just getting started with the process by sharing what I've learned from the ELI team, the regular forum posters, and from my own experience dealing with the trolls for a year now.
Though I don't know that I qualify for "forum regular" status, I think of myself as a "regular" so I'll just click the "Post" button below to feel that I've done my duty to drop in my two cents worth.
218
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Contacting getty before receiving a letter
« on: July 25, 2012, 11:29:04 AM »
Where does Getty claim that about 85% of all images violate copyright? I'd like to have the source of that for something I'm writing. Thanks.
219
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Possible reasons for class action suit against Getty in the USA
« on: July 24, 2012, 07:20:46 PM »
If I were King of the World, I would immediately revoke every confidentiality agreement ever made in every lawsuit ever filed and would open everything up 100% to the public. This would put a lot of lawyers and corporations out of business, and My World would then be a better place where people could live happily with much less fear of the quick buck artists and those who manipulate the system to take advantage of others.
220
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: An Experiment Against Getty
« on: July 24, 2012, 04:58:30 PM »
Not surprisingly, Getty Images in Seattle, Washington, is not Better Business Bureau accredited. Here's a link to the Seattle BBB page on Getty:
http://www.bbb.org/western-washington/business-reviews/photographs-stock/getty-images-in-seattle-wa-37000916
I found interesting the following comment by the BBB on the above page:
BBB has received a pattern of complaints from consumers alleging Getty Images Inc accuses them of copyright infringement. Consumers claim they were not aware of the copyrights of the digital images they used on their Web sites. Consumers further allege after they remove the images from their Web sites, the company continues to demand money and/or threatens legal action.
http://www.bbb.org/western-washington/business-reviews/photographs-stock/getty-images-in-seattle-wa-37000916
I found interesting the following comment by the BBB on the above page:
BBB has received a pattern of complaints from consumers alleging Getty Images Inc accuses them of copyright infringement. Consumers claim they were not aware of the copyrights of the digital images they used on their Web sites. Consumers further allege after they remove the images from their Web sites, the company continues to demand money and/or threatens legal action.
221
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Public Records Requests for Getty Images Update
« on: July 23, 2012, 12:32:06 PM »
Well, I plan on wading through the huge file too because one can often discover patterns in that much material that would otherwise be missed, and I'm sure there will be many interesting nuggets that we'll find useful.
222
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Public Records Requests for Getty Images Update
« on: July 23, 2012, 12:05:50 PM »
Robert, my bad. Now that you've jogged what's left of my memory, I recall the distinction between the two and six complaints.
I'd sure love to read the complaints to the bar association, but I fear none of them will ever see the light of day and that McCormack will go on about his merry way because the lawyers at the bar association will consider his work with letters demanding huge payments all perfectly legal and acceptable.
On another note, Robert, I hope wading through 1200 pages of the complaints to come doesn't turn out to be an exercise in futility since the result of many (if not most) of the complaints may well be on the order of... "Sorry, we don't handle consumer complaints."
If Getty's letter compaign in the eyes of the Washington State Attorney General's office (and other AGs as well) is always considered to be nothing other than a consumer complaint...
I'd sure love to read the complaints to the bar association, but I fear none of them will ever see the light of day and that McCormack will go on about his merry way because the lawyers at the bar association will consider his work with letters demanding huge payments all perfectly legal and acceptable.
On another note, Robert, I hope wading through 1200 pages of the complaints to come doesn't turn out to be an exercise in futility since the result of many (if not most) of the complaints may well be on the order of... "Sorry, we don't handle consumer complaints."
If Getty's letter compaign in the eyes of the Washington State Attorney General's office (and other AGs as well) is always considered to be nothing other than a consumer complaint...
223
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Public Records Requests for Getty Images Update
« on: July 23, 2012, 11:36:07 AM »
Robert, I just read through the file (thanks again for uploading it), but I only found two complaints instead of six. Did my old eyes miss something or is this all the WSAG office send you?
What was in the file seems to confirm what we already knew... that Timothy B. McCormack and his paralegal trolls reply on FORM letters to try to demand absurd payments from people. As the second complaint in the above file says, lawyers who do this really should be barred from using their unethical practices.
Of course, what normal honest people regard as unethical, many lawyers regard differently.
I noted the result of the first complaint was to thank the individual for filing. The second result was "Resolution: CLOSED INQUIRY/INFORMATION.
Regarding the second complaint, I was appalled to read this in the response from the Attorney General's office:
"Consumer complaints regarding the actions of attorneys are exempt from the Consumer Protection Act and the informal mediation service our office provides. The State Supreme Court has given the Washington State Bar Association the authority to review and respond to complaints regarding Washington State attorneys."
No wonder collection lawyers can get away with murder.
No wonder Getty can get away with what it does.
Got a problem with a Washington State lawyer trying to shake you down for thousands of dollars? Then, according to the Washington State Attorney General's office, complain to other lawyers in the Washington State Bar Association who will then sanction one of their own.
Yeah, right, and pigs can fly.
Our system is so broken...
What was in the file seems to confirm what we already knew... that Timothy B. McCormack and his paralegal trolls reply on FORM letters to try to demand absurd payments from people. As the second complaint in the above file says, lawyers who do this really should be barred from using their unethical practices.
Of course, what normal honest people regard as unethical, many lawyers regard differently.
I noted the result of the first complaint was to thank the individual for filing. The second result was "Resolution: CLOSED INQUIRY/INFORMATION.
Regarding the second complaint, I was appalled to read this in the response from the Attorney General's office:
"Consumer complaints regarding the actions of attorneys are exempt from the Consumer Protection Act and the informal mediation service our office provides. The State Supreme Court has given the Washington State Bar Association the authority to review and respond to complaints regarding Washington State attorneys."
No wonder collection lawyers can get away with murder.
No wonder Getty can get away with what it does.
Got a problem with a Washington State lawyer trying to shake you down for thousands of dollars? Then, according to the Washington State Attorney General's office, complain to other lawyers in the Washington State Bar Association who will then sanction one of their own.
Yeah, right, and pigs can fly.
Our system is so broken...
224
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Public Records Requests for Getty Images Update
« on: July 23, 2012, 10:05:23 AM »
Ah, great. Thank you, Robert!
225
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Public Records Requests for Getty Images Update
« on: July 22, 2012, 10:23:33 AM »
Would it be useful to make available the 27-page file of complaints about Timothy McCormack first, kind of as a practice run?
I'm sure visitors to ELI would like to read that file as much as I would.
I'm sure visitors to ELI would like to read that file as much as I would.
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