Messages

226

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Client received letter demanding $15,000 for single image usage. How to respond?

« on: December 01, 2012, 01:59:29 PM »

Ditto everything Greg and Robert said.

I know it is psychologically uncomfortable to publicly announce who is pestering you. I know for a brief time I thought that as long as I kept in on the down-low, the law firm would go easy on me. Actually it seems to be quite the opposite. The people that are loud and proud, willing to name names seem to get left alone.

The amount they are demanding is so disconnected from reality that it almost seems laughable to me. I like Greg's reply because it points out that similar images are available for much, much less. "$15,000, huh? How about I offer you $75. And by the way, I may not even owe that if you are unable to prove you hold the copyright to that image."

The best advice is to read about other people's experiences on this site. Type the firm's name into the search box and see if other people have encountered them. It would be helpful to post a redacted version of their demand and point us to where the image is offered for free. (While you are at it, be sure to take a snapshot of this page and document it.)

Two things to keep in mind. You're not alone. They've been pulling these shenanigans on thousands of people over the last several years. Second, in all that time only a very tiny number of cases have been filed.

If you are willing to go "all in" with the ELI crowd, you cannot find a better resource for fighting back. Seriously, the brain trust here is better than you would get from hiring a local attorney. There are no guarantees, but statistically speaking, you can now start sleeping easier.

227

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Another Newby Masterfile

« on: November 29, 2012, 07:06:29 PM »

They want $2500 for two months of an image that may have been hotlinked from another blog? Unless that image used diamonds for pixels, there is no way that is even close to reasonable.

At this juncture you either hire Oscar and be done with it, or you research this site and refuse to pay any money until they document other examples of images that have sold for this rate. Since it is MF, there is a good chance the copyright is registered, but I would insist on getting proof of registration and a copy of their exclusive agreement with the photographer. I would do all this under the guise of evaluating their claim (while not admitting guilt).

228

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: We are the latest victim of the Getty Image extortion scam

« on: November 29, 2012, 06:56:19 PM »

This is one of the reasons I keep coming to this site. New people get stung by Getty or Masterfile and they come up with new and innovative ways to fight back.

Welcome Jot. I have to say when I first heard your plan I didn't hold out much hope. But as you lay it out, it begins to make some amount of sense.

Now they may argue that the image was placed on a public-facing web page and its use was confirmed by a human being. But that doesn't negate the fact that they (may have) broke into your "house," snooped around a bit, and then decided to send a person to look for the image.

The uphill battle is the "access a computer without authorization" part. I think it will be tough to claim that tracking down the text and images presented on a public-facing web page somehow constitute "access a computer without authorization." I think the intent of this law was to prevent people from hacking into a database or protected directories, not scanning images.

But I seriously do not want to take the wind out of your sails. I encourage you to keep pushing.

229

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: NCS IP Solutions email

« on: November 20, 2012, 07:47:07 PM »

I'm actually one of the people that usually thinks it is best to deal with these issues directly. But....

Let me ask you this: That letter you got was through a form on your web site?

You have never received a letter in the mail?

If the answer to both of these is "yes" and it were me, I would file this email in the same place I put "Nigerian Lottery Winner" and "Free Viagra" emails. I see a lot of spam come through my online forms, and it would be easy to believe that this is just another hustle.

230

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Petition the U.S. government to change laws to end copyright trolling

« on: November 20, 2012, 07:39:12 PM »

I agree that making the verbiage tighter, more compelling wouldn't hurt. But it's nice to see it in action.

Maybe it is gaining traction. Andrew Couts writes about technology. He was one of the people I was going to direct tweet to, but did not have a chance. Someone (mrcproductivity) beat me to it and Andrew tweeted the link to the petition.



Let's hope this trend continues.

231

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: An Experiment Against Getty

« on: November 19, 2012, 01:27:31 PM »

An image in the public domain IS free to use. Just because GI engages in the scummy practice of selling images in the public domain does not mean that they hold a copyright on the image.

But like you, I have completely stopped doing business with GI and MF as well as iStockPhoto (a Getty subsidiary). Last month I managed to divert two other clients from iStock purchases to Pond5 for their stock footage needs. I plan to vocally continue to do this and encourage others to do so as well until the large stock companies change their business practices (or die).

232

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Petition the U.S. government to change laws to end copyright trolling

« on: November 19, 2012, 01:22:23 PM »

I signed it, shared it, and tweeted it. But that mountain of getting 25,000 signatures is an awfully big hill to climb. I'm not too sure how I feel about signing it multiple times. I think instead of doing that, I'll work on a "get out the vote" (or signature) campaign.

Everyone talks about making something go viral. But unfortunately there isn't really a way to do it. You just have to tenaciously keep after it. Here are some things I hope to try, but I hope others with an interest in this will also try:

• Visit other copyright trolling forums and threads and post a link to the petition.
• Direct tweet some people with large numbers of followers and ask them to recommend it.
• Email influential bloggers and ask for some coverage. (I am thinking of Matthew Inman. One blog post or cartoon from him on theoatmeal.com could make a huge difference. Who else?)

Those ideas just take a little time and cost no money.

233

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Why are you on ELI? Why do you keep coming back to ELI?

« on: November 12, 2012, 01:10:00 AM »

I really appreciate the community here. I also feel compelled to "pay it forward" a bit and help out where I can. I think Peeved hit on the main reason I return:

Guess we all want to see the bad guys get hit by the "Karma Truck"
or "karma Bus" in the end.

Yeah baby! I get a little joy every time I hear about someone successfully fighting back or a setback for GI, HAN or the MFers in court.

234

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Canadian Photogs Now Officially Own the Copyright to All of Their Photos

« on: November 12, 2012, 12:53:42 AM »

I thought the same as Matt and Peeved. But this comment on that page helped clarify things (if it is accurate).

I think that many people are not seeing this right. Just because now the photographer has the copyright at the time of creation of the image, it doesn't mean that he intends on keeping the copyright. The copyright release just has to be added to the contracts, and photographers will be more than happy to sell them (most likely for the same prices you are paying now). This legislation is just so everyone is clear that the photographer owns the copyright first, and its up to him to decide what to do with it, and who gets to use it.

235

Hawaiian Letters & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Attorney Larry Zerner & Vincent Tylor Extortion Letter

« on: November 12, 2012, 12:45:44 AM »

That IS an interesting site! The law firm they give a black eye to, Greenberg Traurig, jumped out at me. They were the law firm of Syntax-Brillian corporation, a US-based TV maker that supposedly went bankrupt. In actuality they transferred their assets and IP to a Chinese company and ripped off all shareholders. Greenberg Traurig is also famous for being associated with Jack Abramoff.

I love that http://www.tabberone.com is helping to educate people about rip-off artists everywhere and on how people can stand up for themselves.

236

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Petition the U.S. government to change laws to end copyright trolling

« on: November 11, 2012, 11:56:15 PM »

Yeah Stringer, it looks like you "elected" yourself. Please keep us posted.

237

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Petition the U.S. government to change laws to end copyright trolling

« on: October 26, 2012, 11:49:46 PM »

At first blush I liked that idea too. But it does seem a little like "Big Brother" tracking down your IP address to tell you you are suspected of copyright infringement. And I'm not sure why a person who insists they are innocent should have to pay $35 to have their case reviewed. (I know if that happened to me I would switch ISPs so fast it would make the accusers head spin.)

But that said, the process of a warning first and then escalating the communication is so much better than what the copyright trolls are doing. Their business model of "ready, shoot, aim" is nowhere near what the motion picture and recording industry are talking about here. I can't see the GI's and MFers of the world getting behind this idea. Their initial contact is pretty "grabby" making it clear that removing infringing material is not enough for them. But lets just say more legitimate businesses: content creators, publishers, and maybe even ISPs and the government may see this as a reasonable solution.

238

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: ELI Defense Team Grows Again! Welcome Greg Troy, Newest ELI Team Member!

« on: October 26, 2012, 04:37:09 PM »

Yes, but unfortunately the corner office has a view of Getty's compliance office and the washroom isn't really all that.

239

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Petition the U.S. government to change laws to end copyright trolling

« on: October 26, 2012, 04:33:13 PM »

I was someone who didn't hold out too much hope for Greg's idea of pestering the state attorney generals. But I think that strategy has been proven somewhat effective. There is truly no "wrong way" of doing this. I think if a hundred minds (or more) are all attacking trolling from different angles, it will some day lead to the extinction of trolls.

If you DO set up a petition, I will sign it.

240

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: ELI Defense Team Grows Again! Welcome Greg Troy, Newest ELI Team Member!

« on: October 24, 2012, 06:59:22 PM »

Welcome Greg. Your hard work hasn't gone unnoticed and now you will be rewarded with even more (work, that is).



Your participation in ELI has made the site even better. Congrats!