271
Hawaiian Letters & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Vincent K Tylor strikes again
« on: June 04, 2014, 08:04:25 PM »
Very good article Peggy. please keep us posted.
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272
Getty Images Letter Forum / Have Getty Images and McCormack Intellectual Property Law PS Crossed the Line?
« on: June 02, 2014, 02:34:57 PM »
Getty Images and McCormack Law's practice of demanding payment while refusing to honor request for proof of claim has long been an issue with myself and the ELI community. I found a complaint that may show Getty has crossed the line.
A web developer offered Getty FULL payment to make the claim go away and leave his client alone. Getty refused to accept full payment because the web developer ask Getty to provide proof that Getty had the legal right to collect on behalf of the artist. Getty told the web developer who offered FULL payment he needs to talk to a copyright attorney and they were now going after the client.
Read the full story here: http://goo.gl/Muhl91
A web developer offered Getty FULL payment to make the claim go away and leave his client alone. Getty refused to accept full payment because the web developer ask Getty to provide proof that Getty had the legal right to collect on behalf of the artist. Getty told the web developer who offered FULL payment he needs to talk to a copyright attorney and they were now going after the client.
Read the full story here: http://goo.gl/Muhl91
273
Getty Images Letter Forum / Happy Memorial Day!
« on: May 25, 2014, 07:58:09 PM »
Wishing all the Eli friends and family a happy and safe Memorial Day as well as a heart felt thank you to all those who have served our country.
274
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: copyright legal issues mitigation and dual copyright
« on: May 21, 2014, 01:01:47 PM »
Great news! Hang in there!
This is encouraging news to me. It is what I initially thought until someone somewhere else said I should use the date I received the letter just to be safe.
Going by their own observation date, I can now celebrate over one year passed on the statute of limitations.I agree with you 100% Stinger and my apologies to JLorimer I missed your point or I would have included it in my reply.To JLorimer's point: If the letter shows an observation date of six months ago, that is when the Statute of Limitations begins.
Often, you will see quoted on this web site that the safest date to use as the start of the SOL is the first date of any letter you received. That is the most conservative approach. The DMCA says they have 3 years from their discovery of the statute. If someone gave you evidence that they had discovered the infringement 6 months ago, you can certainly make a strong case that that is when the statute of limitations begins.
275
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: graphicstock.com
« on: May 21, 2014, 09:01:41 AM »
Agreed, I guess it would all depend on what kind of receipt you got with the download. I view this the same way as I do Getty's offer to embed images for free and would not 10 it with a 10ft pole. Who owns GraphicStock? I also wonder what the contributors think about their stuff given away for free.
I buy all of my images from Pond5, they are a good company with very reasonable prices.
Thanks Getty Images and McCormack IP Law for making everyone so suspicious of stock photo companies that we can't even trust a probably legitimate offer from a company trying to earn some new business.
I buy all of my images from Pond5, they are a good company with very reasonable prices.
Thanks Getty Images and McCormack IP Law for making everyone so suspicious of stock photo companies that we can't even trust a probably legitimate offer from a company trying to earn some new business.
276
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: copyright legal issues mitigation and dual copyright
« on: May 18, 2014, 05:59:11 PM »
I agree with you 100% Stinger and my apologies to JLorimer I missed your point or I would have included it in my reply.
To JLorimer's point: If the letter shows an observation date of six months ago, that is when the Statute of Limitations begins.
Often, you will see quoted on this web site that the safest date to use as the start of the SOL is the first date of any letter you received. That is the most conservative approach. The DMCA says they have 3 years from their discovery of the statute. If someone gave you evidence that they had discovered the infringement 6 months ago, you can certainly make a strong case that that is when the statute of limitations begins.
277
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: copyright legal issues mitigation and dual copyright
« on: May 18, 2014, 09:02:59 AM »
As to your first point I do not think it is a case of the company sitting on images and waiting. I think it is more of a case of far more data than can be managed. Go to Google, enter a search term and in less than the second you will get results in the hundreds of thousands if not millions. Now use intelligent software to filter down your results to tens of thousands of entries, how long will it take you to look at these? Now repeat the process with a program with multiple extensions running 24/7.
While I believe the technology is there that settlement demand letters could be mailed out as soon as an image is found there is no way the copyright compliance teams would be able to handle the influx of responses, inquiries and complaints resulting from this type of mass mailing.
As to your second question it may be more of a case of an artist for whatever reason having agreements with two companies and the companies not realizing it. There are situations such as the class-action lawsuit in Israel where a company like Getty Images try to transfer rights to another company so that they could collect on settlement demand letters were Getty was not legally set up to do so. The case was argued that by the terms of the contract the artist signed, Getty maintained exclusive rights and could not transfer those rights for the purpose of collections.
While I believe the technology is there that settlement demand letters could be mailed out as soon as an image is found there is no way the copyright compliance teams would be able to handle the influx of responses, inquiries and complaints resulting from this type of mass mailing.
As to your second question it may be more of a case of an artist for whatever reason having agreements with two companies and the companies not realizing it. There are situations such as the class-action lawsuit in Israel where a company like Getty Images try to transfer rights to another company so that they could collect on settlement demand letters were Getty was not legally set up to do so. The case was argued that by the terms of the contract the artist signed, Getty maintained exclusive rights and could not transfer those rights for the purpose of collections.
278
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: I am a frustrated and sick to my stomach Canadian!! Help!!!!
« on: May 16, 2014, 06:32:36 PM »
I agree with stinger. I would send NSC a letter stating that it is claim and not a debt and not to contact you again or you will report them to the FTC.
I would consider filing a complaint against Getty with the Washington State Attorney General's Office and the BBB. I would consider filing the same against McCormack IP Law plus the Washington Bar Association. Do this only if you feel Getty and McCormack are not treating you fairly or are acting unethically (ie refusing to provide proof of claim to facilitate negotiation).
I would consider filing a complaint against Getty with the Washington State Attorney General's Office and the BBB. I would consider filing the same against McCormack IP Law plus the Washington Bar Association. Do this only if you feel Getty and McCormack are not treating you fairly or are acting unethically (ie refusing to provide proof of claim to facilitate negotiation).
279
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Ongoing List of Copyright Trolling Firms and those associated with them
« on: May 14, 2014, 08:05:33 PM »
I don't know about them, I use Pond5 for all of my stock images. They are as low as a dollar and good quality. No expatriation on them either (at least the ones I have purchased).
Is there a running list of safe companies?
Is 123rf safe?
280
Getty Images Letter Forum / Visual Chart of Getty Images Attorney General Complaints
« on: May 13, 2014, 08:29:53 AM »
I have mapped out all the complaints filed against Getty Images on At-A-Glance calendars.
http://goo.gl/1eLTr5
http://goo.gl/1eLTr5
281
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: An Experiment Against Getty
« on: May 12, 2014, 03:35:15 PM »
I don't want to post too much here as we know Getty/McCormack IP Law reads our threads, but there will be follow up on this with the AG's Office.
282
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: An Experiment Against Getty
« on: May 12, 2014, 02:32:48 PM »
I have finally received the last of 9 CDs of complaints filed against Getty Images and McCormack IP Law from my public records request of the Washington State Attorney General’s office. As many of you know each year for the last three years there has been a request for these public records filed against these two businesses.
In the past I have just taken the complaints, removed the fluff (to see what I removed see below) then made the complaints available through my Scribd account doing nothing more than reporting on the number of complaints and commenting on one or two that stood out to me. This year I decided to combine all my data together making a master index of complaints so you can see at a glance when it was filed, who it was filed against and who filed it.
On June 18 of 2012 I launched an educational and letter writing campaign aimed at readers who like me, tried to negotiate with Getty but felt that they were being treated unfair, unreasonable and/or unethically by Getty Images and/or McCormack IP Law. It encouraged readers to take a stand and fight back by letting the Attorney General and other agencies know of predatory practices which I consider to be a form of legalized extortion. This campaign was acknowledged shortly thereafter by Getty Images when the following two paragraphs were added to their standard form letter response to complaints filed against them.
While I agree with the statement that demand for payment and satisfaction of a legal claim is not wrongful conduct, I do strongly disagree with the practice of demanding more than an image is worth or they could expect to win in court, as well as the absolute refusal to provide documentation proving that Getty Images has the legal right to collect on behalf of the artist. Getty will tell letter recipients who make it clear they are willing to negotiate, but are requesting proof of claim, that said proof will only be provided when compelled by a court of law through discovery. In other words letter recipients are told that the information they are requesting will only be provided when they are sued by Getty. This statement is usually followed by another demand for payment with threat of escalation to their legal department if payment is not made. So I say that demanding payment, refusing to provide proof of claim and then threatening legal action qualifies as and meets the definition as a form of extortion.
It is this practice by Getty, McCormack IP Law, Masterfile, Corbis and others that has led me to start Copyright Anti-Bullying Act and attempt to change the current copyright law so it not only protects artist’s rights but closes loopholes and quashes predatory behavior from companies like these.
Breaking Down the Numbers
If you look at the index of complaints the dates that are listed in black represent the seven years yay-9865464prior to the education and letter writing campaign. The dates listed in green are eighteen months of complaints filed after the start of the education and letter writing campaign. You may also click on the headers below to see the complaints displayed graphically on year-at-a-glance calendars.
Getty Images:
54 complaints in 7 years prior to campaign
117 complaints in 18 months after campaign
McCormack IP Law
3 complaints in 7 years prior to campaign
30 complaints in 18 months after campaign
The list of complaints may be seen here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/222235974/1-2-Index-of-Compaints
At-A-Glance Calendar showing Getty Images complaints from 2005-2013
http://www.scribd.com/doc/222235973/1-3-Getty-Attorney-General-Complaint-History
At-A-Glance Calendar showing McCormack IP Law complaints from 2005-2013
http://www.scribd.com/doc/222235972/1-4-McCormack-Attorney-General-Complaint-History
In the past I have just taken the complaints, removed the fluff (to see what I removed see below) then made the complaints available through my Scribd account doing nothing more than reporting on the number of complaints and commenting on one or two that stood out to me. This year I decided to combine all my data together making a master index of complaints so you can see at a glance when it was filed, who it was filed against and who filed it.
On June 18 of 2012 I launched an educational and letter writing campaign aimed at readers who like me, tried to negotiate with Getty but felt that they were being treated unfair, unreasonable and/or unethically by Getty Images and/or McCormack IP Law. It encouraged readers to take a stand and fight back by letting the Attorney General and other agencies know of predatory practices which I consider to be a form of legalized extortion. This campaign was acknowledged shortly thereafter by Getty Images when the following two paragraphs were added to their standard form letter response to complaints filed against them.
Quote
“The complainant characterizes our attempts to settle our copyright infringement claims as “extortion.” However, our communications with them do not in any way constitute “wrongful threats” within the meaning of extortion statutes. On the contrary, demand for payment and satisfaction of a legal claim is not wrongful conduct.
We understand that copyright law can be confusing; however, the campaign to file complaints against us is misguided and misdirected. We encourage review of the license compliance information provided on our website at: http://company.gettyimages.com/license-compliance/.”
While I agree with the statement that demand for payment and satisfaction of a legal claim is not wrongful conduct, I do strongly disagree with the practice of demanding more than an image is worth or they could expect to win in court, as well as the absolute refusal to provide documentation proving that Getty Images has the legal right to collect on behalf of the artist. Getty will tell letter recipients who make it clear they are willing to negotiate, but are requesting proof of claim, that said proof will only be provided when compelled by a court of law through discovery. In other words letter recipients are told that the information they are requesting will only be provided when they are sued by Getty. This statement is usually followed by another demand for payment with threat of escalation to their legal department if payment is not made. So I say that demanding payment, refusing to provide proof of claim and then threatening legal action qualifies as and meets the definition as a form of extortion.
It is this practice by Getty, McCormack IP Law, Masterfile, Corbis and others that has led me to start Copyright Anti-Bullying Act and attempt to change the current copyright law so it not only protects artist’s rights but closes loopholes and quashes predatory behavior from companies like these.
Breaking Down the Numbers
If you look at the index of complaints the dates that are listed in black represent the seven years yay-9865464prior to the education and letter writing campaign. The dates listed in green are eighteen months of complaints filed after the start of the education and letter writing campaign. You may also click on the headers below to see the complaints displayed graphically on year-at-a-glance calendars.
Getty Images:
54 complaints in 7 years prior to campaign
117 complaints in 18 months after campaign
McCormack IP Law
3 complaints in 7 years prior to campaign
30 complaints in 18 months after campaign
The list of complaints may be seen here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/222235974/1-2-Index-of-Compaints
At-A-Glance Calendar showing Getty Images complaints from 2005-2013
http://www.scribd.com/doc/222235973/1-3-Getty-Attorney-General-Complaint-History
At-A-Glance Calendar showing McCormack IP Law complaints from 2005-2013
http://www.scribd.com/doc/222235972/1-4-McCormack-Attorney-General-Complaint-History
283
Hawaiian Letters & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Vincent K Tylor Tuesday!
« on: May 12, 2014, 02:13:27 PM »
Just an FYI, Oscar is the only lawyer here on the site on the only one who can give legal advice. The rest of us can give you informed opinions but not legal advice.
284
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Getty Letter but Image was retrieved from Public agency Website
« on: May 08, 2014, 04:27:30 PM »
Make sure that when you file your complaint with the Washington State Attorney General's Office on McCormack IP Law you combine both Getty and McCormack IP Law complaints. If you just complaint about McCormack IP Law they will tell you they will not handle it and to file with the bar association. If you combine them they will send letters to McCormack and Getty.
You can also file with the Bar association on McCormack IP Law as well. It is outlined here:
http://gettyimagesmustchange.com/site/filing-complaints-against-getty-images-and-mccormack-ip-law/
Please keep us posted as I track all complaints filed against Getty and McCormack IP Law
You can also file with the Bar association on McCormack IP Law as well. It is outlined here:
http://gettyimagesmustchange.com/site/filing-complaints-against-getty-images-and-mccormack-ip-law/
Please keep us posted as I track all complaints filed against Getty and McCormack IP Law
Mr. Michelen,
Thank you for your response. In addition, thank everyone else for their contributions towards this topic. Currently, I am opting to go with the letter writing program due to the potential beratement, harassing and intimidation tactics folks like Getty, and McCormack law conduct. Therefore to avoid this I feel the letter program is best. It is difficult for me to not just pick up the torch and go forward to try to rectify this in a logical and sensible matter with the other parties. However, it is quite clear with the numerous post on this site that Getty and McCormick lack these traits and would rather siphon money from the small businesses of this great nation. So once again thank you all for your time and help, I will be sure to keep folks informed on the progress once Mr. Michelens team/office is involved.
285
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Have I Screwed Myself
« on: May 07, 2014, 11:13:03 PM »
I would let them know that you were in compliance with what the CEO of Getty Jonathan Klein said could be done with the image in this TechCrunch interview.
Also I would demand that Getty/McCormack show you proof that they have the right to collect on behalf of the artist.
Lastly I would tell Getty an McCormack if they do not provide proof of claim and contact you again you will file complaints with the Attorney General's office of Washington State on them both.
http://gettyimagesmustchange.com/site/filing-complaints-against-getty-images-and-mccormack-ip-law/
Also I would demand that Getty/McCormack show you proof that they have the right to collect on behalf of the artist.
Lastly I would tell Getty an McCormack if they do not provide proof of claim and contact you again you will file complaints with the Attorney General's office of Washington State on them both.
http://gettyimagesmustchange.com/site/filing-complaints-against-getty-images-and-mccormack-ip-law/
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