Messages

31

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: LiveChat Popups on Picscout/Getty Images License Compliance Claims

« on: September 03, 2015, 12:06:22 AM »

It's also very easy to clear your cookies in the browser.  Chrome lets you easily search through them.  Also, you can use a private window in Chrome and nothing gets saved.  The exception of course would be your IP address but those things change often enough it's probably not a big deal.

32

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Pixsy

« on: September 01, 2015, 03:48:57 PM »

I've been reading up on these Pixsy people and it looks like this is a 100% pure copyright trolling shop - totally automated for the sole purpose of making a buck off this loophole in copyright law that allows you to demand money without an initial cease-and-desist. 

It's a pretty scary prospect and if these guys manage to scale up it's going to be a nightmare for every website owner on the internet.  ... that is until (and if) the law changes.

Any thought?

33

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Do Trolls Talk to Each Other?

« on: August 27, 2015, 01:40:11 PM »

Right... well they've all been direct from the company.  Masterfile & Pixsy in this case.  I don't want to mention the other one for fear they'll identify me but it was a one-off law firm.   Only one of them sent me a physical letter (the un-mentioned one) and none of them say anything about pic-scout, though who knows what tools they use. 

As an aside, running the Masterfile image on TinEye turns up dozens of sites that are using the image - most likely all infringements and all targets for Masterfile.   It's pretty obvious that Masterfile changed the pricing on that particular image once it got loose to be worth $1000s of dollars whereas dozens of similar images are still priced at a mere $65.  It would be hilarious if it weren't so evil.

34

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Masterfile threat - should I continue to reply?

« on: August 27, 2015, 01:32:48 PM »

Thanks...  I'll pass for now because I already settled one of these things and the other two don't seem in immediate need of action but if they get any hotter I will do that.  Thanks very much for the offer though!

35

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Online Petition Against Getty

« on: August 27, 2015, 01:31:39 PM »

Thanks! Well i will certainly be opening complaints with a few AGs.  After Googling around, it turns out in Ontario it's quite straightforward.

Why do you think cease & desist is futile? It seems like it's a very common sense change o the law that we could accomplish if enough people complained about these trolls.  There are enough victims out there - probably just on this site alone - that at least someone might take this to the next level. 

Finally - I still don't totally understand how DMCA works.  I have a registered agent and all of that, but what does it actually do for me?  Should I mention it to the troll? They seem to just ignore it.  It's clearly spelled out on my site and in all of the instances where a troll has found an image it was NEVER me who used the image, it was always a site user.

Thanks!

36

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Online Petition Against Getty

« on: August 26, 2015, 10:18:58 PM »

Interesting.  Well then I'll be opening some complaints with the AG.  Is that a national thing? State thing? Do you know the best way to do it?

I know the BBB can't bring action but it would still bring some attention to the problem no?  The BBB review on Getty certainly shows a huge number of complaints and they don't seem to be removing them!  The more the better, I say.

37

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Do Trolls Talk to Each Other?

« on: August 26, 2015, 10:16:34 PM »

Nah, as far as I know none of them were. 

38

Getty Images Letter Forum / Do Trolls Talk to Each Other?

« on: August 26, 2015, 06:45:33 PM »

I'm pretty sure trolls read this message board, but I'm curious, do they talk to each other? Like, if you make the mistake of paying one, do the others somehow know about it and smell blood in the water and then come pecking?  I paid a troll (perhaps stupidly) and then all of a sudden two more popped up.  It makes me paranoid that they publish something somewhere that says "there's a sucker here".

That said, a more realistic theory is that this industry has just hit full force and they're all just trying extra hard to attack while they still can, while their legal loophole is still open.

Any thoughts?

39

Getty Images Letter Forum / Pixsy

« on: August 26, 2015, 01:29:36 PM »

Looks like Pixsy is now getting in on this game.  Anyone have any experience dealing with them?  They actually seem far more reasonable than the others. They demand only $200-$800 in their initial email (this is based on 4 different people I've been talking to lately).  Although it's still ridiculous, they seem to be behaving far more rationally than, say, Masterfile.

40

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Masterfile threat - should I continue to reply?

« on: August 26, 2015, 11:31:44 AM »

Guys - as much as I am thankful that this forum and information exist, you need to stop promoting Oscar's letter writing program if it does not really happen. I've been ignored twice now by Oscar and this other dude is being ignored too. 

If things are just busy, no problem, but it would be very helpful to hear that in some kind of reply other than just plain silence.  If the program isn't happening any more then you should take it down or adjust the program (with higher fees if needed) to make it more practical.

41

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Online Petition Against Getty

« on: August 26, 2015, 11:28:11 AM »

Is there anything we can do vis a vis Masterfile and some of the others out there? I'm glad to see that Getty has dozens of complaints listed on the BBB website but I see next to nothing on Masterfile and it would be very satisfying to see some there.

This shit has started to turn into a major plague and someone needs to start the work to change the law.  I think all of us agree that a "Cease and Desist" would be the logical and ethically correct way to deal with image infringement.  Failing that, then sue all you want.

This is getting close to the breaking point and there's got to be something out there we can work on together to try and end this nonsense.  Surely, right?

42

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Masterfile threat - should I continue to reply?

« on: August 15, 2015, 01:10:09 PM »

Yes- they are the cases you linked to on Justia in my other post here: http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/getty-images-letter-forum/any-new-news-on-masterfile/

If you read into the complaint, Oscar is mentioned.  I have no reason to doubt Oscar, just pointing out what it says and the fact that he never did follow through with a letter for me last year (I ultimately told him to forget about it as i paid the troll). 

43

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Masterfile threat - should I continue to reply?

« on: August 14, 2015, 03:57:40 PM »

I agree with Mulligan that this is probably just another threat.  I ended up paying about $500.  I was just super paranoid and literally losing sleep over it so it was worth the money at the time.  I would not repeat that again, however.

That said, I did dig up three actual lawsuits (see above) that these bastards have apparently filed over a single image. No information about the case actually proceeding and in each case Oscar is mentioned as having never responded.  Makes me a little nervous about the letter-writing program, but still.

I'm confident enough that I will stand my ground if this ever happens again. Given the fact that images that I've seen sued over are obviously no different than the $65 images Masterfile usually sells, I can't believe anyone would successfully convince a judge otherwise... it's just a joke, really.

However, I'll always be paranoid... in fact, I'm fairly certain these trolls read this forum regularly so I'd be careful about how much personal info I divulge.  You've only got a little time left before you 3 years is up.  Heck, just don't answer the door for a few months and you'll be fine.  In CA lawsuits have to be physically handed to someone - a major pain in the ass that seems relatively easy to kick down the road at least for a few months if that's all you have left.

44

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Masterfile threat - should I continue to reply?

« on: August 13, 2015, 06:59:10 PM »

I never heard from Oscar either when this happened and ended up paying.  I don't know if that was a good idea or not but it's water under the bridge at this point.

Anyway, just because they are sending you another letter does not mean an actual lawsuit is imminent. They probably just have a reminder pop up every year or so to keep harassment alive. 

45

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Any new news on Masterfile?

« on: August 11, 2015, 02:59:33 PM »

Yeah, I'm wasting a lot of time myself dealing with these bastards. They are about as ethical as street muggers, maybe less since they hide behind the law.

Anyway, one really obvious thing about Masterfile is that they jack up the price of the one image that they threaten people about.  The majority of their images are royalty free (RF) and cost $65 as a one time license.  However, every once in a while you'll see one that's "rights managed" and cost something outrageous like $1,500.  There isn't typically any appreciable difference in the images - the only difference is that the outrageously priced one happens to be the one they are threatening over.

In other words, they poke around (or maybe even deliberately release) images that people then accidentally use and suddenly jack the price up and start threatening to sue people. 

You can prove this by looking around until you fine one of their "rights managed" photos.  Do a tineye search on it and I guarantee you'll find dozens of unsuspecting users whereas their other images rarely come up.

It's really, really unethical.  However, it's probably legal.  That said, if they actually sue, I'd find it hard to believe a judge would seriously see the value of their images as anything more than $65 given they're almost identical to dozens at that price range.