Messages

316

UK Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Getty extortion letter. Picking peoples brains

« on: October 09, 2013, 04:34:36 PM »

What debt?  A claim is NOT a debt.

317

UK Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Escalation to Astradius Letter

« on: October 09, 2013, 04:33:41 PM »

Agreed.  Talking to liars and cheats on the phone does nothing to further your case.  Keep things on the record and you don't have to play the he said she said game.  They likely wouldn't stick to anything they said anyway.

318

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: 20 questions interview

« on: October 08, 2013, 05:31:12 PM »

I was gonna follow directions, but when I saw that Oscar didn't, and put in a shameless plug for his good looks, I decided not to follow directions.  However, I did refrain from any plugs for my good looks, because, quite frankly, that is a competition Oscar wins hands down.

319

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: 20 questions interview

« on: October 08, 2013, 12:12:00 PM »

That was my question for Matt - though your opinion matters too, Robert.

320

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: 20 questions interview

« on: October 08, 2013, 10:10:00 AM »

I thought April Brown had some very interesting ideas (and the connections to make them happen) about how to take the fight against trolls to the public through radio and TV.  What has happened to her and do you think she will return to this web site and contribute her ideas to the fight against Getty et. al.?

321

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: 20 questions interview

« on: October 07, 2013, 08:38:27 AM »

Ditto what Greg said.

322

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Masterfile Letter: Is this a Scam?

« on: October 02, 2013, 05:18:08 PM »

You also need to step back and understand that when they say,

Should we release this matter back to Masterfile, I assure you, they will no longer be willing to settle for an amount anywhere close to what they are prepared to accept at this time

, it sounds very threatening and scary to you.

What it really means is, "If you won't pay us, we are powerless to make you pay us, and we are going to give this back to Masterfile as uncollectable."  It doesn't mean that Masterfile is going to do anything.  At best, they might try to give it to another bill collector, but the odds of their filing suit over an amount this small . . . you should be able to figure it out.

323

ELI Responses: Media Coverage of Chan v. Ellis Case / Re: Matthew's Appeal Is Now Docketed!

« on: October 02, 2013, 05:12:32 PM »

You go Oscar!  You are the MAN I want on my side when Timmy McCormack comes a callin.

Thanks for posting this Greg.  If this thing doesn't get reversed, I may never visit the state of Georgia again in my lifetime.

324

UK Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Not Getty but similar practice - Fined for extortion letter business

« on: October 01, 2013, 09:14:24 AM »

When a handful of cases came to court, the scheme came in for widespread derision, angering the presiding judge, Judge Birss, who turned the spotlight on Mr Crossley, accusing him of abusing the court process.

Nice article!  Thanks for sharing Glenn.  Some day I foresee a similar article being written about Getty and McCormack Law.

325

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Just Received second letter

« on: September 30, 2013, 11:23:50 AM »

You can:

• Pay them. - Most people here DO NOT recommend this.
• Ignore them. - This has worked for some people.  Know that while you are ignoring them, they will not be ignoring you.  They will try to guilt and scare you into building their case or paying them.
• Try to resolve it with a dialogue with them.  This may make you feel better about your actions and document your case in the event it ever does reach a court room, but they will mostly ignore your letters and keep contacting you with attempts to guilt and scare you into paying them or building their case for them.
• Hire Oscar through his letter program and let him take the lead on dealing with them.

Whatever you choose, I recommend taking down the offending image.  The odds of their suing you over 1 image are extremely slim.  Keep reading.  You will find examples on this site of people who have done each of the above options. 

Only you can decide what works for you.

326

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Will this approach work against copyright trolls as well

« on: September 28, 2013, 11:33:26 AM »

Lettered:  I am not sure $1,000,000 would get the job done against Getty.  I really would like to know how much of their annual revenue is the direct result of trolling activity.

327

Legal Controversies Forum / Re: Oscar's Courtroom Strategy Blog

« on: September 26, 2013, 10:19:37 AM »

So does this mean the old adage I grew up with, "Let the buyer beware" will some day be obsolete?

328

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Just Received Getty Demand Letter

« on: September 19, 2013, 03:11:06 PM »

What Lucia said, but I will ad the caveat "Don't let the 7 images thing scare you."  Yes, it makes sense to reasonable people that Getty has 7 times as much incentive to chase you as a single image infringer.

However, if your designer got the images off of a free site, let's make sure Getty has it's ducks in a row to be able to make such a claim.  They usually don't.  And they don't want to prove that in court, because people like us will make it big news, which will be very bad for their trolling business.

I would recommend that you immediately take down the 7 images in question - at least until you can ascertain who truly holds the copyright.

329

Getty Images Letter Forum / Will this approach work against copyright trolls as well

« on: September 19, 2013, 03:02:45 PM »

I just came across an interesting article that I had to share.

http://venturebeat.com/2013/09/17/findthebest-sues-patent-trolls-under-anti-mafia-rico-act/

Kevin O’Connor, FindTheBest‘s CEO and founder is using RICO laws, originally passed to deal with organized crime, to put a stop to patent trolling.  Will it work?  Only time will tell.  But their are some interesting similarities to copyright trolling.  Here are a few out takes, but I recommend you read the whole article.

Patent trolls described
O’Connor described patent trolls as the “parasites” of the tech industry. They are generally shell corporations that buy up patents, not to use them in business, but merely to file lawsuits against other companies that allegedly infringe upon them. The patents are often extremely vague and the suits “frivolous,” O’Connor said. However, defending a lawsuit in court is so expensive that companies will write settlement checks, regardless of the validity of the claims.

I am betting most of us can see some similarities to copyright trolls.

Why he is doing it
“Business isn’t always about making money,” O’Connor said. “It’s also about doing what’s right, which is why I am using my own money. Most startups don’t have that luxury, but we are getting a ton of support. I am not sure if we are going to see a fix, but I don’t like this uncertainty. These court cases have doubled in the past few years, and they will double again. When does it end?”

How he is doing it
Rather than just defending his company in court, he is filing a civil RICO suit against Lumen for engaging in mail fraud, wire fraud, and extortion, “attacking the defendant’s attempts to extort money out of the company based upon false, objectively unreasonable, and baseless claims of patent infringement.”

With the statistics that we are beginning to compile on Getty, the shoe just might fit here.

What do you all think?

330

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Forget About Patent Trolls, Copyright Trolls Can Be Even Scarier

« on: September 15, 2013, 11:06:09 AM »

Nice article!  Sums things  up well.