In my opinion I would absolutely use this if Getty took me to court. This is also the reason why I prefer all communications to be done via Postal Service rather than email or telephone, that way I have a paper trail on their letterhead with their signature.
I think Getty would have a hard time explaining why they refused to send proof of claim in order to facilitate negotiation, why after refusing to send proof they tell the letter recipient pay us or will sue and many other things.
In my opinion Getty is taking a risk with the single image lawsuits they are filing as they are going to pick on the wrong person who will file a counter suit and demand answers to these and many other questions.
I truly feel that if Getty Images or McCormack IP Law were ever to half to face a lawyer of Oscar Michelen's caliber it could end up being a precedent-setting case that could change the way these companies handle their settlement demand programs.
But what kills me is that Getty has ZERO interest in contacting the site you obtained the image from or maybe even told you the image was free to use.
I completely agree, Jerry.
To those who are a little more legally inclined, would there be any benefit, if any, in arguing to this point should it come to a lawsuit? Once again, this is common man opinion, but it seems this could be an interesting partial defense. If Getty could not answer why they are not chasing other sites that are sourcing these images then it seems they should have less right to pursue you.
Show Posts
