391
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: new image bot/spider/scraper
« on: April 19, 2013, 02:02:53 PM »
Thanks, Robert.
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392
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: new image bot/spider/scraper
« on: April 19, 2013, 11:56:25 AM »
Lucia, I have a question about method I that you describe.
If Getty comes to my site through picscout, and copies my copyrighted images onto their server so they can then scan them to determine if they are theirs, is that act of copying my images a copyright infringement by picscout? Or do they have to publish something first? It seems like they have taken something that is not theirs and made a copy of it.
If it is infringement, one would have to find a way to prove that this is happening. I don't want to use the words S.G. hates, but could a poorly designed picscout open Getty up to some sort of large scale action? They are certainly not teaching or commenting on my photos.
If someone steals a priceless painting and doesn't display it, they are still guilty of theft if caught. Is that also true with digital images?
If Getty comes to my site through picscout, and copies my copyrighted images onto their server so they can then scan them to determine if they are theirs, is that act of copying my images a copyright infringement by picscout? Or do they have to publish something first? It seems like they have taken something that is not theirs and made a copy of it.
If it is infringement, one would have to find a way to prove that this is happening. I don't want to use the words S.G. hates, but could a poorly designed picscout open Getty up to some sort of large scale action? They are certainly not teaching or commenting on my photos.
If someone steals a priceless painting and doesn't display it, they are still guilty of theft if caught. Is that also true with digital images?
393
Legal Controversies Forum / Re: A message from the little guy
« on: April 18, 2013, 02:31:15 PM »
Well put, Lucia.
394
Getty Images Letter Forum / Can I ignore the getty images settlement demand letter
« on: April 16, 2013, 02:25:09 PM »
Ryan Healy a blogger, troll victim, and contributor here, responds:
http://www.ryanhealy.com/can-i-ignore-the-getty-images-settlement-demand-letter/
http://www.ryanhealy.com/can-i-ignore-the-getty-images-settlement-demand-letter/
395
UK Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: e-mail from Getty
« on: April 14, 2013, 09:47:15 AM »
DavidV..., I am not sure you have seen the Getty letters. They don't ask anything. Their tone is "guilty until proven innocent". And they provide no objective facts to back up their assertions.
I would vote for giving the benefit of the doubt to most photogs, but from what I have personnally seen from Getty, not them.
I would vote for giving the benefit of the doubt to most photogs, but from what I have personnally seen from Getty, not them.
396
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: My 3 year experience fighting back in playing Getty's dirty game
« on: April 13, 2013, 10:40:35 AM »
Great job with the letter thetootall. And congrats on making it through the three year mark.
My take is that they aren't really trying to protect copyright here. Rather, they are trying to take money from those willing to be bullied. Way to stand up for yourself. And way to show others how they can stand up for themselves.
My take is that they aren't really trying to protect copyright here. Rather, they are trying to take money from those willing to be bullied. Way to stand up for yourself. And way to show others how they can stand up for themselves.
397
Legal Controversies Forum / Re: A message from the little guy
« on: April 13, 2013, 10:33:17 AM »
DavidVGoliath, I appreciate your insights and your view points. I hope that you can understand that what frustrates me and others on this sight is the totality of what goes on with copyright trolls.
I have no problem with your protecting your copyright in a businesslike manner. But there are too many stories on this sight, like those that Gregg and Robert have outlined for your benefit that are the reason this sight exists. It is not the majority of photographers like yourself. It is a few greedy firms and individuals that take advantage of copyright law and our legal system in ways that make the Nigerian oil minister scam look tame.
These are sometimes large firms, like Getty, with connections in the publishing industry and PR departments who try to discredit what this web site does. Take a good, honest look at the stories on this site over time and you will begin to understand what it is that we are fighting for.
And I hope you stick around to provide your view point. Unlike negotiators who take an extreem stance in order to compromise back to something better than they originally expected to get, I believe that most of the contributors to this site want change that is fair to all sides. We don't get enough of your view point here, so please stay and become an active contributor. You can certainly help draw clear distinctions between honest copyright protection and the troll like behavior of the few.
I have no problem with your protecting your copyright in a businesslike manner. But there are too many stories on this sight, like those that Gregg and Robert have outlined for your benefit that are the reason this sight exists. It is not the majority of photographers like yourself. It is a few greedy firms and individuals that take advantage of copyright law and our legal system in ways that make the Nigerian oil minister scam look tame.
These are sometimes large firms, like Getty, with connections in the publishing industry and PR departments who try to discredit what this web site does. Take a good, honest look at the stories on this site over time and you will begin to understand what it is that we are fighting for.
And I hope you stick around to provide your view point. Unlike negotiators who take an extreem stance in order to compromise back to something better than they originally expected to get, I believe that most of the contributors to this site want change that is fair to all sides. We don't get enough of your view point here, so please stay and become an active contributor. You can certainly help draw clear distinctions between honest copyright protection and the troll like behavior of the few.
398
Legal Controversies Forum / Re: A message from the little guy
« on: April 12, 2013, 03:42:54 PM »
DavidvGoliath, I don't think that most people on this site advocate taking images for free. What the founders and heavy contributors to this site are against is big companies, like Getty, making a business plan out of using copyright law to scare the bejesus out of little guys. In today's market, their copyright infringement business model might make more profit than their actual business.
I think most of us would agree to a reasonable payment for unintentional misuse. If you proceeded to enforce your copyrights in this manner, you would find a lot of support here.
On the other hand, if you were to:
You have chosen a business that has gotten very difficult over the last few years. Prices on stock photography have come down so low that it is difficult to make money in this business today.
If you wish to stay in that tough business, and you handle yourself professionally and honorably, you will be supported here. If you claim the nature of the changes in the marketplace have caused you to act like a troll, you will be exposed for that here.
I think most of us would agree to a reasonable payment for unintentional misuse. If you proceeded to enforce your copyrights in this manner, you would find a lot of support here.
On the other hand, if you were to:
- take the approach of adding two to three orders of magnitude to what an image otherwise might have cost to license, and
- only attempt to enforce your copyrights over small firms and individuals and never chase large organizations because you know that you may not have all the rights you claim in your demand letters and will be exposed by large corporations with attorneys who understand the law, and
- seed the market with copies of your images that look to be "public domain" with no copyright or ownership notices, only to later troll users of those images for exorbitant sums, and
- incorrectly quote the law and past cases in your extortion letters to attempt to reach a quick settlement, and
- refuse to prove that you hold the rights you claim in order to enable a settlement.
You have chosen a business that has gotten very difficult over the last few years. Prices on stock photography have come down so low that it is difficult to make money in this business today.
If you wish to stay in that tough business, and you handle yourself professionally and honorably, you will be supported here. If you claim the nature of the changes in the marketplace have caused you to act like a troll, you will be exposed for that here.
399
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: An Experiment Against Getty
« on: April 10, 2013, 12:43:54 PM »
So is there a changing of the guard going on here, or is the picture more like this?
McCormack IP Law is really a first line defense to scare people into paying troll fees, or stop them from using photos Getty thinks are theirs. If they come across a particularly egregious case, it now gets promoted to the law firm of SCOTT T. WILSDON which is allowed to file suit.
I would personally like to see this case drag on for about two years and then be decided in favor the defendant - who may be the lesser criminal in the eyes of many.
McCormack IP Law is really a first line defense to scare people into paying troll fees, or stop them from using photos Getty thinks are theirs. If they come across a particularly egregious case, it now gets promoted to the law firm of SCOTT T. WILSDON which is allowed to file suit.
I would personally like to see this case drag on for about two years and then be decided in favor the defendant - who may be the lesser criminal in the eyes of many.
400
Legal Controversies Forum / Re: Prenda trolls appear in Judge Wright’s courtroom only to plead the Fifth.
« on: April 05, 2013, 10:07:09 AM »
Wouldn't it be fun to get a court to have that kind of reaction to McCormack Intellectual Property Law?
I think if we keep on building on the momentum, it just might be possible.
I think if we keep on building on the momentum, it just might be possible.
401
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: An Experiment Against Getty
« on: April 01, 2013, 11:08:09 AM »
If it is one photo, I doubt that they will sue. I am not sure if they will sue for 100 photos. In my opinion, their letters are a phishing scam - under the guise of protecting their copyright. They try to learn whatever they can and get the "mark" to incriminate himself. To lose a case in court, would put a large damper on what they collect under the guise of protecting their copyright - so they work hard to collect money out of court. Previous cases have indicated that they do not have their legal paperwork in order to win in court.
The statute of limitations under the DMCA runs 3 years from the time they first discover the copyright infringement. It would be good to keep the first letter which is the earliest date you can prove the infringement.
The statute of limitations under the DMCA runs 3 years from the time they first discover the copyright infringement. It would be good to keep the first letter which is the earliest date you can prove the infringement.
402
Hawaiian Letters & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Recording Copyright Extortion Collection Telephone Calls
« on: April 01, 2013, 09:00:19 AM »
Kyle, a well thought out and structured argument.
I would hope that if you were brought to this site through an abuse by Getty or McCormack IP, you would use your passion and knack for argument to clue the Attorney General of WA, the Washington Bar Association, the Better Business Bureau, and others in on the abuses these firms are wreaking on the "little people".
I would hope that if you were brought to this site through an abuse by Getty or McCormack IP, you would use your passion and knack for argument to clue the Attorney General of WA, the Washington Bar Association, the Better Business Bureau, and others in on the abuses these firms are wreaking on the "little people".
403
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: An Experiment Against Getty
« on: March 31, 2013, 11:08:23 AM »
Can't one of us take a photograph and put it up on getty and take a look at their photog agreement? They have to let the photog see it, don't they?
404
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: An Experiment Against Getty
« on: March 31, 2013, 09:53:21 AM »
If it is true that the photographer does not see dime one from any lawsuits, this gives Getty and even larger incentive to seed the market with photos. If they license them, the photog gets paid a portion of a small amount. If they seed the market and sue, Getty gets to split a large amount with McCormack.
I want to start a campaign to get Oscar seated as U.S. copyright judge and czar (to use this administration's vernacular). Then he could ride in on a white horse and throw all these crooks in a federal pen.
I want to start a campaign to get Oscar seated as U.S. copyright judge and czar (to use this administration's vernacular). Then he could ride in on a white horse and throw all these crooks in a federal pen.
405
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Recieved Letter from getty
« on: March 28, 2013, 09:47:31 AM »
Templates are the Getty approach - which sucks.
We recommend you write your own letter. Each case is somewhat different. Protest letters to bar associations, Attorney Generals's offices, BBB, etc. are easily recognized as coming from a template.
Take the extra five minutes and tell your story. Frame it how you wish. Those who will ultimately judge Getty and McCormack will have no doubt in their mind when they hear the same story told thousands of different ways.
Good luck, and if you would like a second, third and fourth set of eyes on your letter before you send it, publish it here. You will get good feedback.
We recommend you write your own letter. Each case is somewhat different. Protest letters to bar associations, Attorney Generals's offices, BBB, etc. are easily recognized as coming from a template.
Take the extra five minutes and tell your story. Frame it how you wish. Those who will ultimately judge Getty and McCormack will have no doubt in their mind when they hear the same story told thousands of different ways.
Good luck, and if you would like a second, third and fourth set of eyes on your letter before you send it, publish it here. You will get good feedback.
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