Getty actually filed a couple of lawsuit in Canada many years ago; I don't think that these suits went anywhere.
So, they can sue here; they'd have to get a Canadian lawyer, and work with Canadian laws.
They do have a couple of Canadian lawyers that they use to send threatening letters.
It's interesting that you received a demand from NCS. I thought that it was illegal for collection agencies to pester people over claims that aren't actual debts in Canada.
I'm guessing that NCS in the 'states sent you this? It's illegal.
Anyway, the likelihood of this going ANYWHERE is close to zero.
I posted the following previously, which I feel is the best defense against Getty for Canadians at this time (if you need a defense):
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"Innocent infringement" is an angle that could work for you if necessary. Again, Getty usually doesn't own the actual copyrights to their content.
That is, they not do have the copyright registrations in their name, nor exclusive contracts with the artists in most cases. Consider the following:
"Registration, while not necessary, provides certain presumptions that are useful if the copyright is litigated and prevents any person from relying on the defence of “innocent infringement” (i.e., where the infringer did not know and had no reason to suspect that copyright existed in the work). If there is no registration, an infringer who successfully proves the defence of innocent infringement could be prohibited from further copying but would not be liable for damages." from page 66:
http://www.osler.com/uploadedFiles/News_and_Resources/Publications/Guides/Doing_Business_in_Canada_-_2011/DBIC-Chapter13.pdfThere's nothing to stop anyone from asking for "Statutory Damages". However, the above would likely nullify this option.
Keep in mind here that we're talking about Canada. So, a US registration counts for nothing.
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Getty has nothing registered with the Candian Copyright office the last time that I checked.
S.G.
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