Messages

466

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Received letter demanding $2500 from CEG TEK International

« on: November 19, 2012, 02:07:21 PM »

Words of advice:

• Do not speak to them or communicate via email.  Written (snail) letters only so that everything is on the record.
• Do not admit anything in writing.
• The burden of proof should be on them, not you.  Ask them to substantiate that they are the copyright holders and provide proof of registration.
• Ask them to provide proof of the sales history of the images in question so you can ascertain that they are not overcharging you
• Do some research to verify that others aren't charging less for the same images, or giving them away for free.
• Read the ELI forums.  There are lots of letters and posts that explain how to handle this yourself, or do the phone call with Matt, or sign up for Oscar's Letter program.  You get to decide whether you want to spend time or money to make this go away.  It will not go away by itself.

Lastly, sign and circulate this petition to everyone you know to try to solve the problem in the future through government legislation.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/work-modify-copyright-laws-end-predatory-practice-copyright-trolling/3cGn2JFL

467

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Petition the U.S. government to change laws to end copyright trolling

« on: November 19, 2012, 01:54:03 PM »

Jerry, I agree and I like the way you are thinking.

One of the things I have found so far in my four day campaign is that this is a relatively complex issue for people to understand.  I have had a number of people ask me to better explain it.

However, if you put together enough information for them to see the issue from a number of sides, it overwhelms them.  Many people will sign just because you ask.  Others will need to be convinced.  Where it gets real difficult is when you ask someone to pass it on and ask others.

I don't have the message packaged in enough of a concise and emotional way to get people to pass it around and give it a chance to get viral.

That's where we really need the ideas.

468

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Petition the U.S. government to change laws to end copyright trolling

« on: November 19, 2012, 11:49:25 AM »

@Buddhapi, Well Robert we got to 65 signatures in 3 days - so we will likely beat the last petition.

Unfortunately, to be on pace we need 1000/day.  Simply asking for signatures, does not seem to get the job done.  I've personally asked way more than 65 people.

So what will it take to really get this thing out there?  I'm looking for ideas. 

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/work-modify-copyright-laws-end-predatory-practice-copyright-trolling/3cGn2JFL

I have even come to the conclusion that you do not need to be a U.S. citizen to sign this petition.  So sign it once for every email address you have and then start asking everyone you know to sign it. 

Feel free to copy the email I've quoted below and send it to everyone in your address book, and ask them to do the same.  Together, we CAN make a difference.

Eliminate the practice of copyright trolling.

If you publish anything today, digital or print, and you have not been accused of piracy by a copyright troll, consider yourself lucky. It does not matter what safeguards you have in place, you will eventually be accused of copyright infringement and threatened with some very expensive legal action.

Here is one guy's experience: http://www.ryanhealy.com/getty-images-extortion-letter/

Don't make the mistake of thinking this is an isolated incident. A google search of the term "copyright troll" yields over 102,000,000 article links, and that number is climbing every day.

This web site http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/ exists simply to help people fight these actions.

I have proposed a different and simpler solution. I am petitioning the U.S. government to modify copyright laws by requiring copyright enforcers to first ask the alleged first time infringer to cease and desist infringing.

It's a simple and clean solution to a growing problem. Here's where you come in. The U.S. government requires 25,000 signatures to the petition by December 14th in order to consider the petition. You can view and sign the petition here: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/work-modify-copyright-laws-end-predatory-practice-copyright-trolling/3cGn2JFL

I also ask that you share this petition with your friends and acquaintances on social media sites to make more people aware of the problem and raise government awareness.

The government does require you to register before signing the petition. They don't ask for much information. You can abbreviate your name to remain somewhat anonymous, but they do require a working email address. I have not seen any email abuses.

Thanks for your time and your potential help in making our government more aware of this issue.

469

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: How many have been sued for use of one pic?

« on: November 19, 2012, 08:50:54 AM »

You might want to sign this petition to help make our government aware of the issue.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/work-modify-copyright-laws-end-predatory-practice-copyright-trolling/3cGn2JFL

And get all your friends and business acquaintances and their friends and acquaintances, etc. etc. to do the same.

It's an opportunity to have a voice about this issue.

470

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Petition the U.S. government to change laws to end copyright trolling

« on: November 19, 2012, 08:49:00 AM »

I am amazed at how few people have actually filled out our petition.  Can you guys supply any thoughts as to why?

I know that the sign-up process is a little more cumbersome than it needs to be, and it leads the paranoid like me to think that my email address will end up on the wrong end of political mailings, but really, there has to me more to it than that.

Tens of thousands of people are signing up for state secession petitions.  And we can only get 54?

What do we need to do to make this thing go viral?

Here is the petition address again. 
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/work-modify-copyright-laws-end-predatory-practice-copyright-trolling/3cGn2JFL

You are allowed to sign it once for each email address you possess.  That's also true of your friends and their friends.

Here is another similar petition that I would recommend you sign while on the site.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/limit-copyright-law-only-apply-commercial-use-works-allow-people-freely-share-all-kinds-media/JsPY0dHm

Let's get this thing moving this week.

471

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Petition the U.S. government to change laws to end copyright trolling

« on: November 15, 2012, 04:33:14 PM »

I wonder if Matt or the ELI team to could send an email to anyone who has ever signed up for the forum, asking them to sign the petition and spread the word to social media?

Do you think that might be possible?

472

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Petition the U.S. government to change laws to end copyright trolling

« on: November 15, 2012, 03:41:09 PM »

That's why we need social sites and some SEO help.

I will be blogging about it next week.  I sent a copy to Ryan Healy and hope he decides to blog about it as well.

Signing is not enough.  We have to sign and popularize it.  I wonder if AuctionApril could get us any radio coverage about the petition?

473

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Petition the U.S. government to change laws to end copyright trolling

« on: November 15, 2012, 02:54:15 PM »

Well, here it is friends.  I have put up a petition on the White House web site to call on the government to end the practice of copyright trolling.  We only need 24,999 more signatures in the next 30 days to get our government officials to actually take a look at this.

Besides signing, please share this link on any social media sites you can.

Any of you SEO experts out there, whatever you could do to popularize this petition, will be greatly appreciated.

This can give us a good idea of how far ELI's reach actually is.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/work-modify-copyright-laws-end-predatory-practice-copyright-trolling/3cGn2JFL

474

P2P/BitTorrent Lawsuits Forum / Re: Prenda Case Defendant Gives Copyright Trolls What for

« on: November 15, 2012, 09:08:59 AM »

Great find "Freak show".  I too, really like this guy.

Perhaps we should invite him to join the ELI forums.  His work to date makes me think he should get a free lifetime membership here. 

475

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: "Turn pirates into customers: a smart approach to the photo problem"

« on: November 13, 2012, 11:57:12 AM »

Great article, but will likely fall on deaf ears at Getty and McCormack.

476

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Petition the U.S. government to change laws to end copyright trolling

« on: November 13, 2012, 10:20:01 AM »

I am beginning to wonder if someone in our federal government did not purposely disable the process to get a profile so that you could put up a petition on the white house site.

The official white house position is that any petition getting 30,000 signatures in 30 days will be reviewed by the government.  According to the article below, since the Dems won the election, at least 25 states have petitioned to secede from the union.  Texas has 60,000 signatures already.  Letting the Republican states leave could be great for the Democratic party in years to come. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/12/rick-perry-secession_n_2120453.html

I've posted a problem report on the white house site, but have heard nothing in 24 hours.  Is this inept site management or are they overwhelmed with the types of requests they never expected?

477

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Petition the U.S. government to change laws to end copyright trolling

« on: November 12, 2012, 11:42:38 AM »

Am having some difficulty getting started with this.  To submit a petition, one first needs a profile.

The profile process requires the White House to send you an email which lets them verify your email address.  Have been waiting for hours to get the email that was supposed to arrive in "minutes".  I checked with spam blockers and don't see anything.

Maybe our current administration has decided to make this harder because of all the petitions they have gotten with thousands of signatures to allow states to quietly secede from the union.

While I am losing faith in this government to get this web site working, I have not lost faith in our cause.  I will keep at it.  If anyone has any suggestions, I am all ears.

478

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Why are you on ELI? Why do you keep coming back to ELI?

« on: November 12, 2012, 10:12:31 AM »

It's funny, but I agree with most everything everyone has said.

• Yes, part of me wants to pay it forward where I can, yet I realize that I can never make the commitment Greg or Robert have.  Although, never is a long time, if Getty pushes a little more, maybe they will turn me into the second coming of Robert and Greg.
• I do enjoy the characters here, but more importantly their different approaches to a common problem.  I miss AuctionApril's posts because she took the fight (albeit a little different fight than mine) to the media in a powerful way.
• I, too, am addicted.  When I try to spend less time on ELI, I find it chasing me down through Facebook and forcing me to pay more attention and come back to the forum.
• I like the way some people try to take programming approaches to keeping Getty out of their lives, while others work the Search Engine Optimization angles to drawing attention to the dark side of what Getty and other Trollers do.  The diversity of approach I learn here captivates me, in a way.
• While I don't really want to wrap my life in this dirty trolling business, I feel an obligation to stay connected and help all these committed personalities see this thing through to a successful conclusion.  I realize that my never happen, but I sure wouldn't want to miss it, if it does.
• I feel like my situation is a little bit different than many of the Getty posters here.  Mine was not a single image violation.  My situation was not about not understanding copyright laws.  My company fell for what I believe was either a tacit seeding scheme, or a radical change of corporate direction that resulted in what we did innocently and with Getty's permission, later being construed as copyright theft.  Part of why I hang around is to see if others got caught in the same trap and to see if I can lend assistance to those who might find themselves in a similar situation.
• I certainly feel connected to the passion that the regulars on this site feel for righting an important wrong in this world today.
• If there ever is a class action suit or government hearings on the matter or some such thing, I feel like I might learn about that first here.  If I can in any way participate in eradicating this world of the dreaded copyright troll, I will want to be a part of that.

Like everyone else's, my list can go on.  But what's most important, is to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the organizers, senior members and contributors to this forum for their efforts and contributions.  THANK YOU!

This is one battle that I do not expect us to lose.  But even if we did, I could hold my head up, knowing I was on the right side of the fight, and in the trenches with a quality group of individuals.

479

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Petition the U.S. government to change laws to end copyright trolling

« on: November 12, 2012, 09:12:40 AM »

I am going to try to get to it this week.  I will keep you all posted.

480

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Did I mess up?

« on: November 08, 2012, 08:53:54 AM »

Robert, you must be in a good mood today. 

This may be the first time I have ever heard you elevate your opinion of Timothy B. McCormack ABOVE a pimple on an ass.