Messages

496

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: I am getting slammed by photographers

« on: October 16, 2012, 09:12:57 AM »

Oscar, very good and generous of you to take the time to post this in defense of Ryan's blog.  Just another example of your going the extra mile for that which is right.

497

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: I am getting slammed by photographers

« on: October 15, 2012, 04:34:34 PM »

Happy to help.  I learned the hard way.

498

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: I am getting slammed by photographers

« on: October 15, 2012, 03:06:36 PM »

Brian, you are not kidding when you say:

"SXC offers free images, but now that Getty has purchased the company, I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to retroactively enforce copyright on all the images SXC has offered for free."

The way to protect yourself against this is to keep evidence that you were offered the images for free.  Keep copies of the web sites that were offering them.

Getty will remove old copies of web sites from places like archive.org to make it difficult for you to prove that you were given a valid license for free.  Get and keep that proof now if you want to keep using the images.  And if you decide to stop using the images, ask archive.org to remove the pages where you have used them because Getty seems to point picscout at archive.org to chase people, as well.

Respect copyrights, but do not respect copyright Trolls.

Live long and prosper!

499

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: An Experiment Against Getty

« on: October 15, 2012, 10:28:52 AM »

Great work Greg!  Thanks for the post.

500

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: I am getting slammed by photographers

« on: October 15, 2012, 09:18:09 AM »

Ryan,  Thanks for taking the time to publicize this matter.  I was going to add some comments in support of your position, but it seems that you have matters well in hand. 

Still, if you feel you need a third party to respond to any particular Getty backer on your blog, feel free to call on me.  You can find me scanning ELI at least 3 days per week.

We do not advocate copyright infringement.  However, we do believe that using the law to extort money in innocent situations should be a far worse crime than copyright infringement.

501

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Court victory against Getty Images Master Delegate in Israel

« on: October 11, 2012, 03:02:12 PM »

Scraggy, thank you so much for reporting this wonderful news!

And I hope this case helps you win even bigger in the class action suit that you are pursuing.

A big win for the guys in the white hats.

502

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

« on: October 11, 2012, 09:07:45 AM »

@Lisa, This post will explain why it is unlikely that they will ever sue your client.
http://performancing.com/5-reasons-you-shouldnt-fear-being-sued-too-much/

But they can harass them for three years.  That is why Oscar's letter program can be a good option.  It takes you and your client out of the loop of the harassing letters, emails, and phone calls.  You need to decide if you would rather fight, or hire someone to fight.

To my knowledge, no one who has ever taken Oscar up on his letter program has ever had a judgement won against them.

The other thing you should be aware of is that it appears to many on this forum that Getty has various ways of seeding the market with images that appear copyright free, and then comes back and threatens lawsuits to those that fall for the seeding.

There is lots of information in these forums.  And there are some very good people willing to help.  You need to determine what works best for you in terms of supporting your client's interests.

503

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: 5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Fear Being Sued (Too Much)

« on: October 11, 2012, 08:52:15 AM »

Great Article Robert!

It's interesting that according to this article, Getty's very strategy is the reason they won't sue.

They appear to go after very small businesses and individuals.  The costs of filing suit are generally higher than the extreme valuations Getty asks for one or two image infringements.

And, if Getty were to prevail in a suit, the chances that they would ever get paid are slim because:

To make matters worse, in the U.S., many, if not most, legal judgements can be discharged in bankruptcy.

Personal bankruptcy might be hard to justify, but if you really don't want to pay those guys, I'd bet you could find a way to put your small business through bankruptcy, and open up with a new shingle the next day.

It might seem extreme, but if you really don't want to pay the trolls, you can find a way around it.

504

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: And Yet Another Masterfile Extortion Letter!

« on: October 11, 2012, 08:42:55 AM »

That's the spirit Edge!  You have the right attitude and, I expect, you will prevail.

My only advice would be to keep all communications written - not email, but signed and posted letters.  No phone conversations.  Admit nothing.  A lot of what these guys do is phishing for information that can hurt you.

And I agree with you that it probably is their business model.

505

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: An Experiment Against Getty

« on: October 08, 2012, 09:59:27 AM »

Just reading this stuff makes my skin crawl.  Good work finding it Greg! 

I have now come to the conclusion that all the mean and nasty things Robert has said about Getty over the years were the work of a gentlemen being way, way too kind.

These guys are scum.

506

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Lisa Willmer, Senior Director, Corporate Counsel at Getty Images

« on: October 08, 2012, 09:34:16 AM »

Mulligan, are you saying that today's copyright trolls might very well have been terrorists in another life?  My god man, if that is true, we need to tell the world!  Perhaps we can get our leaders in Washington to task some military drones over Getty's Headquarters and take out the Jokers.

507

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: An Experiment Against Getty

« on: October 04, 2012, 11:16:04 AM »

Greg:  My fear is that all this work you have done to prepare for the "War to end all wars" with Getty will be for naught, because they probably don't have the stones to push you any further.

What I hope is, if they push hard on anyone here on this forum, that you might take what you have learned to guide that person in taking the fight to Getty.

This war isn't over when one of us win.  It is over when the trolls start trolling and get back to the business they are supposed to be in, rather than using the law as a business plan to go after the small fish.

508

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Lisa Willmer, Senior Director, Corporate Counsel at Getty Images

« on: October 04, 2012, 11:06:22 AM »

I agree with Robert, that if they don't sign their letters, we should use names as far up the corporate tree as we can find.  Lisa Wilmer has a boss too.  In fact, since this is going on during their watch, the president and CEO of Getty Images must be aware of it.  They must be fair game as well.

If we destroy the images of the department heads or outside law firms that Getty uses, they can be replaced.  Will the men in charge want to risk their reputations over how their underlings are doing their jobs?

509

Legal Controversies Forum / Re: The Uneasy Case Against Copyright Trolls

« on: October 04, 2012, 10:58:59 AM »

Great find Greg!  I learned a lot about Righthaven by reading through it.  It is clear to me now that the courts and academics are aware of the copyright troll issue.  It is not clear when it will be put to bed.

510

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: An Experiment Against Getty

« on: October 02, 2012, 09:04:16 AM »

Great letter Greg.  You lay out your case quite clearly and provide lots of detail in the links.

It's interesting how with a little time and organization, the arguments of the people on the ELI forums get stronger, while Getty just appears to jabber around the same old BS.

OK, maybe they do read this forum and have cleaned up a couple of things, but really, if they wanted to stop unauthorized use of their images, they would be much farther down that road today than they are.  They are just in it for the Trolling money.  I wonder if there is a way to discern how much revenue they raise in trolling versus legitimate licensing?