586
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Karma is a wonderful thing
« on: August 18, 2011, 11:53:17 PM »
Now that is SWEET justice. Thank you for sharing buddhapi.
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587
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Getty sends DCMA notice to google
« on: August 17, 2011, 02:02:57 PM »
When you upload to Picassa, don't you have to certify that you have the rights to use the image? I suppose GI could sue the person that posted them. But it is easier to pick off the low hanging fruit and send out demand letters to people that have web sites with GI pics on them.
(Also, apparently the original poster didn't get their account yanked, because there are still a lot of other pics of that Cody chap up there.)
(Also, apparently the original poster didn't get their account yanked, because there are still a lot of other pics of that Cody chap up there.)
588
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Getty letter - offered to pay over time - rejected
« on: August 15, 2011, 11:20:02 PM »
>> If this company that is still offering images by Getti is not licensed why is Getti letting them promote these themes - images to customers new to the internet and totally unaware that they could possibly be committing any kind of crime/
That's the big question, isn't it? Have you contacted the company that sold you the theme and the images? What do they have to say? Has Getty contacted them? How much are they currently selling this image for at Getty?
That's the big question, isn't it? Have you contacted the company that sold you the theme and the images? What do they have to say? Has Getty contacted them? How much are they currently selling this image for at Getty?
589
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Unfavorable Court Rulings ?? Getty ??
« on: August 15, 2011, 07:44:16 PM »
@ Bekka: If your situation is that a third party (web designer) produced your site and represented to you that all images were licensed or in the public domain, I would suggest that it would be highly unlikely that a stock footage company would successfully pursue a five figure judgement. I have seen threads on this board where GI is demanding over $1000 for a small shot of a handshake or hundreds of dollars for a shot of someone in front of a house. But you are saying they are asking $5520.00 for a very generic of a woman with a note pad wearing a telephone headset. Equivalent images can be found for prices ranging from $49 down to free.
If I understand your case correctly, and it comes to it, I would be happy to kick in for a legal defense. Meanwhile, you should contact the developer and inquire what he is willing to do. Also, find out what the "going rate" is for these images. I don't subscribe to the "ignore ignore ignore" philosophy some have proposed. I think it is better to either present a compelling argument why they got the wrong person or to make a firm offer to settle for a low fixed amount. You can also push back on them by requesting proof that the image has been registered with the copyright office and proof that they represent the image. They will deny this and say they will only present it in court, which I believe weakens their hand.
I seriously believe a judge would laugh this sort of demand out of court. All it would take is for you to show a dozen examples of similar stock photos with price tags in the $49 to FREE range.
@ newzshooter: It sounds like your situation is VASTLY different from most of what Getty is going after. The stuff they are threatening people over is, by and large, as generic as you can get. A one-of-a-kind or very unique photo can and should command a higher price. And it sounds to me that you have taken multiple precautions to indicate an image belongs to you. You would have a very strong case for a decent settlement. But this is not the same situation most recipients of the Demand Letter are in.
If I understand your case correctly, and it comes to it, I would be happy to kick in for a legal defense. Meanwhile, you should contact the developer and inquire what he is willing to do. Also, find out what the "going rate" is for these images. I don't subscribe to the "ignore ignore ignore" philosophy some have proposed. I think it is better to either present a compelling argument why they got the wrong person or to make a firm offer to settle for a low fixed amount. You can also push back on them by requesting proof that the image has been registered with the copyright office and proof that they represent the image. They will deny this and say they will only present it in court, which I believe weakens their hand.
I seriously believe a judge would laugh this sort of demand out of court. All it would take is for you to show a dozen examples of similar stock photos with price tags in the $49 to FREE range.
@ newzshooter: It sounds like your situation is VASTLY different from most of what Getty is going after. The stuff they are threatening people over is, by and large, as generic as you can get. A one-of-a-kind or very unique photo can and should command a higher price. And it sounds to me that you have taken multiple precautions to indicate an image belongs to you. You would have a very strong case for a decent settlement. But this is not the same situation most recipients of the Demand Letter are in.
590
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Unfavorable Court Rulings ?? Getty ??
« on: August 14, 2011, 05:13:23 PM »
@Newzshooter -- welcome to ELI. Can you confirm that GI's policy is to equally share any winnings in a court case? Paying the photographer a clean 30% of the court proceeds seems like the fair thing to do. But their demand letters indicate that they incur extra expenses tracking down infringers. I assume this is the extra cost of the PicScout software and their internal administration costs. So I am unclear how they handle this in the very rare cases where there has been a default judgement.
I don't have any stock with GI and what I had with iStock was at a flat rate. So I would not have shared in any court proceedings. I don't know the nature of the GI contact and I wonder if they would be so much more generous with their photographers.
Also, can you share with us some of the cases you have filed and won a five-figure award? I have been scouring the records to find such cases and have not found them.
I don't have any stock with GI and what I had with iStock was at a flat rate. So I would not have shared in any court proceedings. I don't know the nature of the GI contact and I wonder if they would be so much more generous with their photographers.
Also, can you share with us some of the cases you have filed and won a five-figure award? I have been scouring the records to find such cases and have not found them.
591
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Class Action Lawsuit Against Masterfile.
« on: August 12, 2011, 05:12:34 PM »
@Nemen Night -- Please keep your negative feelings about Oscar to yourself. He has dished out a lot of free information on this site and is obviously a valued contributor. It just takes a couple of jackass comments to make someone feel like they shouldn't even bother to participate. I am glad he is here and hope he continues to offer advice and opinions.
As much as everyone would LOVE to get back at the stock image companies, I just don't see how a class action suit would be successful.
As much as everyone would LOVE to get back at the stock image companies, I just don't see how a class action suit would be successful.
592
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Profile sniffers
« on: August 06, 2011, 07:39:49 PM »
I bet there is a setting in the forum software Matt is using to make it impossible for anonymous "Guests" to view profiles. Just a thought.
593
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: List of Public Domain stock footage companies
« on: August 06, 2011, 05:04:22 PM »
That is good to know Oscar. Thank you. The one example letter I saw from Corbis sounded like more of a takedown request and didn't immediately demand a large sum of money. But it was from several years ago.
From what you are saying, it looks like they are using a more aggressive approach these days.
From what you are saying, it looks like they are using a more aggressive approach these days.
594
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Does Anybody Know of a Truly Free Clip Art Site?
« on: August 05, 2011, 11:23:30 PM »
Yeah the parallels to the record industry and he RIAA are unmistakable. The leaders in the stock footage industry have chosen a business model that has them suing and threatening to sue their current and potential customers. We all saw how well that worked out for the record industry.
For my part I was closing in on spending around $1000 a year on stock footage. I now make sure that none of that goes to Getty, Masterfile or iStockPhoto. Furthermore, I have shared my experience with other designers, web developers and animators. I'm pretty sure that hearing about my experience has steered them away from using these companies.
Next month I will be giving a talk in front of 50 to 60 Drupal developers. Part of the talk will be about making sure developers and publishers have the rights to the content they publish. I'm sure the experience of ELI members will be featured in this talk.
Although I think it is a good idea to produce any imagery yourself, that is not always practical. I posted my list of sites that claim to offer public domain images at http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/index.php/topic,2153.0.html. I hope other people will share sites that they use as well.
For my part I was closing in on spending around $1000 a year on stock footage. I now make sure that none of that goes to Getty, Masterfile or iStockPhoto. Furthermore, I have shared my experience with other designers, web developers and animators. I'm pretty sure that hearing about my experience has steered them away from using these companies.
Next month I will be giving a talk in front of 50 to 60 Drupal developers. Part of the talk will be about making sure developers and publishers have the rights to the content they publish. I'm sure the experience of ELI members will be featured in this talk.
Although I think it is a good idea to produce any imagery yourself, that is not always practical. I posted my list of sites that claim to offer public domain images at http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/index.php/topic,2153.0.html. I hope other people will share sites that they use as well.
595
Getty Images Letter Forum / List of Public Domain stock footage companies
« on: August 05, 2011, 11:19:36 PM »
I have begun to put together a list of sites that at least CLAIM their imagery is free and in the public domain. I welcome any additional notes or clarification. A lot of these companies make the images available under a Creative Commons License. I have done some cursory research and it seems to me that these are legitimate free PD images. If anyone has information to the contrary, I would welcome it. Also, if anyone has additional sites to share, please let me know.
http://www.morguefile.com/
http://www.freeimages.co.uk/
http://www.turbophoto.com/Free-Stock-Images/
http://www.freerangestock.com (Look carefully, the first 3 images are for sale, the rest are free)
http://www.imageafter.com A lot of textures and elements for artists and animators
http://www.freepixels.com Nice photos small selection
It is worth mentioning that my understanding is that anything produced by the U.S. federal government is in the public domain.
http://photolib.noaa.gov - one example of the many photos you can use for free from U.S. Government sites.
http://public-domain-photos.com - claims to be the largest collection of public domain photos (my notes say images are so-so)
A couple of less-useful sites:
I almost suggested http://www.stockvault.net, but their EULA is only for non-commercial sites.
And http://www.freefoto.com requires you to leave their logo in
And finally, when all else fails and you really cannot hire a photographer or license an image directly from a photographer on Flickr.com, you may need to purchase an image from a stock photo company. If, like me, you'd like to avoid doing business with a company that sues it's customers, then you should know that Getty Images also owns iStockPhoto and JupiterImages, two of the larger stock photo companies. They also own Tony Stone Images, Art.com, Allsport, the Hulton Picture Library (or Hulton Getty) and the Keystone Collection.
So what is left? I phoned http://Pond5.com and after speaking to a number of people there, I feel pretty confident that they are independent of any GI and the other larger stock image companies. I also have not read much on this board about http://www.corbisimages.com (owned by Bill Gates) threatening legal action. In fact the one page I looked at read more like an initial inquiry and a take-down notice.
Again, I welcome additions or corrections to this list. I would also suggest that if you DO use images from these sites, you document when and where the image came from. It is a pain in the butt, but it might help you if you down the road.
http://www.morguefile.com/
http://www.freeimages.co.uk/
http://www.turbophoto.com/Free-Stock-Images/
http://www.freerangestock.com (Look carefully, the first 3 images are for sale, the rest are free)
http://www.imageafter.com A lot of textures and elements for artists and animators
http://www.freepixels.com Nice photos small selection
It is worth mentioning that my understanding is that anything produced by the U.S. federal government is in the public domain.
http://photolib.noaa.gov - one example of the many photos you can use for free from U.S. Government sites.
http://public-domain-photos.com - claims to be the largest collection of public domain photos (my notes say images are so-so)
A couple of less-useful sites:
I almost suggested http://www.stockvault.net, but their EULA is only for non-commercial sites.
And http://www.freefoto.com requires you to leave their logo in
And finally, when all else fails and you really cannot hire a photographer or license an image directly from a photographer on Flickr.com, you may need to purchase an image from a stock photo company. If, like me, you'd like to avoid doing business with a company that sues it's customers, then you should know that Getty Images also owns iStockPhoto and JupiterImages, two of the larger stock photo companies. They also own Tony Stone Images, Art.com, Allsport, the Hulton Picture Library (or Hulton Getty) and the Keystone Collection.
So what is left? I phoned http://Pond5.com and after speaking to a number of people there, I feel pretty confident that they are independent of any GI and the other larger stock image companies. I also have not read much on this board about http://www.corbisimages.com (owned by Bill Gates) threatening legal action. In fact the one page I looked at read more like an initial inquiry and a take-down notice.
Again, I welcome additions or corrections to this list. I would also suggest that if you DO use images from these sites, you document when and where the image came from. It is a pain in the butt, but it might help you if you down the road.
596
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Some weekend food for thought.....
« on: August 05, 2011, 10:16:12 PM »
Dang buddhapi... you're smart!
That was a great bit of sleuthing and one of the reasons I love checking in on this board. Awesome work.
That was a great bit of sleuthing and one of the reasons I love checking in on this board. Awesome work.
597
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Photographer responded to my email ....
« on: August 04, 2011, 10:32:19 AM »
I was not familiar with TinEye. Thank you for that.
I have been thinking that someone should start compiling a list of companies that do and don't threaten to sue customers and also review sites that offer public domain images.
I have been thinking that someone should start compiling a list of companies that do and don't threaten to sue customers and also review sites that offer public domain images.
598
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Can we start a "Success Mission Accomplished" Thread for success stories?
« on: August 03, 2011, 08:35:31 PM »
@buddhapi,
But they only have that three year window to take action. So you are only 8 or 9 months from popping the cork and passing out the Cubans.
But they only have that three year window to take action. So you are only 8 or 9 months from popping the cork and passing out the Cubans.
599
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Photographer responded to my email ....
« on: August 02, 2011, 10:40:05 PM »
A "Rights Managed' image is Getty-speak for their images that are licensed under more narrow usage constraints. They may license an image for only certain use (a web site, but not a book cover) or for a window of time. In contrast their "royalty-free" images, once licensed, can be used across all media as much as you want.
It theory the "Rights Managed' images are more exclusive or har-to-get content. But in practice I am finding a lot of what they offer available from companies that do not employ copyright troll tactics like Pond5.com. I have also approached artists and photographers direct through Flickr and DeviantArt.com.
I predict that Getty's tactics will soon drive away their entire customer base.
It theory the "Rights Managed' images are more exclusive or har-to-get content. But in practice I am finding a lot of what they offer available from companies that do not employ copyright troll tactics like Pond5.com. I have also approached artists and photographers direct through Flickr and DeviantArt.com.
I predict that Getty's tactics will soon drive away their entire customer base.
600
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Petition on change.org to boycott Getty Images
« on: August 02, 2011, 10:28:36 PM »
I will sign it as well. But if you are making a change to include Masterfile, can you also change it from first-person singular (I, me) to first-person plural (we, us, or "the undersigned"). I bet you'd get more signatures if you used a petition service that just asked for name and email. Some people are (understandably) shy about revealing their identity. I'm not, but some are.
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