Messages

991

P2P/BitTorrent Lawsuits Forum / Nick Ranallo to Prenda: “Put your money where your mouth is”

« on: October 25, 2012, 10:00:38 AM »

Here is a great article over at fightcopyrighttrolls.com about the ever ongoing Prenda P2P cases.  LAnti-troll lawyer Nick Ranallo is really giving it to the trolls.  This is a good artile and worth the read if you follow the P2P cases.

http://fightcopyrighttrolls.com/2012/10/25/nick-ranallo-to-prenda-put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is/

992

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Gettyimage letter demanding $875 for copyright infringement.

« on: October 25, 2012, 08:39:57 AM »

You are correct in all of your points.

1) no one in their right mind would pay a bill or an invoice from anyone who would refuses to justify the invoice and show proof. The reason Getty will not show you any proof is that the vast majority of their images are not registered properly or registered at all with the copyright office which negates their collecting damages in court. The last time they tried this they sued a company called Advernet for the use of 35 images, Getty Images eventually won this case because Advernet defaulted I believe from lack of funds and just did not show up for one of the court dates. Even though Getty won by default when the judge reviewed the evidence he awarded them no monies because there was issues with every single one of the images that precluded Getty from being able to sue for damages.

2) you are correct that they have never "gone legal"over one image or at such a small amount in the states. They would have to sue you in federal district court where you live, pay a lawyer to fight with you there and since their images are not registered properly would not be able to try and collect legal fees. Getty extortion demand letters generally range between $850 and $1250 which makes them a nice chunk of change for Getty but is low enough that it would be cheaper to pay rather than to hire a lawyer in most cases. This combined with the fear tactic of the letter designed to look like there is an eminent lawsuit pending, the artificial deadline of 14 days and the threat of legal action which comes so infrequently compared to the number of letters that are sent out that you cannot distinguish the number from zero, in my opinion is why what Getty is doing is legalized extortion.

3) You are correct, while they can sic their collection agency NCS on you to try to collect, you can shut them down with one letter stating that this is a claim and not a debt you're not aware of any judgment against you in any court and you dispute this claim and are waiting for Getty to provide you with proof of claim that you reasonably requested before continuing negotiations in this matter. And end it with telling them not to contact you again and it will go right back to Getty.

4) if that is the case then all the information you need to fight this yourself is contained in the forms and the experiences of the members of the forms. After you send your letter with your reasonable request of proof of claim which Getty then denies but will continue to insist on payment I suggest you send out complaint letters to the Washington state Atty. Gen.'s office, your state's attorney general's office, the Washington state Better Business Bureau and your district Congressman and Sen., not only will having to answer these complaints be a time suck for Getty they will most likely back off and you'll never hear from them again. The last letter I received from Getty was their usual letter saying that if I did not pay them they were going to escalate this to the legal department which prompted my letter writing campaign. I have not heard a peep from Getty in six months in seriously doubt I will hear from them again.

I hope this helps and please keep us posted as to your situation and if you don't mind share copies of your letters with us.

993

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: ELI Defense Team Grows Again! Welcome Greg Troy, Newest ELI Team Member!

« on: October 25, 2012, 01:11:30 AM »

I remember this from another thread, you are going to march in to Getty offices in New York and demand to see Klein telling them you're Greg Troy.....How much vacation time do you have, it may be a long one

actually I'm going to introduce myself as Greg Troy...

Tell them that if they don't give you an interview you'll sic me on them   

Interesting, I'll be adding to this when I travel to New York, we'll have their office as well, but not just from the inside, I'm marching right in and asking for an interview with Jonathan Klien..

[/i]

Perfect timing as I'll be taking my paid vacation soon! Welcome aboard Greg!

994

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Gettyimage letter demanding $875 for copyright infringement.

« on: October 24, 2012, 09:45:47 PM »

Welcome to the forms, I suggest you spend some time reading through the different threads as there is a lot of good valuable information available here. I agree with Robert and do not recommend to ignore the letter although some members of the forum do advocate that. I decided that I was going to fight Getty myself, this is always an option but you have to be prepared for up to three years of letters and harassment is that is the statute of limitations in which Getty can take action (it is very unlikely Getty would do anything as it would cost them more than they could recover and to date they have never sued anyone over one image in the states). If you feel there is too much information contained in the forum or you just don't have the time to read through the threads you can get a support call with Matthew Chan who can give you the information you need to decide how to proceed and options available to you. The last option is if you just wanted to go away to where you do not have to deal with it you can use Oscar's defense letter program.

For more information on this start here:

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/getty-images-letter-forum/getting-help-with-your-extortion-letter/

if you are interested in fighting this yourself here is an experiment that I did with favorable results:

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/getty-images-letter-forum/an-experiment-against-getty/

995

Legal Controversies Forum / Re: Judge Boylson wants to test copyright trolls’ evidence in a bellwether trial

« on: October 24, 2012, 07:34:22 PM »

Here is an update on this case that I found very interesting. Apparently the judge is getting fed up with the trolls in no longer trusts what they are telling him. He just issued an unusual order demanding the information he has been requesting be submitted to him in a memorandum issued under oath and penalty of perjury. In other words he is telling them to tell him the truth under oath and face possible sanctions or lie under oath and face perjury. I think this qualifies as a classic butt pucker. Here's the order issued to Fiore

In light of these recent developments, it is hereby ORDERED as follows:
 
1. Plaintiff shall promptly file a memorandum and certificate under oath subject to the penalties of perjury advising the Court, in detail, with names and dates, what contact Plaintiff has had with any ISP concerning the subject matter of this Court’s October 3, 2012 Order, and any follow-up.
 

the entire article may be read over at copyrighttrolls.com

http://fightcopyrighttrolls.com/2012/10/24/bellwether-trial-update-a-delicate-art-of-bullshitting-under-oath/

996

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: ELI Defense Team Grows Again! Welcome Greg Troy, Newest ELI Team Member!

« on: October 24, 2012, 07:15:22 PM »

Thanks Jerry I am very glad to be a part of this great team!

997

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: ELI Defense Team Grows Again! Welcome Greg Troy, Newest ELI Team Member!

« on: October 24, 2012, 06:42:29 PM »

Thank you Matthew, Oscar and Robert for the invitation and it is greatly appreciated. I have greatly enjoyed my time here with the Eli community. Becoming acquainted with and friends with you all is the one bright side about this whole Getty experience. So thank you all again for the honor and I'm very glad to be a part of the team 

998

UK Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Help! Debt collection letter arrived

« on: October 24, 2012, 08:59:53 AM »

Very nicely done, I love it when people stand up to the trolls and make them squirm.  Great Job!

999

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Troll Busters

« on: October 23, 2012, 10:29:03 PM »

Love It!!! 

1000

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Copyright Defense League Recruiting Extortionist Lawyers

« on: October 23, 2012, 08:42:19 AM »

Thanks for the update Oscar!

1001

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Jonathan Klein and Getty Images Know How to Treat Their Contributors – Not.

« on: October 22, 2012, 08:19:18 PM »

Here is something I found in the forums while on lunch today from a year ago and originally posted by Soylent Green.  It is an article where the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP)tells their member that due to contract changes they recommend not signing the new contract and look for other options to sell their photos.  The article may be found here:

http://www.pdnonline.com/news/ASMP-to-Getty-Photog-2608.shtml

And here's a similar response from the American Photographic Artists

http://www.apanational.com/files/APA_4_29_11_Getty_Statement.pdf

1002

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Jonathan Klein and Getty Images Know How to Treat Their Contributors – Not.

« on: October 22, 2012, 12:32:24 PM »

Thanks Stinger, I have never thought about an e-book but it is something to consider down the road.

I do recommend supporting ELI as it is a one of a kind valuable service.

Thanks again for the kind words.

Greg:  You are the man!

I am thinking that when you are done outing Getty for what they real are, we should compile a self published compendium of your articles.  If they are sending out 40,000 letters per month and you could get just 10% to buy your low-priced e-book, that's a nice bonus income.  In fact, you might want to donate a portion of the proceeds to ELI.  With the SEO expertise around here, you could probably get your book title in front of half the people getting troll letters.

Perhaps Getty can become a second source of income for you and ELI? 

1003

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Johnathan Klein and Getty Images - Do As I Say, Not As I Do.

« on: October 22, 2012, 12:22:12 PM »

Thanks Stinger!

Greg:
I seriously think there is an e-book in all this work you have done with a world-wide audience.  First, we will need a copyright compliance team.   

You go Greg Troy.  When the ultimate end of days war with Getty begins, I want you in my bunker.

1004

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Johnathan Klien and Getty Images - Do As I Say, Not As I Do.

« on: October 21, 2012, 10:16:07 PM »

You are in great hands with Oscar, thanks for the update.

I haven't heard a thing, so I'm calling that a good thing.   

Thanks puzzle guy, BTW how is your case going?  I know you retained Oscar but was wondering if you had any updates for us?

1005

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Johnathan Klein and Getty Images - Do As I Say, Not As I Do.

« on: October 21, 2012, 09:39:34 PM »

@Robert,

It kind of boggles the mind doesn't it, not only does it sound to me as if Getty is admitting we take photographs and sell them that we have no idea who they belong to but also the fact that it appears they are trying to sell you protection from their own images. It reminds me of the line that Getty puts in all of their responses to complaint letters that says just because you find an image through an Internet search does not mean the image is copyright free. You would not think that a $4 billion company could get this way operating in this manner and this might be part of the reason why they are so protective of their contributor agreements so that you don't see what a raw deal the artists are probably getting from Getty.

@Mulligan,

Thank you for the kind words. I agree with you that this information could be quite useful in this is the purpose of sharing a few of the Nuggets from my Getty packet. I seriously doubt I shall ever hear from Getty or anyone representing Getty again but should they choose to start back up again there is much much more this in my packet which is ready to go out at a moments notice and be delivered directly into the hands of heads of agencies and committees capable of using it. Also should Getty suffer a major lapse in judgment and decide to take me to court I am also prepared to go Aloha on them with a countersuit in which they will have to answer a lot of uncomfortable questions.

@Peeved,

Trying to cart me off under the pretense of rehab eh? I think you have just blown your cover and you are a Getty mole trying to silence me

seriously though, thank you for the kind words they are much appreciated