Messages

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Got My Getty Letter - Thank You For This Site

« on: April 21, 2012, 09:44:26 AM »

Also, has anyone ever heard of this happening....someone pays and then gets another letter about MORE pictures?  Does Getty hit ya for all they can all at once in that first letter or do they come after you again so they can cash in on the 'suckers' that pay??

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Got My Getty Letter - Thank You For This Site

« on: April 21, 2012, 09:21:04 AM »

So, those of us that have done our reading on here know this...
- it escalates to NCS
- it escalates to Tim McCormack
- it doesn't ever go to court

I know Getty hasn't ever gone to court over one image but my question is this...I think I saw somewhere deep in a post about this technically not being a bad debt but a claim so NCS can't collect once you point that out to them when it gets to that point.  Has anyone ever had their credit negatively affected because of not paying this??

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: My Response Letter

« on: April 19, 2012, 05:13:59 PM »

Thanks Lettered & Peeved.  I had given thought to Oscar but it sounded like he was already overwhelmed.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: My Response Letter

« on: April 19, 2012, 12:16:01 PM »

Ok, I did go through that post before.  The whole 'admitting guilt' vs appearing to be willing to work with them is very confusing to most of us who aren't familiar enough with law, court, etc.  @SoylentGreen said it best with "Many people aren't that articulate, and that's the danger."  This was my first draft, but maybe it is better because it takes out the 'admission' part.  I thought it was important to #1, request more information from them (which I know they never do, but at least the ball is in their court) and #2, mention about obtaining legal representation (I want to either stall them til the statue of limitations runs out or eventually send a letter from a lawyer).  But maybe I'm chasing rabbit trails I don't need to....  Off to make a donation.  Thank you so much for this site!


Dear Getty Images Legal Department:

We received your letter in regards to case #_________________ and apologize for the inconvenience this is causing your company and artists.  However, we would like to inform you we will not be paying this fee until we receive the following information from you: your proof of how long we supposedly used the image in question, the registration date of this image, your ‘incurred additional costs’, and when this image was registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.

If you continue to contact us about paying this fee without first supplying the information requested above, we will have to seek legal representation to handle this matter with you and your company.

Sincerely,

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: My Response Letter

« on: April 19, 2012, 11:48:10 AM »

Thank you buddhapi!  I appreciate your input/advice and will check into that.   

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Getty Images Letter Forum / My Response Letter

« on: April 19, 2012, 09:38:17 AM »

Hello and thank you for this site!  I have been reading/watching the past few days as we received our letter  at the beginning of the week ( it's dated April 12th) in regards to one photo on our mom 'n pop site I created myself.  Apparently we are 1 of the many in the newest batch of letters.    I know we need to respond to this first letter per my educatin' so far....here is a draft of the body portion.  Any suggestions from the forum?  Thank you so much!! 


Dear Getty Images:

This letter is in response to the letter your company sent regarding an allegedly infringing image on our website.  You have brought to our attention that this image actually belongs to a professional artist/photographer named Jack Ambrose and does not belong in the public domain.

Thank you for bringing this very important information to our attention.  As a result of receiving this information, we have removed this image from our site.  We never had any intention of infringing upon copyright law and had previously understood the image to be a free stock image because no watermarks or other identifying information were attached to it. 

In regards to the fee you are trying to collect, we are concerned with how you calculated the amount due.  Based on the current calculations as of April 19, 2012, the image would only cost $690 for up to two years of licensing.  Before paying any fees, we would like to discuss this further with you and would also like to see proof of the following information:  how long we used the image in question, the registration date of this image, your ‘incurred additional costs’, and when this image was registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.

If you continue to contact us about paying this fee without first supplying the information requested above, we will have to seek legal representation to handle this matter with you and your company.