Messages

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Is the domain owner liable or the company represented on the domain?

« on: September 23, 2012, 11:29:27 AM »

Thank you everyone for your well explained replies. I only wish it was one of my sites so I could go "Greg Troy" on 'em. You are all superb human beings to devote so much time to this providing much needed support to those in need.

If Getty has indeed been sold will the new owners continue this practice? With enough negative publicity no one will buy Getty Images and their entire business model will be based around extortion! Nice. BTW I have recently discovered fotalia.com who has great images and a very sensible policy for purchasing. I purchased an image for the website in question, exactly the same content - for $3 lifetime license!

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Is the domain owner liable or the company represented on the domain?

« on: September 22, 2012, 02:33:56 PM »

Getty Images

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Is the domain owner liable or the company represented on the domain?

« on: September 22, 2012, 02:13:46 PM »

I have sent numerous letters to them (after studying/devouring ELI), they even copied a customer of the website owner in their sloppiness!(A testimonial on the site had an email address in the background (not showing on the site)that they copied in their demand letter!!) I so wanted to just fight this myself for personal satisfaction and I can take the heat of their harassment but if they continue to make threatening phone calls to the website owner ("we are coming after you") I guess I will just pay Oscar to send the letter......

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Is the domain owner liable or the company represented on the domain?

« on: September 22, 2012, 01:42:05 PM »

Thank you Matthew....the fact is I want to be the owner. I am happy to take the responsibility of ownership if in fact I can! That would take the heat off of her and allow me to fight it without her being harassed. Not sure.....

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Is the domain owner liable or the company represented on the domain?

« on: September 22, 2012, 01:22:38 PM »

Thanks for your reply. Actually the domain is registered to me in my godaddy account. Just hadn't gotten around to transferring it to the client/friend. So I am the registrant. Of course Getty is directing all correspondence (and now collection harassment) to her. Once I started my letters in response that showed an unwillingness to pay up they went back and told her they would not deal with me. But it only just occurred to me that I am actually still the registrant for the domain where her website sits.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Is the domain owner liable or the company represented on the domain?

« on: September 22, 2012, 12:09:18 PM »

I am a website consultant who works with a third party designer in India. One of our clients received the extortion letter and I have responded by removing the image, writing to Getty (fell on deaf ears of course)and they have started harassing the "owner" of the site who fortunately is a friend of mine. Something just occurred to me - the domain is still registered to my company even though her business is represented on the domain. Does that make me the owner and should they then only be speaking with me?

I have searched the forum for the answer but didn't find a thread addressing this issue. I would be really delighted to find out that I am the legally responsible entity because it would take the heat off of my client and allow me to fight this tooth and nail......

Thanks for any insight.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Previously posted my story....what do I do now?

« on: September 20, 2011, 01:33:35 PM »

Thanks. Will do and report back. A thought might be for Oscar to post here how to proceed with GI and him if one wishes to engage his services. Most of us probably start off by trying to fight it, when we get nowhere we just give up and go to Oscar! It might save him time if he posted his process (i.e.) what to send, how to pay, etc.

Thanks everyone for your words of wisdom.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Previously posted my story....what do I do now?

« on: September 20, 2011, 12:37:22 PM »

Great point and I would look forward to some guidance from Oscar in this regard, i.e.) What sort of letter can we get from the website owner that would enable a developer to deal with the issue?

You are right about the embarrassment factor as relates to one's reputation. Although the actual developer was in India and I am a consultant who works with small businesses in a hand holding role to get their business online, I feel responsible for their actions. The developer is an honest guy whom I have worked with for years and he is mortified by this whole thing as well.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Previously posted my story....what do I do now?

« on: September 20, 2011, 12:12:09 PM »

Thanks SG....needless to say I will need to pay for Oscar's services on behalf of the client. Maybe a list of what to send to Oscar here on the forum would streamline the process for everyone and make it easier for Oscar too. Just a thought. If there is something here and I just haven't found it someone please advise.

Thanks

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Previously posted my story....what do I do now?

« on: September 20, 2011, 11:53:53 AM »

@buddapi glad to have you here as a moderator. You have replied to my previous post (Getty Letter with a twist) and I am sure we all appreciate your time dedicated to helping those of us in this situation.

After receiving the letter sent to one of my web design clients I responded as advised here. Requesting proof that they actually owned the image in question (tiny image on a secondary page). Of course they refused to provide proof and in their reply they copied a patient of the clinic whose website we are referring. The patient's email address was in the signature of a testimonial on the website. Outrageous action and my follow-up letter to them stated such. Well they have now sent another letter to the website owner saying that "...the negotiation conversation with your third party has simply run its course and we are no longer willing to work with her." Of course, they have not mentioned their serious breach in copying the unrelated third party.

As an aside, although the photo in question (a man with a paper bag on his head) is currently licensed to GI, on their other site, istockphoto, they have a nearly identical image that you can purchase for 3 credits per year! About $3.60 per year! And they are asking for the ubiquitous $780!

If it were my website I would continue to fight them (and enjoy it!) and maybe even pursue damages for their unprofessional behavior but since it is a client's website I need to make it go away. With this in mind, although at this point I can ill afford it, I will likely have to engage Oscar. My question is what to do next? I see his email and telephone (although Matthew says no phone calls, the phone number for Oscar is still on the website) but am not sure what to include in the email requesting his services. Any advise from the moderators about how to proceed would be very helpful.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Another Getty Letter

« on: September 10, 2011, 03:35:12 PM »

I am in the back and forth stages of letter writing with Getty. They are still making an outrageous demand of $780 for a small image on a secondary page. My possible ace-in-the whole is that they stupidly copied a customer of the website owner's business whose email was in a signature on a testimonial. I am battling them from that angle and demanding they show me proof that they had the license at the time the image was put on the site. Of course they will not give you any proof which makes their claim tantamount to extortion...Don't know how it will play out but I thought I would give it a go before I paid Oscar Michelen a very reasonable $195 to fight it on my behalf. Likely I will end up hiring Oscar but since I don't have a spare $200 I thought I would try a fight first.

Suggest you read everything you can on this site before you do anything. Good luck.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Getty Reply With A Twist

« on: September 02, 2011, 10:02:17 AM »

Agree, and thanks for the advice to bring it up repeatedly, my reply states it once and suggests that if they drop their outrageous claim I will not pursue damages. Will keep everyone posted on the outcome.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Getty Reply With A Twist

« on: September 01, 2011, 03:14:54 PM »

The email did not go to anyone related to the website - it went to one of the website owner's customers!!!! An uninvolved third party. That is my point....how dare they! And then I wonder if I am able to use this in my fight with them.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Getty Reply With A Twist

« on: September 01, 2011, 01:47:27 PM »

Hi Buddhapi...

Thanks for your reply..for clairification...

1) the image on iStockphoto is not exactly the same image but almost identical (a man with a paper bag over his head wearing a suit). In other words, they are selling an image that is the same in all respects except the tie and suit are different, for $3.26 yet demanding $780 from us!

2) The email. The website in question does not display an email address, they have a Contact Us form. Getty sent a physical letter to the website owner (my client). However, on the website was a testimonial from a patient of the business. The writer of the testimonial had included an email address in the original testimonial which may have been linked to in the patient's signature (still researching this) or was in the background html (copied and pasted by web designer but not showing on the physical site). When I received the email reply from GI I noticed a very strange email address that GI had copied in on the correspondence. Upon further inspection I realized that the name was of a person who had written a testimonial for the website. GI in their search for a contact email for the website owner, copied a third party who has NOTHING to do with anything! I immediately wrote back saying I had received their reply and would respond in time, in the meantime, CEASE AND DESIST copying a third party, xyz@xyz, on this private business matter. They did not mention this in their reply to me. 

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Getty Reply With A Twist

« on: September 01, 2011, 01:10:23 PM »

One of my web clients recently received the Getty letter demanding $780 for a thumbnail image on a secondary page (done by an Indian designer - innocently I might add). We immediately pulled the image down and wrote an apologetic letter to Getty while not admitting any liability. In my reply I asked for proof that they actually have the license rights and please to provide the date with which they signed the agreement with the photographer. To this they have replied:

Do you have a sales order number for purchase of a license that would allow display of the image of the [XYZ Company website]?  If so, please provide that to us so we may research its coverage.  If there is no license, and we have not been able to locate one that would allow display of the image on that website, the settlement amount must be paid on or before September 12, 2011.  After that time, we will direct our claim directly to [XYZ Company].

 
Obviously they are not willing to give up their dates or any information. Meantime I have found a nearly identical image on iStockphoto that sells for.....are you ready??  2 credits! $3.26 for one year! Now here comes the twist.......in the Getty correspondence they copied in a patient who had written a testimonial on the website in question! Because the website did not show a contact email address and merely has a contact form, they swiped the email address from an innocent third party and copied them on the correspondence demanding money! We are investigating how they got the email address but think it may have been in the background somewhere. Surely this would give me some legs in this situation? I hope so, since I am trying to fight this myself due to financial difficulties at the moment. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated before I draft my next reply.

Thank you.

Ellie