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Getty Images Letter Forum / Statute of Limitations

« on: December 20, 2010, 07:58:24 AM »

Below is a copy of Tite 17 U.S. Code § 507. Limitations on actions

§ 507. Limitations on actions

(a) Criminal Proceedings. — Except as expressly provided otherwise in this title, no criminal proceeding shall be maintained under the provisions of this title unless it is commenced within 5 years after the cause of action arose.

(b) Civil Actions. — No civil action shall be maintained under the provisions of this title unless it is commenced within three years after the claim accrued.

Does this mean that Masterfile or Getty cannot pursue any action after 3 years of the infringement for civil actions? And is the infringement the date of the publication of the image on the website or the last date that it was viewed by someone accessing your web site? I ask as there is case law in our state (Wisconsin Ladd v. Uecker, 2010 WI App 28, 323 Wis. 2d 798, 780 N.W.2d 216) that "hits on the internet" are compared to publishing a book. The date of the publication is the date of the violation, not the date that someone read the book. I do know that state law is not pertinent to the Federal law, but is there some Federal case law similar to this case?

And, is the date that the claim accrued the date that they knew or should have known about the violation and not the date that they finally send a letter claiming the infringement?

When do the limitations come into play or is this not relevant to the internet?

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Masterfile Corporation

« on: October 31, 2010, 10:24:07 AM »

Our small amateur radio club is a new victim of the Masterfile extortion. We received an email from the company via one of our members notifying us that we were using a copyright image on our website. Our website was developed by one of our members many years ago who had a bit more knowlege than the rest of us in this area. Originally we passed off the email as one of those very clever scams that are popping up on the internet. When we recieved the second letter it appeared that this was probably a valid claim by this company. On doing some research we found the multitude of victims in different forums. We contacted our insurance company to determine if we are covered by our liability insurance. We have recieved a call from the adjuster of the insurance that is investigating the claim, his recommendation is that we wait for the lawsuit to be filed before we do anything and was going to check on coverage for liability in this area.  A local attorney recommends that we respond to the email and try to negotiate a settlement. Not sure what to do at this time. Is an email letter a valid legal notification?  It was interesting that the email has our complete P.O.box address but we have yet to recieve a "hard" copy via the USPS. Is this because they do not want to get the Post Office involved in regard to possible mail fraud? The Masterfile letter also indicates that we as officers of the corporation (we are incorporated for 501c3 purposes) are liable for actions of the corporation. Can they come after me and the rest of the members of the club for their outrageous demands?They are asking $11,132.00 and our club treasury has only $1.300.00 in it. The biggest thing that bothers me is that it was a logo on the website that was informational in nature to the members of the club. We make no money off the website, we are a strictly volunteer organization that provides communication support for the community by assisting the Red Cross, Emergency Government, National Weather Service and a multitude of charitable organizations such as March of Dimes, Leukemia, Mutiple Sclorosis, etc. Any suggestions?