Messages

1

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Hello and I just got a letter from Getty

« on: June 27, 2012, 11:37:37 PM »

@alanspicer I haven't really experienced outages here on the left coast. On rare occasion the site might be down for maintenance, but I can still get to to the maintenance page.

In terms of your situation, you have to do what you are comfortable with. I know if it were me I'd tell them to eff off. Seriously. You take a picture of your computer running MS software and they are coming after you for infringement? This is the problem with them relying on software like PicScout. It finds an image match and gets the ball rolling. I used to assume that a human being would actually verify the validity of the claim. But now I'm starting to think that this whole racket is an automated cash grabbing machine.

If you really feel like tweaking their noses a little bit, you might ask them if you should contact Microsoft to clarify if you are allowed to take screenshots of your computer if it happens to display one of their images. I wonder how Microsoft, who presumably licensed the image for use on your computer, would feel about them hounding you?

Thank you for your response. It just happened again  in the middle of posting on here. In another IE window the site was reloadable. (conspiracy theorist go away :-)) Funky things with DNS or IE quirks, I dunno.

Thanks for your other comments on my case ... I concur ... thanks for the feedback.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Hello and I just got a letter from Getty

« on: June 27, 2012, 11:18:32 PM »

I know if it were me I'd tell them to eff off. Seriously. You take a picture of your computer running MS software and they are coming after you for infringement? This is the problem with them relying on software like PicScout. It finds an image match and gets the ball rolling. I used to assume that a human being would actually verify the validity of the claim. But now I'm starting to think that this whole racket is an automated cash grabbing machine.

The way this company harasses people, for frivolous reasons - they seem to be ripe for a class action lawsuit. Does anyone know what would be involved in that? It certainly seems like we have enough "class members" in this forum alone.

I think an industry has been created ... a market ... that someone can lock up. It's big business, no doubt. And who's going to argue over enforcing copyrights ... certainly not the photographers. But I doubt that the actual image owners realize that they might be being sold down the river along with the rest of us in the name of huge corporate profits. But hey, class action might still work. I think I would join the class. Who is selling who down the river I am not saying. This was just a generalization in line with the topic matter of this forum and web site.

PicScout - an Israeli company - the one that makes the technology available to find alleged copyright infringed images - was purchased by Getty Images. That should tell you how big it is. Probably thought to be akin to the Industrial Revolution ... make it possible to find the infringements automatically ... every-Image-body and their Image-brother will want to be a customer. (Actual Image owners) Not knowing how the actual cases are being handled is the "Don't talk to the man behind the curtain" of the 2000's. <- Hopefully that was enough of a paraphrase of the old Oz movie to not be considered infringement by someone.

Build a better mouse (alleged image infringement) trap and the world will beat a path to your door.

The Picscout inventor or starter ... get's his Exit Strategy and probably a Motor Yacht and a Mansion ... and we are just Road Kill on the Information Beltway. I didn't say Superhighway ... is that copyrighted?

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Getty Images Letter Forum / PicScout was acquired by Getty Images for $20M in 2011?

« on: June 27, 2012, 09:45:33 PM »

http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000640892&fid=1725

According to this Getty Images now owns PicScout ... so that changes the part in Oscars article about: A Summary of the Getty Issue in the United States. The part about them having to split the profits from (The rumor is that PicScout and the image companies split the revenue from the program, 50-50, but we've found no proof for that.) from "the program".

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Hello and I just got a letter from Getty

« on: June 27, 2012, 09:28:03 PM »

For some reason this forum and the entire website are unavailable to me for periods of time. Is that normal? I did detect a DNS abnormality for awhile the web site with www could not be resolved in DNS but it could without www. The web site was still unavailable either way. By the time I check AT&T (Bellsouth) actual DNS servers it was resolving in both of their servers. But this web site still wasn't working. I came back after a bit of cleaning house and it's back working.

Anyway ... I checked on US Copyright web site and I am unable to find a registration for that image by name "Permaquid Lighthouse and Cliffs", nor by the original artists name(s), nor by Getty Images. So I guess like many others it is not registered. That might mean very little, but means something as I have read on here already.

In my opinion the image was modified (fair use stuff ...) two times. Once as a Desktop theme image for Windows 7 with icons and stuff on top of it from Window OS, and again by me by screen shotting it ... and using it as an article by me talking about the Windows 7 RC version.

My Blog is commercial, I don't know if that matters, as a small business in yacht internet connection consulting and equipment sales. I post a lot of things on the blog including a lot of IT and Networking related articles, as well as my Ham Radio adventures. The article in question had nothing to do with business it was just an informational article - like many of mine are. That article became old news whenever the next RC release came out or when Windows 7 was released. And nobody I'm sure cares about it 3 years later. I made no money off of it ... I don't sell Windows products. I have installed Windows and sold computers with Windows already on it and have done consulting and repairs on computers.

Anyway it just amazes me that they came after me for an image of a Windows Desktop with that image as the Wallpaper. It's not like I went looking for an image and did a cust0om wallpaper. It comes as a pre-installed theme. I have my Ham Radio mast and antenna as my Windows 7 wallpaper now :-) My own photo.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Hello and I just got a letter from Getty

« on: June 27, 2012, 04:07:19 AM »

I'm just basically introducing myself at this point, not asking for help specifically. I've viewed some of the content on this site and it is much appreciated. I found this site in a google.com search and it has been very helpful so far. I know not to bother Mathew or Oscar from the forum threads that I've read already and the videos that I have watched. I want to do my own homework on this thing as much as possible. And I don't want to bother M or O until I can find the money to be able to use their services IF I need them. I do want to reserve that option though.

On my blog I had posted a screen shot back in August 2009 of a Microsoft Windows 7 RC that I was playing with and I made some commentary on that and other events that were going on at the time regarding Windows 7 release leaks and such. The desktop background (customizable obviously within Windows) was something called "Pemaquid Lighthouse and Cliffs Maine" from the included "United States" desktop backgrounds ... so it's easy for someone who has Windows 7 to see this image as you can turn it on at any time. The images rotate on release version that I have now, not sure if it did so in the RC that I had back then.

Anyway after some fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) which I am sure they wanted ... I called them on the phone and explained what it was. But I had to ask them what URL it was on - because they didn't send that in the letter. But seeing the photocopied small representations that they included in the letter it looked like my blog ... and I pretty much knew it was a Windows desktop screen shot of some sort. I didn't know when or where it was on the blog though. I got the D. Bieker guy ... He wanted my email address so I gave it to him. They initially wanted $875.00, but sent me an email after the phone call with the typical "FOR SETTLEMENT PURPOSES ONLY" header with a new offer of $675.00. Of course "This offer is made conditionally and it will automatically be withdrawn if full payment is not postmarked by July 05, 2012."

Anyway I've looked around and I can find that image all over the Internet - mostly as Free Desktop Backgrounds - but also in other photo posting sites that allow users to post their own collections. That's not how I got it, and I didn't know that until today. But I will be using the plain blue desktops if I ever make Operating System screen shots again.

* Anyway hello everyone ...

Alan Spicer