How to STOP Getty images settlement demand letters - Cease All Communicationn
You got “THE LETTER” , Admit “NOTHING”. Do not volunteer your information, resist your urge to give details. Sometimes, no answer is always a good answer.
All what they have is just A CLAIM. Request that they ” CEASE ALL COMMUNICATION ”. If I do not ask for this to “Cease” , this will not stop. If I do not ask for this to “Cease” , this cannot be considered Harassement”. If they do not proof their claim and keep sending letters, I will ask the attorney general for assistance to STOP this “Harassment / Communication”.
Keep in mind I am no attorney, nor do I claim to be, this is just a suggestion. The decision to settle or not can only be yours.
As Oscar previously said: “Why would you even think about settling before you have evaluated the value and strength of Getty's claim?”
Your options1-Call Matthew Chan and get support telephone call for $50. ( HIGHLY RECOMMENDED )
http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/eli-phone-support-call-with-matthew-chan/2-Hire Attorney Oscar Michelen. Learn about his $195 defense letter program. ( THE BEST )
http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/2012-update-expansion-of-attorney-oscar-michelens-defense-letter-program/3-Read the posts on the forum and watch the videos. Once you've done it you'll see that it's possible to take on Getty by yourself
1-Reply - send it CERTIFIED MAIL with return receiptFirst, remove the photos in question even if you paid for them.
Now,
Getty must proof that "Getty" own the rights to these pictures, (otherwise they have NO CASE)
In my opinion if someone is presenting me with a bill but refuses to justify the total on the bill I will not pay it. I will ask for
1 - Copyright Registration of the image in question. (most of the times, they do not have it or it was done improperly)
The MAIN reason why registration is important is that without registration at the time of infringement Getty cannot recoup their legal fees or other statutory penalties so the likelihood of being sued plummets.
2 - Signed paperwork of the artist transferring copyright paperwork to Getty (in the advernet case, and most of these contracts were not done correctly, not signed, etc...), Getty knows that they can not provide proof that THEY control the copyright to an image in question, that the image is properly registered, and that the image is exclusively theirs to represent.
3 - The exact formula they used to come up with the settlement demand
4 - Sales records of that image at that price or any price. (recently, they raised the price of the same photo license from $20-$50 , to $500-$1000, for no apparent reasons)
5 - Exact day that the infringement started.
6 – I will request that they ” CEASE ALL COMMUNICATION ”if they can not provide me with this information.
7- I will request that neither Getty, Getty’s employee ( I will specify his/her name), nor any other entity that they retain ( collection counsel, collection attorneys, NCS collection) should contact me if "Getty" will not proof to me that they own the rights to these pictures.
I will tell them, if Getty, Getty’s employee (I will specify his/her name) keep asking for payment/ settlement without any proof to that claim, I will consider that as a “HARASSMENT” and I will file a harassment complaint against Getty, and a harassment complaint against this Getty’s employee (his/her name) with the Attorney General Office.
No phone calls, no emails. I will send this letter US Mail, no email, I will not supply my email address, (make them work and spend time and money on paper, toner and postage!)
What I would do, and is becoming popular in the UK to deal with time wasters, is to send a reply clearly stating your position, why you are sure no infringement was committed and state if you have to spend any more time dealing with this you will bill them at $50 per letter and $150 per hour for any research required in formulating a reply.
Should they then contact you again and you have to send a reply send it with an invoice. This then gives you exactly the same leverage that they are using with the exception (here at least) that your claim for money can be dealt with in a small claims court at minimal cost as your claim is not for copyright infringement.
I know some people who have done this (albeit not with copyright infringement claims) and got settlement.
Couch Potato, this is exactly what I did with my dealings with McCormack. Right after that, I got notified that "Getty would no longer be pursuing this claim."
I would add that you should also instruct the attorney that is very important for them to share this information with their client. My understanding is that then they are required to report back to Getty that you will be billing for your time to research this claim.
2-They will not provide any proof. (In General, they do not have it , or it was done in a sloppy way - that's why they can not provide it)
-Chances are good Getty’s employees will respond as they usually do, they will not provide the information you requested, and state they will only show this in court. They will respond that you are still liable to pay them the fine. They will write, "this is not going to go away." They will say your case got "escalated" (the same nonsense). They will tell you, "Your case will be sent to Council", they will send it to outside collection council Timothy McCormack or another collection attorney. They will try to create fear.
Do not fall a prey to this, do not cower to their USUAL fear-based strategy.
These collection councils cannot sue you without Getty’s approval. Historically, Getty did NOT sue for 1-2 photos.
Do you know what they can do? In the letters these collection councils previously sent, they always say that they
will recommend to Getty to pursue legal action (the usual scare tactic strategy, that's ALL !!!). In general, these collection lawyers do not have any proof of all the documents that you requested, they do not know if they even have a legal CASE against you, they just use collection tactics. They will try to get some information from you, do not volunteer any, resist your urge to give details. The only SINGLE thing they have is just the screenshot, that's the ONLY thing they will say they can send you, (they do not have anything else!) and by itself this can NOT win a legal case.
3- Harassment claim - complaint to the Attorney General and the State BarIf Getty’s employee or any of these collection Lawyers will contact me AGAIN asking for a settlement, and
they did not provide any document that shows that "Getty" own the rights to these pictures,this will be considered “HARASSMENT”. Here I will act without any hesitation. I will file a complaint against Getty and Getty’s employee ( I will specify his/her name).
For these demand letters to be considered “harassment”, I have to ask them to “cease all communication”.
If I do not ask for this to “Cease” , this will not stop,
If I do not ask for this to “Cease” , this cannot be considered Harassement”.
Legal action against you must be in YOUR state, in Federal Court in YOUR state (where YOU live and work).
Filing would cost them $350 (excluding counsel, travel and other expenses).
Your complaint against Getty must be in Getty's State, mainly New york or Washington.
Filing a complaint to the Washington State Attorney General:
http://www.atg.wa.gov/fileacomplaint.aspxFiling a complaint about a lawyer to the Washington State Bar:
http://www.wsba.org/Licensing%20and%20Lawyer%20Conduct/Discipline/File%20a%20Complaint%20Against%20a%20Lawyer4- What’s in the complaintWSBA investigating and demanding more information from Mc Cormackhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/129847400/WA-State-AG-Complaint-New-22we ask that you provide the following information related to the claim that Mr.Vallos owes money to your client, Getty Images (Getty), for use of an image:
1. Who is the "author" of the work? Provide a brief description of the work.
2. Who is the original copyright claimant?
3. Provide proof that Getty is the,. "author" and copyright claimant in the cited work. If
Getty is not the author and original copyright claimant, provide documentation that
shows when Getty acquired any exclusive rights in the work, from whom the right were
acquired, and whether the rights include the right to enforce alleged copyright violations.
4. Was the work registered? If so, provide proof of any registration from the United States
Register of Copyrights.
5. Provide the date(s) of Mr. Vallos's alleged infringement of the work. Provide proof that
an alleged infringement occurred on that date. If not included above, provide proof that
Getty held exclusive right to enforce an infringement claim on the date( s) of the alleged
infringement.
Getty never provides proof that THEY control the copyright to an image in question, that the image is properly registered, and that the image is exclusively theirs to represent. They just want you to log in onto a website and make a payment.
The best SCAM on the internet. (No proof but you must pay) This scam need to be stopped.
I will ask for ASSISTANCE to STOP this “SCAM /Harassment / Communication”.
I will file a harassment complaint aginst Getty, stating that Getty does not have any case against me, they just have a claim, I made a request for all communication to cease as no proof was provided, but I am still being contacted/harassed by Getty and Getty’s employee, asking me for a settlement.
And I will file a harrasment complaint against Getty’s employee that is harassing me for the same reasons.
If the letter comes from the collection council, I will file a harassment complaint to the State Bar about this collection attorney’s harassment. This lawyer did not review my correspondance with Getty , did not respect my request to cease all communications as no proof has been provided , befor contacting me. I will ask the State Bar for ASSISTANCE to STOP this “SCAM / Harassment / Communication”,
I will ask the Attorney General for ASSISTANCE to STOP this “SCAM/ Harassment / Communication”, and in my complaint I will attach “ ALL “the letters that I have received from that employee, and I will attach my replies.
File a complaint. HELP yourself and the others. Each case is different.
You will not get help unless you ask for it. Make these letters public records so all government agencies or class action lawyers will be able to use to defend you.
Oscar Michelen Defense Letter to Timothy McCormack Demand Letterhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/115619890/Oscar-Michelen-Defense-Letter-to-Timothy-B-McCormack-Demand-LetterUseful legal citation in this particular complainthttp://www.scribd.com/doc/126675147/WA-State-AG-Complaint-New-2Thanks to Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi), you can
review many of the COMPLAINTS sent to the Washington AG at the link below:
http://copyright-trolls.com/culled/Copyright Registration Method Held Invalid by California Court http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/getty-images-letter-forum/masterfile's-copyright-registration-method-held-invalid-by-california-court/Resolution of Getty v. Advernet (A blow to Getty & Stock photo companies)http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/getty-images-letter-forum/resolution-of-getty-v-advernet-(a-blow-to-getty-stock-photo-companies)/Getty Images, Timothy McCormack & the Washington State Attorney Generalhttp://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/getty-images-letter-forum/getty-images-timothy-mccormack-the-washington-state-attorney-general/Thousands of photos get uploaded to Getty's website, many times these photos are not uploaded by the photographers who took them. People try to make easy money by pretending to be photographers.
I thought everyone would enjoy commenting on McCormack Law Firm's "final warning" form letter, a copy of which I received not too long ago from one of my favorite extraction scheme trolls, paralegal Ashanti A. Taylor of Seattle, Washington.
Although I didn't reply to Ms. Taylor because I don't respond to form letters demanding $X,XXX, if I had replied, it might have gone something like this:
Achtung Fraulein Taylor!
You didn't make any attempts to resolve this claim because you refused to provide proof of your right to even discuss it when I requested that proof in my response to Timothy B. McCormack's initial form letter to me.
Ms. Taylor, though I know what a "settlement agreement" is, I don't know what a "comprise" is. Is a comprise something like a commode? Or perhaps a Seattle version of a bidet?
"Intermittent or non-existent" communications from moi?
Not so!
I communicated with you, Ms. Taylor, but you refused to provide the simple proof I requested, so I could see no point in wasting any more of my time with additional letters. I mean, honestly, trying to communicate with you, your copyright troll boss Timothy B. McCormack, or your "compliance officer" clones at Getty Images is akin to discussing the finer points of Shakespeare's 23rd sonnet with a Dempster Dumpster.
Ms. Taylor, you write: "Please consider this your final warning."
Oh my, Fraulein Taylor, with those bold-cased words you scared me so much I shit my pants.
Then you add, "There is still time to avoid escalation of your case."
OMG, I shit my pants a second time, this time from relief that there was still time!
And then... "We will recommend litigation to Getty Images."
Holy shit, I shit my pants a third time!
This is a record for shitting my pants.
But all shit aside, Ms. Taylor, it was only a few short months ago when Getty Images was threatening to escalate my case to a lawyer for litigation. And now the law firm that the case was escalated to is threatening to escalate again by threatening litigation to the image company that hired the lawyer that I thought was going to escalate by litigating.
Whoa, I just shit my pants a fourth time because I'm so confused as to WTF is going on here.
Missus Taylor, the three legal cases you cited on page two of your "last chance" form letter did NOT cause me to shit my pants a fifth time because the cases are irrelevant to the issue at hand.
Did you really think me stupid enough to empty my sphincter over three old legal cases, especially when you obviously whited out a fourth case that was once between the first and second case?
BTW, why is that case whited out, Ms. Taylor? I smell something seriously stinky here. Perhaps Timothy B. McCormack shit his pants because there was something about Case No. 2 that might cause him legal problems? Is that why Case No. 2 was removed from the form letter? Or maybe it had something to do with the X-Files? Perhaps an alien invader came into McCormack Law and extracted Case No. 2?
But I digress.
Ms. Taylor, I had to chuckle when I read your "final good faith effort to avoid litigation" paragraph. Though I certainly appreciated your offer of a payment plan, I have to admit that I shit my pants a fifth time when told it would cost me an "additional $300.00 administrative fee" to take advantage of that plan. Alas, I'll have to pass on your generous offer. So sorry!
Ms. Taylor, to address your next point, I admit to having no insurance whatsoever. I'm just a poor old man crawling his way toward retirement, living on a pittance, scratching out enough money some weeks to afford chicken necks for my one meal a day (when they're on sale) and living the rest of the time on cans of dog food that the local supermarket throws out when the expiration dates have passed.
I'd call you to discuss this matter further, Ms. Taylor, but, oh my, the phone company cut off my service many many months ago, just before the bank foreclosed on my house.
That was the first time I shit my pants in almost sixty years, I might add.
Sincerely yours,
Mulligan
P.S. It's terribly unprofessional for a law form to send out form letters threatening litigation and demanding thousands of dollars for thumbnail images without providing a shred of proof of a right to make such a demand. I guess that's why you and your boss Timothy B. McCormack are in such deep -- dare I say it? -- shit with the Washington State bar association?
Show Posts