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Messages - john82

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1
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Need an opinion on a letter I received.
« on: December 02, 2013, 07:45:08 PM »
This is getting outside of what I've learned from my research, but my understanding is that they didn't "bring in" the CDL, but rather that's the process to go through when they can't determine the owner of the website or the IP address owner.  From what I know, it's more common with the RIAA (record companies) that are trying to figure out who's downloading their music.  Porn trolls use that as well.

Now that Sanders knows who you are, they'll probably be sending you a letter soon.  Again, I'm not overly familiar with that process, so someone else will have to jump in if I've got it wrong.

2
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Need an opinion on a letter I received.
« on: December 02, 2013, 09:37:36 AM »
No, I haven't seen any Sanders cases where the CDL is involved.  My understanding is that they go that route when they can't clearly tell who owns the website.

3
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Need an opinion on a letter I received.
« on: December 01, 2013, 02:52:12 PM »
To answer your other question; no, I did not see examples of the amounts the cases were settled for.  Either that information isn't given to the court or I don't know where to look for it.

4
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Need an opinion on a letter I received.
« on: December 01, 2013, 02:50:56 PM »
I don't have any examples of a "defense letter", which is what you should send once you receive the packet and before the lawsuit.  I do have an example of a "Defendant's Answer And Affirmative Defenses to Plaintiff's Complaint", which is what you file with the court as an answer to a lawsuit.

I don't feel comfortable posting that word for word, but basically they claimed they're innocent and cited everything you've read here: Fair use, they're a news organization, plaintiff doesn't own the images, plaintiff didn't put proper safeguards in place to protect the images, images were taken from another website and defendant relied on their good faith that the images weren't copyrighted, claims are barred by laches, estoppel, acquiescence, implied license (I don't know what this is, so I need to research it), barred by doctrine of "unclean hands", barred by "copyright misuse".

So basically, the defendant used every defense in the book.  It should be noted that this was just an official response to the lawsuit.  This hasn't gone to trial, so we don't know if these arguments will hold up, although I'd LOVE to see Sanders try to address all of these in a courtroom.

5
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Need an opinion on a letter I received.
« on: December 01, 2013, 12:51:11 PM »
All of the ones I'm researching (115 and counting) are at the actual lawsuit phase.  A lawyer will have to answer your question about attempting to settle before court.  One thing I noticed from the cases I pulled from Pacer is that a lot of people that hired lawyers filed their answers on time with strongly worded defenses and then settled anyway.

Sanders wants the quick buck and the threat of $50k+ is lawyer fees for an actual trial is enough to get most of the uninformed webmasters to settle.

I will say this; I would not settle until one of these other cases goes to trial (earliest date I found is October, 2014).  The outcome of the first trial will speak volumes as to how the rest will go.

6
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Need an opinion on a letter I received.
« on: December 01, 2013, 12:09:39 PM »
I follow the fairfaxunderground discussion thread as well and it's filled with horrible advice from random people.  The guy who said "problem solved" is wrong.  Cary never responded to the thread, so we don't know what's going on, but I guarantee you that Sanders will either send a "second and final notice" or will file a lawsuit against him.  That's what they've done with the other 125+ websites and I know of 3 specific cases where actual lawyers sent strongly worded letters to Sanders and Sanders ignored them and proceeded as usual.

It's not about proving they're wrong; they don't care.  They're betting that they can start the lawsuit process and people will beg to settle.  The 17 cases I pulled all proved that point.

7
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Need an opinion on a letter I received.
« on: November 30, 2013, 10:57:21 PM »
I went in and looked at 17 cases that were closed.  Of those, 8 had settlement letters or mentions of settlements.  The other 9 had voluntary dismissals from BWP, but I couldn't confirm they were settled (though I presume they were).

I went in and looked at some of the older cases that weren't closed.  I found two that BWP was asking for a default judgement, which means the defendants either weren't served or are playing dumb.  I only found one where the defendant is fighting it and it's ongoing (along with the cases I mentioned earlier).

Basically, we still don't know how far they'll take it.  The cases that have been closed seem like situations where the defendants were scared and settled early.  I'm interested to see how these other cases go.

8
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Need an opinion on a letter I received.
« on: November 30, 2013, 01:52:31 PM »
Remember those cases I asked about?  I finally got my Pacer credentials and looked them up.  The first one was a wash because Sanders didn't show up on time and the court had already excused the defendants.  So that one was rescheduled for next week.

The second one is a little more interesting.  The defendant answered BWP's claims very forcefully, basically saying all the same stuff people on here say; they're protected under fair use, they're a news business, BWP didn't own the pictures, etc., etc.

They held their initial conference (which Sanders attended by phone) and they don't have another court date until October, 2014.  At that next date, everyone HAS to appear in person.  But the gist of it is that this is going to take a long time to get resolved.  We won't know if Sanders will actually appear in person (or delegate to a lawyer in the respective state) for another year.

9
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Need an opinion on a letter I received.
« on: November 23, 2013, 12:16:17 PM »
galaga_z - what were your pictures of?  The fact they were willing to settle for $250/pic is an interesting twist to the whole Sanders saga.  Prior to this, they hadn't been interested in settling on fees that low, only going to court.

10
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Need an opinion on a letter I received.
« on: November 22, 2013, 03:58:52 PM »
It takes a week to complete the registration, so I'll have to wait.  I also noticed this case had an initial hearing: 13-cv-448-wmc

11
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Need an opinion on a letter I received.
« on: November 21, 2013, 08:20:24 PM »
How do you know when it hits the docket?  Sorry, I've never used Pacer before.  Is it easy to tell once I sign up for an account?

12
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Need an opinion on a letter I received.
« on: November 21, 2013, 07:53:00 PM »
I'd be interested to know what became of the "Civil Cause For Initial Conference" that was held today in case 13cv05238.  It seems like an interesting case that's moving quickly.

13
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Need an opinion on a letter I received.
« on: November 16, 2013, 09:23:28 PM »
Oh, and what are your thoughts on filing a Declaratory Judgment against them?  I saw this guy did it:

http://www.rfcexpress.com/lawsuits/copyright-lawsuits/michigan-western-district-court/624582/joseph-snyder-v-national-photo-group-llc/summary/

I don't know enough about Declaratory Judgments to know if this is a good move or not.

14
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Need an opinion on a letter I received.
« on: November 16, 2013, 09:19:54 PM »
Does anyone know if any of the 106 lawsuits have actually made it to a courtroom?  From everything I know and have read about them, the trail stops at the initial filing.

15
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Need an opinion on a letter I received.
« on: November 16, 2013, 07:53:52 PM »
There are a lot of issues with Sanders/BWP Media; it's unclear if they actually own the images, they don't respond to emails from lawyers, they don't accept "normal" (ie, $1000 or less) settlements, etc.  I have several webmaster friends who have received the same packet.  Two of which have actually received lawsuits.  From the cases, I can't determine what separates those who get sued from those who don't.

One thing I can say with certainty is; DO NOT talk to or email them.  Their goal is to get quick, easy settlements and they'll use anything you say against you.

Oscar needs to weigh in on his thoughts regarding Sanders/BWP Media.  These guys are different from Getty and with 106 lawsuits filed to date and countless packets sent out, there are going to be a lot of nervous people out there.

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