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« on: December 05, 2016, 11:42:29 AM »
Hi everyone,
I am a newbie. As pyro2xs, situation I also received (3) Getty letters (and emails) in regards to a (MR) image that I got from google images. Shame on me for not understanding what I was doing, but alas I was ignorant. I really did think that as long as there was no watermark the image was free to use. Never looked into copyright and really had no clue as to what it really meant for us infringers.
I've been reading the forum for over a month now, trying to find "ELI Defense Letter Program" success stories dealing with my type of situation, but can't seem to find any. I am looking and hoping for any testimonials.
I manage a small business and used the image only to display a "package" our business was selling. Because it was my ignorance, I am taking complete responsibility and paying for "hopefully" a final negotiated settlement, out of my pocket. Getty is asking for $1140. That's approx two weeks pay for me. Getty image charges a minimum $695 for 3 months of use for this RM image I apparently infringed on.
I tried the Getty response letter recommended by artlawjournal, but I just received another letter that simply repeated the other letters. I have done extensive research, including researching on copyright.gov, the photographer's website offering his stock images. I could not find this image on either of these sites. I'm not certain, but pretty sure I followed the instructions correctly on copyright.gov for search criteria.
I am interested in signing on to ELI Defense Letter Program, but would first like to know if this program has had success in (RM) situations? I'm not asking for any guarantees. But clients usually hire lawyers based on their success rate correct? So I don't think I'm asking for too much before I pay the "upfront" costs for this Defense Letter Program. For all I know it could be a scam.
Any advise would be appreciated, thank you.
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