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Messages - bilbo1

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1
Thanks @aot.

@kingkendall

Yes, I do, it's a common expression.

2
Is this the first escalation notice? They will send you a couple of different escalation emails... perhaps even under different names.
 
Yes, this is the first escalation notice.

The first time they emailed me about the image was 24th october and they said "Note that a failure to resolve this matter of unlicensed use within 21 days will result in escalation to one of our partner attorneys for legal proceedings."

21 days have passed and they are still trying to get me to pay rather than take me to court. I guess that could be an indication that they don't have enough evidence or the claim is to minor to take me to court.
Can you share the flickr link of the photo in question?

www .flickr. com/photos/30478819@N08/32067586033/

Also, did you take screenshots of any site metrics such as page views, date image uploaded, image deleted, etc.? What was the resolution of the photo uploaded.

It was uploaded Jan 2nd this year (2018) and the image was taken down on the 27th of October. The post received 1,169 page views during that time. No promotions or marketing is present it in the article... it is purely informational.

I'm going to book a call with Matthew before I reply and I will report back once I've resolved it.

Cheers for your help Aot!

3
Aot,

Re:registration/login/publication rights - That's a good tip. The best I could do was to state that people can email us if they want to post an article and then we can set them up with their own account to post on the blog because my CMS doesn't allow people to register themselves and post automatically.

They have just sent me an "Escalation Notice" as I haven't responded since I sent them the takedown notification. I guess I can try to negociate them down to a more reasonable rate, but I might book a call with Matthew first to get a second opinion.

Aot, do you have any more ideas from what I've told you?


4
Hey aot,

1. DMCA Takedown Notice is the way to go in the future. Get registered: https://www.copyright.gov/dmca-directory/

I have done this now, very easy. However, as it was a contractor of mine that wrote the article I'm not sure that this would give me safe harbor protection as DvG pointed out.

2. For now, how much are they asking you? Try to negotiate and bring the extortion price down. This step will also buy you some time to prepare your arguments whether in the court on through emails to Pixsy et. al.

They are asking 750USD, however, with the license that Pixsy offers it is very limited so I would not think its even work the $200 you paid, however, I would settle if need be.

3. Clean all of your sites and social media platforms. Use this time to both learn from your naivety and make yourself extortion-proof in the future.

I'm on it. Double checking that every image is CC and has proper attribution to the author.

4. Wait...and if you can give time to this matter then fight it till the end. The end is either they will stop harassing (emailing) you, or they go to the court and they'll lose, or you lose and have to pay according to the court's decision.

I'm going to try to keep this out of the courts, but I'm not going to be a walkover either.

Interestingly enough, the last email request from Pixsy had an attachment for ALL of the cases that Pixsy had on behalf of Marco Verch. Including who the license was issued to, the image that was licensed, and the fee charged. According to this, he has collected >$300K worth of licensing settlements with Pixsy! Including providing multiple licenses for the image he is pursuing me for.

I'm going to presume that this was a mistake of the case manager because giving me this information gives me some leverage against Marco & Pixsy. Presumably, they have client confidentiality agreements in place that giving me this information would violate.   


5
Hey aot,

Did this get resolved? I also have a case with Pixsy on behalf of Mr. Marco Verch.

I followed what was suggested on other Pixsy related posts here on ELI and followed the "takedown and notice" procedure.

Pixsy said that they if I can show them that I had a registered agent with the US copyright office at the time of the infringement then they would drop the case. 

However, I did not have anyone registered at the time of the infringement.

Just curious to hear if they dropped your case or have they filed a suit against you?

6
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Pixsy Demand Email
« on: November 21, 2018, 10:09:05 PM »
Thanks for the reply.

"So - best to perform a full audit of your site, clear out any material you think might be infringing, and register your agent as soon as possible."

- Yes, I will complete these steps.

But regarding the current claim, is there anything I can tell Pixsy to get them off my case?

I was thinking of asking them to provide proof that the photographer has authorized Pixsy to act on their behalf because they have not yet provided proof that they have a contractual agreement.

I was thinking that this would at least stall them, but I haven't really got a plan beyond that.

If I really am at fault in this situation and there is no other way to get them off my case, I could also try to talk them down in price. Because as it stands, $750 for temporary use of a creative commons license image seems completely unreasonable.

Any more ideas?

7
Getty Images Letter Forum / Pixsy Demand Email
« on: November 20, 2018, 08:44:34 PM »
Hi there,

I recently received a Pixsy demand letter asking for $750 for use of a photographers image in a blog post on my site. The author of the blog post grabbed the photo from flicker but forgot to attribute the photographer correctly, which is required under the creative commons (CC 2.0) license, which the photo was listed as.

I followed what was suggested on other Pixsy related posts here on ELI.

I responded with a "thank you" for the notification and I notified them of my actions (removed image, account holder (author of blog post) has been notified of the claim).

However, I have not registered a designated DMCA agent in an online filing with the US Copyright Office and Pixsy have pointed this out.

Pixsy said that they if I can show them that I had a registered agent at the time of the infringement then they would drop the case.

If I register now is it too late? is there any other way to have the DMCA safe harbor provisions?

Any input would be appreciated.

Cheers

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