Messages

631

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: HAN / Copyright Services International Settlement Notification Phone Call

« on: May 31, 2012, 10:32:14 AM »

Great thread!  Extortion-Victim-No Longer thanks for sharing your motivation in this fight.

We are all together in a common fight for what we believe is right.  Our motivations may be different.  I like to think that mine is to "fight for truth, justice, and the American way."  (hope I didn't infringe on any copyrights there)  But we are all in the same battle.

I, for one, am happy that Extortion-Victim-No Longer may have brought Mr. Carner here to give us a counterpoint.  I hope he can help change some of the practices that have united us so strongly.  If he is only here to try and mollify some of the readers of this forum and not correct the abuses of his industry, his time might be better spent playing tiddly winks.

632

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Matthew Chan's First 10 Questions For Glen Carner

« on: May 31, 2012, 10:02:36 AM »

Mr. Carner, I am not sure why you can't answer questions 8 and 9.  They don't seem to be asking for any proprietary information.

Let me try to attack the heart of the questions from a different direction.

If a company makes more money in the courts or through the threat of court action, than it does in its' normal business operations, might this not be an indication that taking advantage of the legal system has become that company's business?

Is this the kind of legal system, we should want as a society?  Wouldn't this lead to company strategies like "baiting" the market to entrap unsuspecting individuals in order to grow revenue?

Should our judicial system be allowed to be turned into a profit center for this type of business?

633

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Getty Images/Memorial Day Welcome Home surprise...

« on: May 29, 2012, 11:50:05 AM »

I would include in your letter, your promise to make the world aware of their tactics - if they don't accept your offer.  You could offer to write letters to editorial columns of newspapers, consumer protection advocates, and even the Attorney General.

From what I have read, they have not proven the image is theirs - they have only made the claim.  Make them prove it.  It appears they often cannot.

Others in this forum claim that Getty is looking to go public.  I think they will be adverse to bad press until such time as they do go public.  Use that reluctance to your advantage.

634

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Getty to possibly be sold or go public?

« on: May 24, 2012, 05:26:20 PM »

If they are going to take Getty public, perhaps a good strategy to keep the trolls at bay, for the time being, might be to threaten adverse publicity in any responses to troll letters.

Wall Street does not like negative publicity when trying to take a company public.  I'm betting the owners might put the muzzles on the trolls prior to a public offering.

635

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Photo Attorney Leslie J. Burns Settlement Demand Letter for Phototake

« on: May 24, 2012, 09:40:23 AM »

Nice quotes!

So basically, an attorney (who plays both sides of the fence) endorses most of the strategy found here on ELI for combating trolling.

What a great endorsement of this site!

636

Hawaiian Letters & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Aloha Plastic Surgery Submits Counterclaim

« on: May 24, 2012, 09:28:27 AM »

Those words can be used to accurately describe exactly what Getty has done as well.

I think I will have to copy them for my attorney to use if they ever decide to take my case to court.

637

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Another fine example of Timothy B. McCormack the puking out garbage

« on: May 21, 2012, 11:09:15 AM »

Well said!  Now if we can only figure out how to link your post to his blog so people who only see his blog can have a bit of the view from the other side of the fence.

638

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Copyright Troll and Georgia Attorney Cindy Wan-Hsin Hsu

« on: May 17, 2012, 12:00:30 PM »

Might be that trolls are less likely to blow themselves up than chemical engineers :-D

639

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: New Getty Images Law Firm: Lee & Hayes Settlement Demand Letter

« on: May 14, 2012, 11:48:58 AM »

Mulligan, if you are accepting contributions to you expose' to help raise the stink level, I would be happy to write an editorial piece "How'd this happen to me - or What strategy would a company as large as GI use to bait small companies into alleged copyright infringement and how can they get away with this in a sane world?"

Perhaps the title is a bit long, but I am interested in contributing and in proof reading contributions others might be interested in making.

640

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: New Getty Images Law Firm: Lee & Hayes Settlement Demand Letter

« on: May 10, 2012, 10:22:25 AM »

I agree with Mathew and Buddhapi - a troll is a troll, no matter what color it's lipstick.

In terms of changing our tactics to meet their changing tactics, I am wondering  if ELI has ever tried to organize a Public Relations campaign to make the world aware of these tactics before people are caught.

I am thinking things like making available:

• lists of publications where people can tell their story - of how they were baited into a mistake
• sample letters, editorial pieces, etc. to help people tell their story
• ways to lobby politicians to change DMCA to put an end to Trolls behavior
• a blue print for what each Troll victim can do to make the world aware and help change it.

The publications or the process may be slightly different in Canada or Europe than it is in the U.S., but PR is PR everywhere.  The first step in solving our problem is making the world aware that it is going on and ANGRY about it.

Are the Trolls so large that they will quash publication of our stories at the national, state, and local level?  Or, might we gain a foothold somewhere and turn this into a Right/Wrong issue that people can get behind?

641

Legal Controversies Forum / Re: Google Liable for Copyright Infringement, Jury Finds

« on: May 08, 2012, 03:34:42 PM »

Copyright infringement on an open source language (Java) is beyond me.  Doesn't open source mean, "go ahead and use it"?  It's gonna take a whole lot of smart folks to sort this one out.

Let's hope this doesn't spawn a new generation of computer and phone CI trolls

642

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: 2 Clients with Getty Letters

« on: May 08, 2012, 09:00:45 AM »

Congratulations Buddhapi!  And thanks again for all the help you supply to newbies like me.

643

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Think this letter will stop their harassment?

« on: May 03, 2012, 03:11:18 PM »

Andrew, I am as much a newbie at this as you.  And I would say that what you propose sounds good to me in terms of two guys going at it out in the playground.

However, when I step back from the situation, I think "Do you really want to quote the law to a law firm?"  That kind of seems like your letting them do battle with you in their arena.  Not that it wouldn't be fun to beat them in their own arena, but why go through all that trouble?

A simpler solution might be to let them know that you are a turnip that they will not be able to squeeze any blood out of.  Or, you can let them know that they are going to have to work hard and even then, there might not be any blood for them to squeeze out of this turnip.

Get your ego out of the way, and get out of this as simply as you can.  I know that's hard to do.  I have trouble doing it.  What getty does makes my blood boil.  And when my blood boils, I want to hurt them.  But in the end, it's the prudent solution.

644

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Guyism Website Sued For Infringing Copyrighted Katy Perry Bikini Pictures

« on: May 03, 2012, 11:54:37 AM »

Wow, that's a lot of money.

Maybe if they win, Getty will leave us small fry alone and go after the big fish.

Then we can all sit on the sidelines and cheer against the trolls.

On second thought, only in my dreams . . .

645

Hawaiian Letters & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Hawaiian Art Network files 2 more suits

« on: May 03, 2012, 11:46:56 AM »

My recollection is that Getty did that very thing circa 2005 - 2007.

They changed their approach thereafter.  And they have covered their tracks at archive.org