Click Official ELI Links
Get Help With Your Extortion Letter | ELI Phone Support | ELI Legal Representation Program
Show your support of the ELI website & ELI Forums through a PayPal Contribution. Thank you for supporting the ongoing fight and reporting of Extortion Settlement Demand Letters.

Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Topics - Matthew Chan

Pages: 1 ... 36 37 [38]
556
Doing a casual search on the status of our website within the Google search engine today, I discovered some interesting results.

1.  If you do a Google search under "Getty Images", we are now on page 2 of the search results. This is especially significant because the only way our website could be found is if you typed in various permutations of "Getty Images Settlement/Demand/Extortion Letter."  We were always #1 or #2 as a niche topic website. However, this website is now likely to be "discovered" by the mainstream press or anyone else who is doing research on Getty Images within Google.

2.  Wikipedia now lists this website as a quoted source in the Getty Images article listing under the Copyright Enforcement section.  Being quoted in Wikipedia is HUGE especially since Oscar and I had nothing to do with it.  Someone out in the world of the Internet deemed our website as a reliable information source and quote/incorporated our information within the article.

As a side comment, I predicted before that as long as Getty Images continue their extortion letter rampage, this website would inevitably become mainstream in the realm of stock photography and specifically for anyone searching on "Getty Images".  This website does not represent a positive image for Getty Images public relations.

If you want to continue your support of this website and what we do (aside from the Paypal donations), tell people you know who have blogs, websites, and webpages to link to our website.  PLEASE DO NOT SPAM LINKS. We only want legitimate and credible links if it fits into the content of their article, webpage, or website.

Thanks for your ongoing support.

MatthewC

557
Dave Stallon of the FSB discussion forums in the U.K. has understandably shut down the Getty Images UK discussion thread.

However, we invite those who want to participate constructively such as BeeDee and Old Welsh Guy to post here.  You can be assured the nonsense from BOBC and the like will not be tolerated here.  I have a much different position than Dave Stallon is taking.

If photographers want to post here, fine.  But anyone behaving like BOBC will simply be banned.  I won't shut down the entire thread.

MatthewC (aka U.S. Crusader on the FSB Forums)

558
I am proud to announce the launch of our first informational video. Thus far, we have provided you information through our articles, discussion forums, and MP3 audio files.  We have now taken this one step further with online videos.

The first video we have released is "Oscar Michelen: Background & Experience".  You can "meet" Oscar through our online video and get to know him better.  You will learn about his upbringing, education, and experience as I interview and converse with Oscar.

You can find the videos on our Home Page and VIP Contacts page.

More videos will be released but they will be available only to our Subscribers. Our subscribers will have the first opportunity to view our latest video updates and informative video discussions.  More information will be released soon.

MatthewC

559
I just completed writing an extensive article entitled "How to Stop Using Stock Photos & Boycott the Stock Photo Industry". I did not release it for two days to allow what I wrote to percolate a bit. I wanted to be sure I really wanted to release it.  After considerable thought and consideration, I think the time is right.

Many of you know that the sentiment for this article has been building for quite some time.  It has been voiced by many others.  I believe that there is growing interest to discuss the boycotting issue more seriously.  Because of the work done thus far by this website, I decided to take an official stand to boycott the stock photo industry until it dramatically changes its ways of doing business.

I equate some actions of the stock photo industry as similar to the nasty tactics engaged by the RIAA.  I find what Getty Images and its cohorts are doing distasteful and I am voting by advocating and teaching others how to find alternatives and avoid using stock photos altogether.

Although the article I written has been committed to a "permanent" web page, it will be updated over time.  I am opening up this discussion thread to solicit comments, suggestions, and feedback on the article and the subject matter.

Matthew Chan

560
Oscar Michelen and I have recorded and released two new telephone interviews which will be of tremendous interest to our readership.

The first recording is the 3rd update of our ongoing coverage of the Getty Images Demand Letter controversy.  It contains the latest information, updates, and insights to the situation.

The second recording is "Filing a Lawsuit".  Oscar and I discuss what is truly involved and what it means for someone to file a lawsuit.  Anyone can threaten to file a lawsuit.  But most people do not really understand what can and cannot be done through a lawsuit.  A win is not always a win and lawsuits can be unpredictable if brought before a judge.  Do yourself a favor and get educated on this.  Whether you are directly involved with Getty Images letter tactics or another similar company, you will want to listen to this informative discussion.

These audio recordings are freely available by becoming a Priority Subscriber.  Becoming a Priority Subscriber is also free. Visit our home page and look for the purple box.

Matthew Chan
Editor

561
Oscar Michelen and I have recorded and released two new telephone interviews which will be of tremendous interest to our readership.

The first recording is the 3rd update of our ongoing coverage of the Getty Images Demand Letter controversy.  It contains the latest information, updates, and insights to the situation.

The second recording is "Filing a Lawsuit".  Oscar and I discuss what is truly involved and what it means for someone to file a lawsuit.  Anyone can threaten to file a lawsuit.  But most people do not really understand what can and cannot be done through a lawsuit.  A win is not always a win and lawsuits can be unpredictable if brought before a judge.  Do yourself a favor and get educated on this.  Whether you are directly involved with Getty Images letter tactics or another similar company, you will want to listen to this informative discussion.

These audio recordings are freely available by becoming a Priority Subscriber.  Becoming a Priority Subscriber is also free. Visit our home page and look for the purple box.

Matthew Chan
Editor

562
Because of the growing amount of traffic and readership to this website, I have established a special email subscription and "subscriber only" content service who want the latest news, updates, and announcements relating to Getty Images Demand Letter Controversy.

It is increasingly difficult for established readers to find changes and updates within our website and discussion forum.  Also, the increasing amount of download traffic of our free audio files had made it necessary for me to "prioritize" those who are casual readers and those who are "serious" readers of the Getty Images Letter Controversy.

If you are a casual reader and have enjoyed this website and our discussion forum, no problem.  You still have access to the majority of the content and information on this site.

However, for the more committed reader, you will get more direct communications from me and Oscar Michelen. You will also continue to have have free access to our well-regarded MP3 audio interview files and our educational videos.  All I ask is from you is your email address.  As always, you can donate as little or as much you want through the PayPal Donation System.

We hope you will enjoy our new free ELI Priority Subscription Service.

Matthew Chan
Editor

P.S. The place (for now) to join our ELI Priority Subscription Service is the purple box on the home page.

563
Welcome to the ExtortionLetterInfo.com Discussion Forum. This discussion area is dedicated to the Riddick/Imageline Settlement Demand Letter Controversy. Here you can share your story and discuss your situation as it relates to the Riddick/Imageline Settlement Demand Letters.

This forum is intended for intelligent on-topic discussions only.

* No ranting, raving, or cursing.
* No spamming or advertising here.
* No personal attacks or name-calling.
* No URLs, email or physical addresses in signatures.

Thank you!

564
Because of the ever-growing amount of content and discussion regarding George P. Riddick III and Imageline's Demand Letters, all of these posts and discussions have been moved to a dedicated Riddick/Imageline Letters Forum area.

We believe this will better assist our readers to find the topics they truly want to follow.  We have chosen to keep the Getty Images-related topics and discussion in its own forum as it had originally been intended.

Sorry for the inconvenience.  

MatthewC

565
The extensive time and hard work put into this website and forum has been entirely voluntary. The information I have diligently researched, gathered, and openly shared is to assist the ever-growing community of Riddick/ImageLine Extortion Letter recipients. To date, this website continues to be a free service I have personally funded.

ExtortionLetterInfo.com has become the definitive informational website in the U.S. to combat Riddick/ImageLines's extortionistic letter practices.

At the suggestion of one our enthusiastic supporters, I have set up a PayPal Contribution Button (throughout the website) for those of you who wish to show your appreciation and gratitude by contributing and assisting our ongoing cause to fight the Riddick/ImageLine Extortion Letters.

Help our cause by supporting the ongoing work and updates to this website by making a contribution.

I recommend a small contribution of $5.00 to $10.00 if you have found useful and valuable information that assisted you in defending yourself against George P. Riddick III and ImageLine. You may contribute as little as $1.00 or as high as $100.00. You may contribute as frequently or as infrequently as your prefer. But just realize this is an ongoing fight. I need ongoing community support to continue the work on this website.

Thank you for your continued enthusiasm and supporting our cause.

Matthew Chan (Host of ELI Website & Discussion Forum)

566
I want to report to everyone that George Riddick of ImageLine Inc. contacted me via email today to tell his side of the story.  In fairness to him, I am presenting his side by sharing the email I received with you.  I am actually surprised he found us and our reporting so quickly.

Because Mr. Riddick has brought up many issues, I cannot immediately reply to every point he raises.  My open response can be found here.

===========================

Dear Mathew (sic),

When I first read about your “case”, I had some empathy for the position you found yourself in. We have suffered enormous losses over the years at the hands of design and graphics companies in India, China, Russia, and Brazil, where there are virtually no copyright laws to speak of (and certainly no enforcement of the laws that do exist).

The more I read, the less empathetic I became, however. Here’s why:

1.   On your web site, you clearly state that it is your objective to present the facts from both sides, do your homework thoroughly, and provide some relief to end-user “victims” who end up with copyrighted material on their web sites due to the poor business practices and ethics of others, much as is with your case with the folks from India. That’s exactly what we do, Mathew (sic). Yet you posted the rants and raves of two or three disgruntled embroidery industry participants without making any effort at all to hear the other side of this “story”, or to verify what they have told you.

2.   It appears to us that both you and Mr. Michelen see these “victims” as becoming another venture capital source of your new online venture. That is simply not right, Matthew. At times, “right” and “wrong” should come before the cold interpretation and/or enforcement of our law.

3.   You made no mention, whatsoever, that Imageline has never gone after end-user infringers, like the music industry has done for years, or as you claim Getty Images, Jupiter, and Corbis are now doing. We only go after the “middlemen” (much like the company you dealt with in India) who are sub-licensing and re-distributing our copyright-protected property for their own commercial gain on their web sites and in their CD/DVD products, and distributing the pirated images and designs to others.

4.   You also never mention that Imageline agrees to release all of the end user infringers (such as your company would be) when we settle with these “middlemen”. In other words, if your new buddy “Pat” were to distribute unlicensed versions of one of our digital designs to 2,000 embroidery people over his web site, the per infringement settlement fees would be less than $3.75 per end user who is infringing under our laws. That’s a lot less than even the $200.00 minimum Mr. Michelen posts on your blog.

5.   Who wouldn’t become angry and agitated if people caught with their hands in the cookie (and very thoroughly researched and documented by Imageline) don’t remove the infringing images after notice, or even have the courtesy to respond to an official cease and desist letter/e-mail communications we send each of them?

6.   In fact, we follow the exact same C & D and take-down procedures Mr. Michelen claims he recommends for his clients.

7.   This looks like nothing more than sensational investigative journalism to me. I would have been more than happy to share the whole truth with you if you had only bothered to ask.

8.   Imageline has been considered the “David” in the copyright battle with a number of “Goliaths” for over fifteen (15+) years. Over ninety- five percent (>95%) of the companies we go after for infringing our hard earned copyrighted works are substantially larger than we are. You would be surprised at how incorrect you and Mr. Michelen have been here, and have interpreted a few ‘out of context’ communications to support your own pre-conceived notions and business plans … not the truth.

9.   Finally, posting links to blogs hosted by people who hide behind the anonymous nature of the Internet to conduct smear campaigns is not what anyone should expect from a web site moderated by a professional attorney, and stating that it is your objective to deliver “all of the facts” and the truth. We are very confused here. Does Mr. Michelen’s law firm know what he is doing in these ventures? Lawyers here in Virginia are not allowed to practice law in this manner. I am particularly concerned that he advises everyone to destroy evidence on your web site.. Please have him contact me directly if he has any interest at all in representing the information regarding Imageline in a factual manner to your audience.

Again, please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions about what we are trying to do to lower the “digital piracy” rate here in this country, and to begin to accomplish the same goals overseas.

ALL legitimate book, software, audio/visual, and graphic arts content publishers and copyright advocates should support the reduction of Internet-based piracy or they will all soon be extinct. At least that is my humble opinion.

I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Sincerely,

George Riddick
Chairman/CEO
Imageline, Inc.

567
(Please be advised this editorial will be updated or revised to include the latest news and developments.)

Please refer to the Getty Clones page and Riddick/ImageLine Letters page as reference in this discussion.

Disclaimer: Ths editorial is NOT legal advice. It reflects my opinions only, not those of Attorney Oscar Michelen. His response to the Riddick controversy is pending.

I have had the opportunity to read numerous emails written by Mr. Riddick and evaluate his communication pattern. It is clear that Mr. Riddick has been able to inflict an incredible amount of psychological stress by his aggressive and quite unprofessional letter tactics. His behavior is far more egregious than anything I have seen before as it relates to copyright protection.

First off, I believe in copyright protection but I also believe in taking reasonable actions. And if a settlement cannot be reached, then more aggressive measures can be taken. A big problem I see is that Mr. Riddick lacks credibility. He comes across as inconsistent, scattered, and a person that rants and raves. He appears to make threats that he does not follow through on. His rationale is flawed. He displays multiple sides to his personality. He can be civil, gracious, respectful, hostile, insulting, and condescending all in the same email! More importantly, his email threats ring hollow on so many levels. Unfortunately, many letter recipients’ are ignorant of copyright law and proper legal process and so Mr. Riddick has single-handedly distressed the embroidery community.

While I certainly do not condone what Mr. Riddick has done, the effectiveness of his letter campaign is effective because you, the letter recipient, because you have not yet become educated on the issues involved. And you have also unwittingly played into his psychological game by driving this underground. I will list some reasons why this letter campaign has been so effective in creating stress thus far and where I see the lack of credibility comes from.

Most people who are in the artistic community lack a fundamental background on how business works. In the world of business, there are good people and there are bad people. When you encounter bad people in business long enough, you eventually learn what you can and cannot do to fight back. Part of fighting back is knowing what resources, entities, agencies, and tactics actually work. Another part of protecting yourself and fighting back is that you learn to grow a backbone. And if you don’t immediately grow one, you learn to fake having a backbone. I am not saying to this to be insulting. I am saying this because I have to make my points quickly.

Everyone knows that bullies will only back down if you stand up to them. Bullies like Mr. Riddick will only prey on who he believes are weaker parties such as those in the artist community. He tries to overwhelm you by dragging in all kinds of legal arguments that may or may not pertain to your specific situation. Have you not wondered why he would chase after a class of people who have relatively few assets and income vs. larger companies? He does so because uninformed people who are unaccustomed to business and legal conflict are easy prey. He knows he has the upper hand because he has just enough information to sound credible and strike fear within you.

In his email communications, Mr. Riddick makes many legal threats on many fronts but fundamentally he has done nothing. From what I can tell, Mr. Riddick has not sent any physical letters or Certified Letters to anyone. All communications from him appear to be emails only. There has been no indication he has done anything on the legal front against smaller, weaker parties.

What is interesting to me is that my search of Imageline Inc in Virginia indicates that this corporation is currently in delinquent status and even if it were not, has a history of not being in compliance with the State of Virginia’s corporate filings. He has missed the years 1999, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008. Most of these corporate filings cost $100 to simply update.

Does a corporation that cannot consistently make their annual corporate filings for such a small annual fee sound like a corporation that can hire an attorney to sue anyone? As Oscar Michelen pointed out, a corporation without good legal standing cannot sue. Further, any corporation that wants to sue MUST hire an attorney because corporations cannot self-represent, individuals and sole proprietorships can. Corporations are only legal entities, not human entities.

Mr. Riddick has often mentioned contingency attorneys. Contingency attorneys are smart people. Most are in it to make money, not to do pro bono work. Most will demand an upfront retainer to start work on the case. They will only forgo a retainer and their hourly fee ONLY if they are certain there will be a big payday. Fortunately for you, (but what many of you fail to realize) is that it would not be worth any contingency attorney’s time and effort to sue you because most of you do not make enough or have enough assets to collect on. Mr. Riddick would then have to be like the rest of us in having to hire an attorney at $200-$400/hour. Even for a medium-sized corporation, this is no small expense. And most attorneys would demand an upfront retainer before they start the case. For a 10-hour retainer, this could cost $2,000-$4,000 per party! If he wanted to hire an attorney to sue “only” 5 people, he would have to come up with a retainer of $10,000-$20,000. Do the math with all the letters he is sending out.

From what I can tell, Mr. Riddick is primarily a one-man operation. He appears to use many aliases to create the appearance he works with a staff but I am not yet certain that is true. Currently, I take the stand he is primarily a one-man operation. Does this sound like someone capable or willing to cough up that much money to file suit?

Also, filing suit across state lines and out of country is incredibly difficult because part of filing suit against someone is being able to properly serve defendants personally. There are also jurisdictional issues. Most of you are outside his state of Virginia. And so, you are difficult to reach. Defendants who do not want to be found will not be easily be found and it will be an additional cost to hire a good process server to successfully serve someone.

Copyright infringement is generally a federal issue. Filing suits in federal court can get quite expensive when you take into account attorney fees, filing fees, and travel fees. Yes, someone is going to have to travel and it is most likely the plaintiff that will have to travel. Does Mr. Riddick sound inclined to want to travel to you and testify against you? Even if he was, how many people could he actually sue given that he is a one-man operation?

Even if he were to make it all the way of hiring an attorney, paying the retainer, having you successfully served, traveling to testify, and meet in court, there is the matter of winning the case. It has been my experience that courts are sympathetic to smaller, more vulnerable parties. Judges strive to be fair and reasonable. They look at your intentions and your actions. Did you do it intentionally or not? Do you a pattern of past intentional abuses? Court cases are often not clear cut which is why even attorneys like to settle. They do not like the uncertainty and surprises that can come up. I have been in court many times most often as a plaintiff but I have occasionally been a defendant. There is never any clear “slam dunk” for any side.

Even if you lost the case, the judge would ensure any ruling would be “reasonable”. I believe Mr. Riddick might only stand to “win” a few hundred dollars at best plus attorney costs. I could be wrong but that is what I believe at this point. Even so, there is yet another obstacle for him. If he got a judgment, there is the matter of actually collecting on it. It can be very difficult to collect money judgments from people who have relatively smaller incomes and smaller asset bases.
Are you beginning to see why getting educated on the issues is very important?

Another point I like to make is that Mr. Riddick uses the tactic of urgency. He sets artificial deadlines to force a response. From what I have seen, many letter recipients have disregarded his deadlines with little or no consequence. That is an indication that these are empty threats when there is no follow-up action with the exception of another derogatory email.
Mr. Riddick has made threats to a letter recipient sue them for libel. In other words, he wants to keep his communications with you a secret from others. He wants to keep you isolated. He does not want his tactics to come to light. It takes away the power when EVERYONE knows about how he conducts himself. It is not advantageous for him for all of you to come together and share knowledge as some of you have done with me. In domestic abuse cases where the abuser/bully wants control, a common tactic is isolation and keeping secrets. I should also point out telling the truth is an absolute defense against libel.

In some of the emails I have seen, there is an emphasis on “Confidential”, “Non-Disclosure”, and the like. For the record, if you are the intended recipient of any correspondence, you have the right to openly share it with anyone (unless there was prior agreement by BOTH parties to keep communications confidential or in cases such as attorney-client or doctor-patient confidentiality.) In other words, you have the right to share any communications you have Mr. Riddick with me, Oscar, or the world at large. 

The reason I have gotten involved is I know that reporting this will help neuter his efforts to keep you isolated and silent. You now have a platform with our online discussion forum to openly discuss (not rant, cuss, or concoct) your stories in a safe open environment.

You see, karma says that what goes around comes around. Many of you have begun stepping up and stepping out. Continue to get educated on the issues. Speak out openly. Start growing a backbone. You will find that Mr. Riddick may eventually back down, become more reasonable, or go away. And if not, then it is up to him to take the next action except that a lot of people are now watching him.

568
Lime One Ltd. Represents 300 U.K. Clients Against Getty

I was informed by a letter recipient that she is using Lime One, a U.K.-based Law firm, to represent her. The article "Is a picture really worth £1,000?" by The Guardian states that Lime One now represents over 300 clients against Getty Images and not none of those clients have ever been taken to court.

I have no direct relationship with Lime One Ltd. as I do with Attorney Oscar Michelen. And so I cannot comment as to the qualifications or the service of Lime One. However, this piece of information is something we have been seeking for our U.K. readers.

569
Getty Images Letter Forum / Show Your Support: A PayPal Contribution
« on: November 25, 2008, 11:37:33 PM »
The extensive time and hard work put into this website and forum has been entirely voluntary. The information we have diligently researched, gathered, and openly shared is to assist the ever-growing community of Getty Extortion Letter recipients. To date, this website continues to be a free service.

ExtortionLetterInfo.com has become the definitive informational website in the U.S. to combat Getty's extortionistic letter practices.

At the suggestion of one our enthusiastic supporters, I have set up a PayPal Contribution Button (throughout the website) for those of you who wish to show your appreciation and gratitude by contributing and assisting our ongoing cause to fight the Getty Images Extortion Letters.

Help our cause by supporting the ongoing work and updates to this website by making a contribution.

I recommend a small contribution of $10.00 to $40.00 if you have found useful and valuable information that assisted you in defending yourself against Getty Images. You may contribute as frequently as your prefer. But just realize this is an ongoing fight. I need ongoing community support to continue work on this website.

Thank you for your continued enthusiasm and supporting in our cause.

Matthew Chan (Host of ELI & The ELI Forums)

570
Welcome to the ExtortionLetterInfo.com Discussion Forum. Here you can share your story and discuss your situation as it relates to the Getty Images Settlement Demand Letter.

Because of the growing number of discussion topics, we ask that you do a SEARCH of related topics before you post a question. Often a similar question or scenario has been asked before regarding Getty Images and Masterfile.

It is impossible to provide precise customized answers to each and every person here on the forums. If you feel you need that service, you should pay for an ELI Support Call with Matthew Chan or hire Attorney Oscar Michelen for legal representation.

This forum is intended for intelligent on-topic discussions only.
* No ranting, raving, or cursing towards other forum members.
* No spamming or advertising here.
* No personal attacks or name-calling of other forum members.
* No URLs, email or physical addresses in signatures.

Thank you!

P.S. Please note that all UK Getty-related posts and discussions have been moved to its own discussion forum: http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/uk-getty-images-letter-forum/

Please note that McCormack letter-related posts and discussions have been moved to its own discussion forum: http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/mccormack-letter-forum/

Pages: 1 ... 36 37 [38]
Official ELI Help Options
Get Help With Your Extortion Letter | ELI Phone Support Call | ELI Defense Letter Program
Show your support of the ELI website & ELI Forums through a PayPal Contribution. Thank you for supporting the ongoing fight and reporting of Extortion Settlement Demand Letters.