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Author Topic: Getty have asked me to prove I am a student??  (Read 6349 times)

Lisa23081

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Getty have asked me to prove I am a student??
« on: May 23, 2013, 10:37:56 AM »
I received the Getty letter a few days ago - I am currently a full-time student and called them immediately to try and sort it out (I panicked and didn't look on the internet to see if anyone else had received a similar letter). I explained that I have never been on the Getty website & would not purposely download a copyrighted image - I obviously have done a lot of research since and realise that this was very naive!
The woman I spoke to asked me to prove I was in full time education & stated she may be able to lower the fee, so I asked my tutor to email them confirming such.

Please can anyone advise on what the next step is? Do I call them again or confirm in writing with a copy of my student I.D.?

Thanks in advance!

stinger

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Re: Getty have asked me to prove I am a student??
« Reply #1 on: May 23, 2013, 11:14:03 AM »
I recommend you do some research in this forum.

I do not expect that Getty will waive any fees - only lower them and not by enough.  Your choices are:
  • Pay what they ask.
  • Choose to fight it yourself.  The statute of limitations runs 3 years and they will stay on you over this period
  • Hire Oscar for $200 through the defense letter program

I personally chose option 2.  After watching the activity of this board for almost 1.5 years, I think I made the correct choice for me.  If Getty should escalate, I can always hire Oscar.  I cannot for the life of me, see myself writing a check to Getty or McCormack Legal.

A good place to start might be "An experiment against Getty".  This is a very long thread, but will give you an idea of their tactics, and what fighting yourself might look like.

Recommendations:
  • Do not deal with them by phone or email.  Keep everything in letters, in case you some day end up in court.
  • Get educated, choose your strategy, and execute.  The members of this board will provide you a good sounding board in case you are unsure of your next step.
  • Let them know that not only are you a student, but that you are flat broke.  They are not in this for any greater good - only the money.  They are smart enough to know that they cannot squeeze blood out of a turnip.  This will not stop them from pursuing you, in case you suddenly become flush with cash, but it may ease the burden of their pursuit.

Keep us posted on your progress.

Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)

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Re: Getty have asked me to prove I am a student??
« Reply #2 on: May 23, 2013, 11:21:08 AM »
Lisa, unfortuantley hiring Oscar is NOT an option for you, as you are in the UK, and Oscar is a New York attorney, I'm not sure what the statute is over there either, if i were you I would focus on the UK thread only as alot of the other info available won't apply to you.
Most questions have already been addressed in the forums, get yourself educated before making decisions.

Any advice is strictly that, and anything I may state is based on my opinions, and observations.
Robert Krausankas

I have a few friends around here..

Lisa23081

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Re: Getty have asked me to prove I am a student??
« Reply #3 on: May 23, 2013, 11:59:57 AM »
Thanks for the replies - having now read a few of the posts on the UK forum, I've found there is quite a lot of conflicting advice - do contact them, don't contact them etc.

I think I should initially write to them with proof of my student ID, state that I'm not in full-time employment, saying it was a genuine mistake, the image has been removed etc. etc.

Then, if they still insist on chasing me, ask them to provide

1) A copy of the agreement whereby the photographer assigned copyright to Getty.
2) An affidavit from the photographer confirming the image was never offered free anywhere or sold through another site that wasn't owned by Getty. If it was then dates and the image cost (if applicable) should be provided.
3) A breakdown of how Getty arrived at the figure.

Does this sound like the best course of action? ??? ???

Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)

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Re: Getty have asked me to prove I am a student??
« Reply #4 on: May 23, 2013, 02:23:39 PM »
bottom line is they want your money, they won't reduce it by much, student or not, working or not..they also will not supply you any documentation, you'll just go in circles with for a few years.. only you can decide what is best for your situation..
Most questions have already been addressed in the forums, get yourself educated before making decisions.

Any advice is strictly that, and anything I may state is based on my opinions, and observations.
Robert Krausankas

I have a few friends around here..

Beanpole

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Re: Getty have asked me to prove I am a student??
« Reply #5 on: May 24, 2013, 10:23:09 AM »
Lisa, it seems to me that sending them copies of your personal documents is giving them far more than they deserve, and also tells them they've got you rattled. (Just my opinion.)

A good option you may have read elsewhere is to offer them, say, 50 pounds to compensate them for your innocent mistake, subject to their first providing the proof that they're entitled to it (the 1, 2 & 3 you mention). They won't do that, but you can keep repeating your offer at each contact (or just tell them you've made your offer and you won't reply to any further letters unless they contain that proof). Since you've made a reasonable attempt to settle, a court is highly unlikely to be sympathetic to Getty, and Getty knows that very well, so a few more pestering letters are all you should get. (You may get a letter from Atradius Collections after a while, too, but you can ignore that entirely, and from my experience, that marks the endpoint.)

 

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