An Experiment Against Getty

[Matthew Chan]

That would be the dumbest thing they could ever do to go after an ELI community member especially someone who "outed" himself.

If they did this, ELI would be put on the media map in a big way, not simply a little niche website tucked away in a corner.

Filing a lawsuit would have a ton of publicity possibilities if done correctly.

Essentially the way I would paint this picture is that a corporate conglomerate vs. a local handyman.  Envision a picture of office suits within a skyscraper towering over a guy with a hammer and screwdriver.

Publicity possibilities are endless.

Personally, I think that he might have caught it during systems maintenance phase. He will find out come Monday.

Or they've decided to file.

  

But don't worry. If that is the case I have a feeling you have enough friends around here that would be willing to help out. I know I'd kick in what I could to the Greg Troy defense fund.

 

[Greg Troy (KeepFighting)]

Actually I just check that while you were typing this message and it still says the same thing. Just to see what would happen I altered my case number by one number and hit enter in a immediately popped up with a message saying that I should contact the Getty compliance department.

I will take my tablet to work with me on Monday and checked again at lunchtime and I'll let everyone know what it says.

That would be the dumbest thing they could ever do to go after an ELI community member especially someone who "outed" himself.

If they did this, ELI would be put on the media map in a big way, not simply a little niche website tucked away in a corner.

Filing a lawsuit would have a ton of publicity possibilities if done correctly.

Essentially the way I would paint this picture is that a corporate conglomerate vs. a local handyman.  Envision a picture of office suits within a skyscraper towering over a guy with a hammer and screwdriver.

Publicity possibilities are endless.

Personally, I think that he might have caught it during systems maintenance phase. He will find out come Monday.

Or they've decided to file.

  

But don't worry. If that is the case I have a feeling you have enough friends around here that would be willing to help out. I know I'd kick in what I could to the Greg Troy defense fund.

 

[Greg Troy (KeepFighting)]

Okay, I just logged on and checked the status of my case and it still says the same thing. I am not sure what to make of it, suggestions or ideas?

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

I'll bite...
Mr Bieker in between spending time at the soup kitchen, got your letter, and handed it to his boss, who then read it and handed it to his boss, the letter eventually landed on Lisa Wilmers desk, where it sits in limbo awaiting some kind of decision..Perhaps you'll get a letter from getty's other outside coucil ( whose name escapes me), since they were not named in your deadline letter..

[Greg Troy (KeepFighting)]

I did not know that Getty has another outside council, but if I get a letter from anyone without ALL the proof I requested then an additional set of letters will go out against Getty and whoever sends it.  I am going to wait a bit before sending out the next round of letters while I see what develops and to wait for the AG complaints as follow up letters will be sent including a CD of 1200 pages of complaints to reinforce my request for investigation into Getty's extortion practices. 

I'll bite...
Mr Bieker in between spending time at the soup kitchen, got your letter, and handed it to his boss, who then read it and handed it to his boss, the letter eventually landed on Lisa Wilmers desk, where it sits in limbo awaiting some kind of decision..Perhaps you'll get a letter from getty's other outside coucil ( whose name escapes me), since they were not named in your deadline letter..

[Greg Troy (KeepFighting)]

While doing some online research on my Getty penpal buddy Douglas J. Bieker I came across this page posted by someone else who seems a little irritated with Mr. Bieker. This makes me feel better as I did not want to think I was unfairly singling him out  

http://www.appleseedcommunications.com/pages/publicrelations.html

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

While doing some online research on my Getty penpal buddy Douglas J. Bieker I came across this page posted by someone else who seems a little irritated with Mr. Bieker. This makes me feel better as I did not want to think I was unfairly singling him out  

http://www.appleseedcommunications.com/pages/publicrelations.html

nice find, but I must say the author of this page was way to kind!...maybe i'll do a little rooting around, see what I can come up with in regards to Mr Bieker

[Matthew Chan]

It turns out whoever posted that page is correct.  It was eventually picked up by Google and indexed on Mr. Bieker's name no less! LOL.

[Greg Troy (KeepFighting)]

Yeah, that's how I found it

It turns out whoever posted that page is correct.  It was eventually picked up by Google and indexed on Mr. Bieker's name no less! LOL.

[stinger]

I agree with BuddhaPi - the author was being much too kind!  These guys know the flaws in what they are doing.  They also know that revenue in is a function of # of letters sent out.  They just want to maximize letters.  And I'll bet they don't refund any money if someone sends them a check and then asks for their money back because they did not violate any licensing issues.

[SoylentGreen]

I personally have never seen a distinction between a "demo page" and "an actual website" in copyright law.
I guess that one could say that "damages" were minimal due to the non-commercial nature of a "demo page".
Correct me if I'm wrong.

But, yeah, Getty lies and tries to steal from people.

S.G.

[Greg Troy (KeepFighting)]

I just received my first response from the complaint letters I sent out, it was from the BBB in Washington State.  They have accepted the complaint and sent the complaint to Lisa Willmer at Getty for response.  I have an access code to log into the Washington BBB site to check on the progress.  I will check daily for updates and keep everyone posted if anything changes.

I also checked on the Getty site and my case still say that it is not available for online payment.

[Mulligan]

Not surprisingly, Getty Images in Seattle, Washington, is not Better Business Bureau accredited. Here's a link to the Seattle BBB page on Getty:

http://www.bbb.org/western-washington/business-reviews/photographs-stock/getty-images-in-seattle-wa-37000916

I found interesting the following comment by the BBB on the above page:

BBB has received a pattern of complaints from consumers alleging Getty Images Inc accuses them of copyright infringement. Consumers claim they were not aware of the copyrights of the digital images they used on their Web sites. Consumers further allege after they remove the images from their Web sites, the company continues to demand money and/or threatens legal action.

[Greg Troy (KeepFighting)]

I had seen that and thanks for sharing the link, in my complaint besides demanding release of claim I also said that I thought the C rating was a bit on the high side for a company with that many complaints and that should be reviewed as well.

[Moe Hacken]

You're right, Greg. It seems they should do worse, although a C is a very low rating by BBB standards.

What's even more shocking is that Hawaiian Art Network has an A+ according to the BBB in Hawaii:

http://www.bbb.org/hawaii/business-reviews/art-galleries-dealers-and-consultants/hawaiian-art-network-in-honolulu-hi-27000881

Here's why the BBB says HAN deserves such a sparkling grade:

Reason for Rating
BBB rating is based on 16 factors. Get the details about the factors considered.

Factors that raised Hawaiian Art Network LLC's rating include:

Length of time business has been operating.
No complaints filed with BBB.
BBB has sufficient background information on this business.

In other words, this may be because their paying victims sign nondisclosure agreements and the victims who are free to do so are not complaining to the BBB.

Those who have received a HAN letter, this is your golden opportunity to strike back at them: Their fresh record is waiting to be filled with your complaints! Don't forget to tell the BBB all about the mysterious baitpaper epidemic on the internet!