Class action suit filed against “Getty Images Master Delegate” in Israel.

[stinger]

I nominate Ian (Scraggy) for instant "Hero" status on this ELI forum.  Is that possible Matt?

Ian, you have made my week.  If you have any tips for how we can get a U.S. class action suit against Getty started, I am all ears.  And I am willing to devote a significant number of hours to helping such a thing along.

[rock]

Ian, WELL DONE !!!

The Getty letter posted on scribd is dated November 16. 2010.
Do you have a copy of the original contract between Getty and  Marot, the contract that Getty is referring to in this letter.
can we have a look at it.

[scraggy]

I wish! You are referring to " pursuant to a written contract" . No one has yet to see a the contents of this contract.
Ian

[rock]

what is Marek Wystepek  official position, and in which Getty: Getty Images international, or Getty Images Inc

http://ie.linkedin.com/pub/marek-wystepek/6/b15/970

[Khan]

Quote:
...who believed Marot’s central claim that they owned the right to sue for copyright infringement, when in fact, under Israeli law, they do not own such a right at all..................

Regarding Ownership of the rights :

I have got a conformation of rightholdership signed by Marek Wystepek in which he states:
Hereby I confirm that the exclusive, worldwide right to license and distribute the aforementioned image (s) has / have been conferred on Getty Image (International, Dublin) by respective photographer. ....

The photo is one of the famous Stone Collection. Since there are many photos of the Stone Collection  involved in a lot of cases in the US here comes  my question:

Just in case the photo rights belongs to GI Int. Ireland: Would GI USA be able to sue one person in the USA? Should that not be GI Int.  Ireland?
If it should be GI Ireland we could have a similar case in the US regarding the right to sue?

Thank you very much

Khan

[scraggy]

MAREK WYSTEPEK has been promoted to "Director, Getty Images International", based in Ireland, according to the most recent document in my possession.
I don't know anything about the relationship between the various Getty offices.

Hereby I confirm that the exclusive, worldwide right to license and distribute the aforementioned image (s) has / have been conferred on Getty Image (International, Dublin) by respective photographer. ....

If the above is true, this is exactly why a  totally separate company such as Marot Image could not possibly own the same exclusive license.

But Khan is asking if Getty USA is the same company as Getty International? If not, then it would not be possible for both companies to own the same exclusive license.

I guess it is quite reasonable to assume that they are the same company....but I am not 100% sure about this.

In any case, the "Getty Images Contributor Agreement" is with Getty USA, and not Getty International ( see http://www.aphotoeditor.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/2011-contributor-agreement-v.4.0-d-sample-english.pdf )

Ian

[Oscar Michelen]

Great stuff Ian! This is fantastic! Please keep us posted! Wow Three exclamation points! (four)

[scraggy]

Our case got a mention on an American Law Professor's blog. I will copy the blog, and give links below. Please note the final quote -

Is America next?  A defendant class action bringing lawsuit harassment claims?

Collective Action Against Copyright Trolls

Not quite mass torts, but interesting from a complex litigation prespective anyway, so I hope our dear readers will forgive me.

This story concerns the use of the litigation system to intimidate small defendants into settling non-meritorious suits.  One of the areas where this has come up is copyright litigation.  Gideon Parchomovsky (Penn) and Alex Stein (Cardozo) recently wrote an article about this called the Relational Contingency of Rights (available on SSRN, forthcoming in the Virginia Law Review).   The basic observation is an important one: legal rights afford no meaningful protection against challengers who can
litigate more cheaply than the rightholder and who can use this advantage to  force the rightholder to give up her entitlement.

It turns out that some able litigants in Israel have taken their ideas and run with them.  Unfortunately, the only link I have describing the litigation is in hebrew (here).   Basically, an individual who refused to surrender to a pressing settlement demand filed a class action for over $10M against an Israeli company associated with a  multinational copyright giant, Getty Images. The claim for the Israeli suit, as far as I can tell, sounds in abuse of process.   Is America next?  A defendant class action bringing lawsuit harassment claims?

ADL


Link to blog
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/mass_tort_litigation/2012/06/collective-action-against-copyright-trolls.html

Link to article by Gideon Parchomovsky (Penn) and Alex Stein (Cardozo)
https://bspace.berkeley.edu/access/content/group/e675b947-6067-425e-adbf-10e8922547b9/03.%20Jan%2030_Alex%20Stein%20-%20The%20Relational%20Contingency%20of%20Rights/RCR_1_18_12.pdf


Link to news article ( in Hebrew )
http://www.themarker.com/law/1.1733718
and Google translated version
http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=iw&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.themarker.com%2Flaw%2F1.1733718

[Mulligan]

Ian, thanks for these links. Interesting reading, indeed.

[scraggy]

Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law has written a short piece on our lawsuit.

www.cardozo.yu.edu/(S(3clvkj55pdnihx55tjbmxc3x))/MemberContentDisplay.aspx?ccmd=ContentDisplay&ucmd=UserDisplay&userid=10556&contentid=24754&folderid=524

It misses the important point that Marot Images owned no rights to sue at all , but it's still pertinent to the behavior of copyright trolls in the USA.

Professors Alex Stein and Gideon Parchomovsky (Penn Law School) wrote an article “The Relational Contingency of Rights” that will soon appear in the Virginia Law Review.  This article demonstrates that legal rights afford no meaningful protection against challengers who can litigate more cheaply than the rightholder and who can use this advantage to force the rightholder to give up her entitlement.

These challengers include large companies that acquired portfolios of copyrighted photos available on the Internet. Those companies retain attorneys at a sharply discounted fee, who aggressively sue unsuspecting fair users of those photos.  These un-meritorious suits virtually never go to trial because of the high cost of defense.  The companies offer lawful users of their photos an opportunity to avoid this cost by paying the company a lesser amount in a settlement.  To put an end to this extortionary practice, Parchomovsky and Stein have proposed a number of measures that include punitive damages.

This proposal has now been taken to court in Israel.  An individual who refused to surrender to a pressing settlement demand filed a class action for over $10M against an Israeli company associated with a multinational copyright giant, Getty Images.  If successful, this action might prompt similar suits against copyright trolls across the world.

The link to the article - “The Relational Contingency of Rights” is above.

[Greg Troy (KeepFighting)]

Hey Ian, thanks for the article, I would like to read this but I think there may be a problem with the link.  When I click it I get a server error saying the resource is not found.

Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law has written a short piece on our lawsuit.

http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/%28S%283clvkj55pdnihx55tjbmxc3x%29%29/MemberContentDisplay.aspx?ccmd=ContentDisplay&ucmd=UserDisplay&userid=10556&contentid=24754&folderid=524

It misses the important point that Marot Images owned no rights to sue at all , but it's still pertinent to the behavior of copyright trolls in the USA.

Professors Alex Stein and Gideon Parchomovsky (Penn Law School) wrote an article “The Relational Contingency of Rights” that will soon appear in the Virginia Law Review.  This article demonstrates that legal rights afford no meaningful protection against challengers who can litigate more cheaply than the rightholder and who can use this advantage to force the rightholder to give up her entitlement.

These challengers include large companies that acquired portfolios of copyrighted photos available on the Internet. Those companies retain attorneys at a sharply discounted fee, who aggressively sue unsuspecting fair users of those photos.  These un-meritorious suits virtually never go to trial because of the high cost of defense.  The companies offer lawful users of their photos an opportunity to avoid this cost by paying the company a lesser amount in a settlement.  To put an end to this extortionary practice, Parchomovsky and Stein have proposed a number of measures that include punitive damages.

This proposal has now been taken to court in Israel.  An individual who refused to surrender to a pressing settlement demand filed a class action for over $10M against an Israeli company associated with a multinational copyright giant, Getty Images.  If successful, this action might prompt similar suits against copyright trolls across the world.

The link to the article - “The Relational Contingency of Rights” is above.

[scraggy]

TRY THIS LINK

www.cardozo.yu.edu/(S(3clvkj55pdnihx55tjbmxc3x))/MemberContentDisplay.aspx?ccmd=ContentDisplay&ucmd=UserDisplay&userid=10556&contentid=24754&folderid=524

Ian

[stinger]

Scraggy, the more publicity this lawsuit gets, the more sweet music I keep hearing.  And I particularly love the last sentence.  "If successful, this action might prompt similar suits against copyright trolls across the world."

[Moe Hacken]

Totally, stinger, it's great news to see a precedent is being set to pave the way for local action. I just posted a comment on another thread responding to your idea about fundraising with some brainstormy suggestions:

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/getty-images-letter-forum/carreon's-butthurt-proves-to-be-too-much-as-he-drops-suit/msg9589/#msg9589

Ian, you ROCK! Thanks for all of what you're doing.

[Moe Hacken]

I'd like to add:

Thanks, Matthew and Oscar, for all of what you're doing and for all of what you have done over the years to help others. I'm personally in your debt for your efforts to put together this invaluable resource and for sharing your core competences with this community.

Also, to the ELI community at large. Specifically and in no particular order: Buddhapi, SoylentGreen, mcfilms, lucia, and so many others I won't list them for fear of leaving someone out. You have also contributed an immense amount to this community.

All hail ELI, those who are willing to fight back salute you!