Gettyimage letter demanding $875 for copyright infringement.

[alfbell]

$875 claim demand for a little thumbnail image that an artist put up on our website next to his portfolio (which we immediately took down upon receiving letter from Gettyimages).

It's hard to believe that anyone (Gettyimages included) would spend money and time on attorneys in order to take us to court for the small amount of $875. And I don't think they can turn it over to a collection agency because is isn't a bill or late payment based on any agreement. And from surfing through this forum it appears that Gettyimages hasn't taken anyone to court yet.

Anyone who has been through this already... what can I expect?

What will happen if I just cease all communications and ignore this?

 

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

We've all been thru it, or are gong thru it....yes Getty images will likely not sue anyone for 1 image, it's totally your choice to ignore it, but most of us would not suggest this.

[Greg Troy (KeepFighting)]

Welcome to the forms, I suggest you spend some time reading through the different threads as there is a lot of good valuable information available here. I agree with Robert and do not recommend to ignore the letter although some members of the forum do advocate that. I decided that I was going to fight Getty myself, this is always an option but you have to be prepared for up to three years of letters and harassment is that is the statute of limitations in which Getty can take action (it is very unlikely Getty would do anything as it would cost them more than they could recover and to date they have never sued anyone over one image in the states). If you feel there is too much information contained in the forum or you just don't have the time to read through the threads you can get a support call with Matthew Chan who can give you the information you need to decide how to proceed and options available to you. The last option is if you just wanted to go away to where you do not have to deal with it you can use Oscar's defense letter program.

For more information on this start here:

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/getty-images-letter-forum/getting-help-with-your-extortion-letter/

if you are interested in fighting this yourself here is an experiment that I did with favorable results:

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/getty-images-letter-forum/an-experiment-against-getty/

[alfbell]

Thanks for all the info. I'm not going to ignore this. I will deal with them. Yet, I believe that... 1) if they don't show me valid proof of ownership, my company doesn't  even have to consider their claim... 2) they won't go legal for $875... 3) they can't sic a collection company after my company because it is not a bill or a debt, it's a claim... 4) I can put up with 3 years of calls and letters, knowing that they will then go away (plus I don't have to read the letters or take the calls).

The reason that I am being so hard about this...
I just heard back from the artist (web designer) who put this image up on my site. He told me that he never used any images from Gettyimages, or any illegal images for that matter. He's been a designer since 1980 and he keeps his nose clean and stays away from copyright infringement. He said many companies gave free low res "demos" away to web designers like him, and he probably used one of the free images and then that company and their inventory was later bought up by Gettyimages—who is now going after the designers for using the images that they were originally given for free. He said that Gettyimages has come after him 3 times, he ignored them each time, they couldn't prove anything and they went away. He has since moved to Italy so he's out of the loop now anyway. He also said that he buys images frequently and knows the market, and the image that Gettyimages wants me to pay $875 for should only cost $25! 

[Greg Troy (KeepFighting)]

You are correct in all of your points.

1) no one in their right mind would pay a bill or an invoice from anyone who would refuses to justify the invoice and show proof. The reason Getty will not show you any proof is that the vast majority of their images are not registered properly or registered at all with the copyright office which negates their collecting damages in court. The last time they tried this they sued a company called Advernet for the use of 35 images, Getty Images eventually won this case because Advernet defaulted I believe from lack of funds and just did not show up for one of the court dates. Even though Getty won by default when the judge reviewed the evidence he awarded them no monies because there was issues with every single one of the images that precluded Getty from being able to sue for damages.

2) you are correct that they have never "gone legal"over one image or at such a small amount in the states. They would have to sue you in federal district court where you live, pay a lawyer to fight with you there and since their images are not registered properly would not be able to try and collect legal fees. Getty extortion demand letters generally range between $850 and $1250 which makes them a nice chunk of change for Getty but is low enough that it would be cheaper to pay rather than to hire a lawyer in most cases. This combined with the fear tactic of the letter designed to look like there is an eminent lawsuit pending, the artificial deadline of 14 days and the threat of legal action which comes so infrequently compared to the number of letters that are sent out that you cannot distinguish the number from zero, in my opinion is why what Getty is doing is legalized extortion.

3) You are correct, while they can sic their collection agency NCS on you to try to collect, you can shut them down with one letter stating that this is a claim and not a debt you're not aware of any judgment against you in any court and you dispute this claim and are waiting for Getty to provide you with proof of claim that you reasonably requested before continuing negotiations in this matter. And end it with telling them not to contact you again and it will go right back to Getty.

4) if that is the case then all the information you need to fight this yourself is contained in the forms and the experiences of the members of the forms. After you send your letter with your reasonable request of proof of claim which Getty then denies but will continue to insist on payment I suggest you send out complaint letters to the Washington state Atty. Gen.'s office, your state's attorney general's office, the Washington state Better Business Bureau and your district Congressman and Sen., not only will having to answer these complaints be a time suck for Getty they will most likely back off and you'll never hear from them again. The last letter I received from Getty was their usual letter saying that if I did not pay them they were going to escalate this to the legal department which prompted my letter writing campaign. I have not heard a peep from Getty in six months in seriously doubt I will hear from them again.

I hope this helps and please keep us posted as to your situation and if you don't mind share copies of your letters with us.

[alfbell]

Ok, Greg. Thank you for your time, concern and input. I started the ball rolling with Gettyimages already. I will put a complete package up on this forum (of the letters, responses, etc.) at the appropriate time for the edification of all forum members to aid them in their dealings as well.

[Greg Troy (KeepFighting)]

You are very welcome and I am glad to see you are going to fight this.

Ok, Greg. Thank you for your time, concern and input. I started the ball rolling with Gettyimages already. I will put a complete package up on this forum (of the letters, responses, etc.) at the appropriate time for the edification of all forum members to aid them in their dealings as well.

[NotOnMyWatch]

Alfbell, any update on how your strategy has worked?  It sounds reasonable so I think I will be following a similar strategy.  I am also weighing just ignoring the letter.

[Mulligan]

NotOnMyWatch, you'll find the first post in this thread quite useful for getting up to steam on what to do:

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/getty-images-letter-forum/how-to-stop-gettys-employees-harassment/msg10705/