Letter from LCS / Minden

[rubiryan]

I am a small time niche market web designer. I built a site for a client and had used a picture that I found on a wall paper site, with a different watermark than Minden. There was a large number of other sites using the image as free wallpapers. I cropped the image, overlayed a type of border and some text over the picture and used it as a button. They sent my client a letter demanding $697 for this picture. The picture was up for just under 6 months and has since been removed. The time stamp of their "proof of use" was from June. He just received the letter now, so I am assuming they used the way back machine to find the earliest it was used. The site is hosted on my server as well.

I won't let my client pay the fee, as it was my fault. I read through all the crap they send and there is a part that says they will not reach out to 3rd parties, but we can reach out to them. I'm just not sure if myself and my client should just ignore it? If I should take over and try and settle with them? His physical address is not on his website or whois so I'm assuming it would take some work for them to find his real mailing address.

Should I try and settle for a realistic price? It's an image of a wild turkey which I could have gotten just about anywhere for a few bucks at most.

I'm so stressed over this. Thanks.

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

as they stated, they won't deal with you, they'll pursue the domain owner...chances are good they would not file over a single image..study up and get educated on these forums, before making a decision on how to move forward..

[rubiryan]

I also want to note, they provided a Copyright number. I checked it through the gov site and it was legit. They actually provided a link in the original email, which went to a page that had a PDF of the signed document by the photographer.

[rubiryan]

as they stated, they won't deal with you, they'll pursue the domain owner...chances are good they would not file over a single image..study up and get educated on these forums, before making a decision on how to move forward..

The document said I can reach out to them and handle it. Just not the other way around. I'm assuming because A. If Getty pisses off web designers, they will stop using their overpriced images. And B. Most web companies have attorneys. Most site owners don't.

I have been reading this site for the past 4 hours. I see that a lot, to "study up", but I guess I'm just not certain what it is I am actually looking for to study.  I have seen I can pay Oscar $200 and he will handle it. Has anyone ignored them and it just went away?

[stinger]

My take on your situation is this.  Of course they will let you settle on behalf of the site owner.  That means they win.  It also means they can hold out for a little more because their fallback position is to go after the site owner.  They will not approach you because even though you consider yourself responsible, the law only lets them go after the site owner.  (Note, I am not a lawyer).

A corollary is that once you come out and let them know that you have a conscience and want to make this right for the site owner, they know they have their hooks into you.  My suggestion is that if you do contact them, expect to ante up something close to their asking price to settle.  If you can make them believe that the site owner hired Oscar and the letter program, I'm pretty sure they can no longer contact the site owner, which should take some pressure off of you.

Lastly, there is a lot of good information on these forums.  Everything I know about this process, I learned here through first hand experience.  Don't underestimate the value this site can be to you.  Put your time in to get educated before embarking on a course of action.

[Matthew Chan]

LCS typically doesn't sue from what we have seen. You can certainly ignore it and they will continue to pursue the domain owner/client. But most clients are not able to ignore it for the 3 years they will pursue the matter.  They will be upset with YOU. Oscar's program is used by many web designers who have fallen into this trap. Unless you pay them, they will continue to pursue your client. That is the reality. You will have to babysit your client through this or you can refer them to this forum so they can get educated.

I have been reading this site for the past 4 hours. I see that a lot, to "study up", but I guess I'm just not certain what it is I am actually looking for to study.  I have seen I can pay Oscar $200 and he will handle it. Has anyone ignored them and it just went away?