Extortion Letter - Please Help!

[bbdhong]

I received an image copyright extortion email from a lawyer representing a photographer living in Germany, stating that I violated copyright law by using on my small business website. I was freaked out same as others but fortunately found this site.

They are demanding $2,000 for settlement.

1. There are several misspelling and I was surprised as it is a legal document. It’s not important though the fact that I may violate the copyright law unintentionally. Even more shocking, the evidence image they attached and the bottom description says that the owner is someone else, a different photographer who has several dozens of copyright registration for his images. I think this might be a minor mistake when they copy and paste from template document.

2.  The image they alleged that I used without proper license, is registered in US copyright office and the effective date is on March 2017. I can find this from US copyright office website and it is really registered. However, this is the only image file he registered under his name and cannot find whether the registered image is the one I used or not.

3. The calculated license fee screenshot for 5 years in accordance with 17 U.S.C. $504. I have no idea how they calculated but it looks like doesn’t matter.

After hours of research, here is what I found.

1. The image file can be easily replaced by many similar images and sold in istockphoto, Getty sites from $10 to $50 as usual.

2. The photographer registered only one image file but I cannot find whether this image is the one I allegedly infringed. When I searched his website and internet intensively, he is not a very active photographer and I can find only around 130 images his name on it. Also, he has about 30 images with RF in Getty website.

Questions and help from experts or experienced people.

1. What should I do? Do I better send a response letter acknowledging unintentional copyright violation and try to negotiate fee? If so, how much is going to be the proper value I should offer and pay to them?

2. The image is registered on March 2017 and they are claiming I violated the copyright law over 5 years, Are they going to be protected by copyright law for statuary damages and lawyer fee, even if I allegedly infringed the law before they register in US copyright office? 

3. If I ignore their claim or refuse to pay their ridiculous license and research fee, what is going to be odds I get sued by them? If it develops to an actual case, what damages am I going to have? Such as estimated actual damage I have to pay, court fee, and possibly lawyer fee. Like I mentioned, I never heard that German photographer name and seems not famous (checked his website and looks not fancy nor modern), wondering who is going to pay for those fees for such photos. Of course, this is only my opinion though.

Thank you for reading this long story but I am frustrated and desperate. I would really appreciate any help or comments.

[kcet]

I am very new to dealing with these issues but I know this stuff can be very scary so, I wanted to give you a quick response until others can chime in.

Regarding your questions...
1. That's up to you. I wouldn't rush into any decision and would instead take some time to go through the archives of this forum to read how others have handled similar situations. Some of the details you've shared don't matter and some do. It's in your best interest to educate yourself before deciding on what you want to do. 

2. I think this is a key point and I believe that they can not go after you for statutory damages because of when you first used the image and when the photographer copyrighted it. I am still new to this but that is my understanding.

3. I doubt they will come after you but there's no guarantee. See #1.

Best of luck!