I don't think Getty have a case against me. How do I get them off my back?

[cptKernow]

As a published photographer who strongly believes in the right to protect one's copyright I was a little surprised to be on the wrong end of a Getty letter.
I know enough about copyright law to not knowingly infringe, even accidentally.

So, the first I heard about Getty's complaint was from Atradius. It seems all the letters Getty sent went to an old address - personally I would only send this kind of letter signed for...

Anyway, it turns out the image in question is from a hotel booking website I worked with. They supply details and images off the hotels which are advertised on my (now defunct) website. There are thousands of hotels and many more images so obviously I didn't check them. However, I realise that this still possibly constitutes a technical copyright infringement.
BUT, my objection is the images were never actually on my server, they were just linked from the hotel company using inline <img> tags. Now according to a recent EU court case (BestWater International GmbH v Michael Mebes and Stefan Potsch) "framing" an image in such a manner does not constitute an infringement.

So, I want to call Getty out. Tell them if they think they have a case, sue me. Otherwise take a running jump. I'd also like to know where I stand in terms of harassment if they do not desist.

Any help, greatly appreciated. Thanks

[stinger]

I am not a lawyer, but there is case law out there indicating that hot linking is NOT copyright infringement.

I would make them aware of this once, in writing, return receipt requested. 

I believe Atradius is a collections agency.  I might also inform them that there is NO debt here and that they may have been mislead by their client, but let them know that you will rigorously defend your rights and good name, should they persist.

[cptKernow]

I would make them aware of this once, in writing, return receipt requested. 

I believe Atradius is a collections agency.  I might also inform them that there is NO debt here and that they may have been mislead by their client, but let them know that you will rigorously defend your rights and good name, should they persist.

Thanks for the reply. I'll do this, and may be try and resist any urges to pen it more confrontationally than necessary!

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

I would also add to that, that if they continue to harass you , you will invoice them for the any further time spent dealing with this...

[geezer123]

Interesting about the hotlinking info.....

Have getty/lcs/attrocious ever enclosed more than just a screenshot with their threatening letters?

Do they for example save a copy of the webpage code to disprove hotlinking or otherwise?