three days to reply, considering copyrightinfringement.org.uk

[jck]

Hi Guys,

Im new to this and until now I thought I am being scammed but having read all about it, I know that it is for real. Just received second letter (first one ignored completely thinking that someone is trying to pull my leg). So I came across copyrightinfringement.org.uk and am wondering if any of you used them and what the outcome was? I searched the forum but not much is being mentioned about them. 
As you might imagine I am scared as hell and not really sure what to do. My website is shut down and I no longer own the domain but still they managed to get me. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you

[Angry Welshman]

first off, welcome

secondly, who is the letter from. Getty?

You will find you shouldn't need legal representation, as these letters that get sent out are designed to scare and intimidate but actually hold very little weight.

[jck]

Hi Angry Welshman and thank you for the welcome and your reply.

Yes it is letter from Getty, sorry for not being specific its just I was literally s*itting my pants - they surely achieved the first part - I am indeed scared and feel intimidated.
I simply don't have the money to pay them and I fear that I might have used more than one of their images on my site (no way of telling really, site no longer exists). So as you might imagine I am scared as hell and don't want to reply in case they punch me with another letter. The people I mentioned in my earlier post seem confident they can make it go away but... I cant find anything that would support this. 

Thank you for your kind words of reassurance but could you expand a little bit? Why do you think I shouldn't need legal representation? Or when do you think I should in fact consider this? This forum is a great place to get  a lot of valuable information but I also learned that each case its unique and there is no one simple answer.

Is the fact that I no longer own the domain and the site doesn't exist in any way beneficial?
The company they refer to in the letter does not exist and it never did, it was just a project for my NVQ. Does this make any difference you think? 

Thank you very much

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

If the company doesn't exist, you don't own the domain, and on top of that if you have no money, you don't have much to worry about...Lets say they did decide to pick you out of 1000's of other recipient to sue, and lets say they even win ( doubtful), and if you what you say about your financial status is true, they would never get paid anyway... Another point you bring up, is that every case is different, so why would you then hire a firm, that generates a "template" letter that was not geared toward your particular situation?

[jck]

Hi Robert,

I get your point about the template letter, I haven't looked at it this way and I can see your logic (or lack of mine if you like  ) .
By saying I don't have the money I didn't mean I'm unemployed and have no penny to my name - what I meant was I would find it extremely difficult to pay the fine/bill/ransom (whatever it might be called) due to my current obligations - it is substantially different I know, none the less it would mean serious trouble.

It is a bit reassuring what you said about the domain and the company, however bloggers do not register their blogs as companies do they, yet they get letters from g***y from what I know. Are letters normally addressed to legal dpts of a particular company/domain or does g***y send them to John Smith's etc?

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

If Getty does not have a name, it's typical of them to send it to "Legal Dept"...in the hopes that someone will reply, then they will have a name to pursue...bottom line is if the company doesn't exist, they really can't sue said company. Their intent is to make you shit your pants, and act before being educated.

[jck]

I am starting to relax a little, this is really helpful thanks.
Would you suggest I ignore it completely or return the letter with a note 'addressee unknown'? 

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

whether to ignore or not is totally your decision, I don't think I would return it as address unknown, as you've already opened it, but you could return future letters as undeliverable / no such company at this address.. Some suggest ignoring all letters, I guess it depends on how long you can stomach being harassed.. Maybe some other UK users will chime in here.

[jck]

Will probably ignore them, returning it could possibly prompt 'name fishing' expedition...
Thanks very much for your comments, you've been very helpful.

[Nodge]

Hi JCK.
The subject of www.copyrightinfringement.org.uk has come up here before. A chap called Nick had some connection with them and was a regular here for a bit (nixlyn1). See this thread...

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/uk-getty-images-letter-forum/getty-in-the-uk/

I think it looked like he was going to head up the UK side of things for ELI at one point but nothing seemed to come of it and I don't think we've heard from him for a long while now. I don't know of anyone who has actually used copyrightinfringement.org.uk. I got my Getty letter in Feb 2012. I had a couple of sleepless nights and then started googling and found ELI. I replied to Getty saying that i believed the image was obtained legitimately but that I had taken it down anyway as a courtesy and felt that should be the end of it. They completely ignored my letter and sent a 2nd letter repeating their demands and threatening legal action. I replied making them a much reduced offer contingent upon them supplying proof of copyright, proof they owned the exclusive license etc. They ignored this as well and eventually I had a letter with increased demands from their solictors. I decided to ignore this one and I will ignore any further correspondence. To be honest I don't think it makes much difference if you just ignore them from the outset or if you reply to them as I did. If you do decide to reply, make it clear that you won't pay them anything unless they provide proof of copyright and proof that they have the exclusive license.

Oh, and don't worry about the 3 days to reply bit. They're just trying to panic you into paying up. Take as much time as you want to consider what you want to do.

John

[jck]

John,

Thank you for your post. I am much much calmer now, gone are the stomach problems and shaky hands
I decided to ignore all the correspondence from now on. Whatever they write, it wont bother me from inside the shredder.

[squid]

Hi
You will probably next get letters / visit from Atradius Collections. There are quite a few threads on this forum about this "debt" collection agency. Have a read and dont worry

[jck]

Hi Squid
thanks for the heads up. Getting ready for their next move.
I just hope someone will one day do something about this, raising awareness would probably be enough for starters. I would rather watch Panorama having their stab at them than strictly, BGT, Xfactor etc.

[downwithgetty]

Hey,
Have you had any updates?

[thehat]

Hi jck. What has happened since 6 Sept 13??