Getty Images C&D Letter w/ $1000 invoices

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I_like_cock

I_like_cock

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Jul 27, 2006
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WARNING: Getty Images C&D Letter w/ $1000 invoices

Well today I got an ole' snail mail from Getty Images legal department. Apparently, a site I owned had a small thumbnail that was a Getty image that I was unauthorized to use.

The site the image is on is like 4 years old so I have no clue or remember where the image came from. Anyways... they don't care. They told me in the letter to take the image down and send them $1000 for infringement. I get a 10% discount if I pay within 14 days. If I don't pay... collection agency then legal action...:boid:

Anyways, this is just a warning to save people headache. Supposedly, they are sending these letters out on mass scale! Andrew posted about this on a thread on site point a few months earlier. I read it then and thought nothing of it... but it hits home when it shows up in your mailbox.

If you have been copy or even PS'ing getty or photodisc images I suggest you swap them out cus some people have been getting hit for over $20K. They also don't care about the "I had some Indian guy design this excuse". They are coming after everyone hard. Even hitting mom-n-pop business who have no clue how to design a website and basically putting them out of business. They are using picscout to scan servers. They base it $1K per image. Luckily, I just had 1, 75X75 px thumbnail... :anon.sml:

What is scary about this is an affiliate network creatives could contain one of these images and if you host it... guess who is fucked!

I don't know if I'm going to pay it, have my lawyer send a response, or what yet. Still reading up and researching the whole thing.

To me it seems like major legal extortion to do this and not send just a C&D first.

How to avoid legal demands and trouble with Getty Images

90 page long thread here

Also, if you need stock images go here: stock.xchng - the leading free stock photography site

They are all free there and you'll ahve nothing to worry about.
 
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I think it's pretty sad when some shitty little business is doing so bad that they have to start suing for profits.
 
More information about this... this isn't a Kaveman-type high on princess diesel post... this is real shit:

The Getty Images Settlement Demand Letter: Reporting on the Extortion Letter Scheme

No Getty Without License -- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse Read the FAQ's they attach with your letter ex:

We pushased these images from a company we found online as part of a web template
As the end user of Getty Images's imagery, you are ultimately responsible for insuring that you have obtained the appropriate rights to use the imagery. That means that if you acquire imagery from a web template provider or other such company, you are still liable for copyright infringement if that provider or other such company did not properly license the imagery for your use.
Click to expand...
^ I imagine that effects a lot of people here... and after reading and researching this seems alot of people are getting scared then just paying up.
 
Let us know what you find out. I can't imagine them just being able to send you a bill without a C & D first.

They would lose money if even a fraction of these people took them to court.
 
Here is exactly how my letter looked:
getty-pg1.jpg

getty-pg2.jpg

getty-pg3.jpg

getty-pg4.jpg

getty-pg5.jpg

getty-pg6.jpg
 
So I'm just curious, did you not have privacy on that domain? How did they get your address?
 
Tell them that you hired some designer in India on a forum to do the site and you don't know where he got the image, but you forwarded the correspondence to him and have not heard back.

If you need a name and an e-mail, I know of one curry and armpit smelling douchebag who fucked a few people on this forum.
 
Interesting.

Most of the time I get pics from flickr, cuz most people don't give a shit if I use their pic or not (most of them being stay at home moms, students, whatever)

Even if they care, they're too lazy to sue. Ha!
 
thats f'd up, i use a ton of images on my sites, and i have no clue where they come from or if they are copyrighted.

I dont get how they can just send you a bill and demand payment.
That doesnt make sense to me, their images are all over the place.
 
Jizzlobber said:
Tell them that you hired some designer in India on a forum to do the site and you don't know where he got the image, but you forwarded the correspondence to him and have not heard back.
Click to expand...

Actually, I would say that it's best to ignore them completely. I hope you haven't already responded to their threat.
 
Unlucky man.

+1 for "ignore em" but if this dont work bs your way out.. somehow. Maybe tell 'em you sold the domain but when you transferred it your registrant details stayed the same and you'll email the new owner so that they can update their info. Then just fakenamegenerator it, or transfer to a new account under a proxy.

I don't know how domains etc work exactly in terms of transfers.. whether you can track when they were pushed to a new account, so check up on this beforehand.
 
I used to work for a hosting company and their previous web designer had put one of getty's stock images up unknowingly and they got served the same C&D letter. After having their lawyers look everything over, they ended up still having to pay the amount getty was demanding.

Soooo, for all you disgruntled web designers working for that company you hate and are getting ready to leave...:action-smiley-027:
 
what a fucking scam they have going on.

just to be on the safe side, i always use istock photo ... $1 an image isn't too bad.
 
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