Anybody else recieved a letter from Getty Images claiming that you have used copywrited images on our site. A friend of mine who runs a small ecommerce site has been hit with a £8,500 bill. Is this legit - they sent a screen shot but how can they prove they own the copyright. The site was put together by another mate while at university and claims the images were taken from a free CD. The images used were small thumbnails and the background to a 230 by 60 banner. Could this be a scam. If not any advice.
I think far too many people just take images without verifying the source or copyright liability, you see $cheap packages on websites of 1000's of images all the time. That CD may have had free clipart/images for personal use but not for commercial use, ie on an ecommerce website.
It's not a scam and your friend is screwed. Unless he can pull out the original CD with the image license on it it'll be cheaper for him just to pay up.
£8000 seems a lot for 7 images - would it be better to offer to buy a non exclusive license from getty. I have read that this tactic is more about marketing than cracking down on small businesses. The danger is that by doing this he implies admission of liability. Thoughts?
I don't know how vigorously Getty would persue such a thing, most likely about making the point, I'd remove them for now and look to replace them with something that is legal and hope to hear no more on the matter.
Getty usually takes this type of action on their "managed rights" images - which means they license a website page to use an image for a set period of time - so they know exactly who can legally use the image and who can't. It is a site owners legal responsibility to have a release for every image they use. Saying you got it off a CD, or purchased it from someone who said it was alright to use, isn't going to get them off the hook - if they really didn't have the rights. They may be able to turn around and sue the person who they got the images from, but they are still responsible to the copyright holder. Who knows if Getty will actually pursue the matter in court (they will likely turn it over to a collection agency) but usage fees of several thousand per image are not that uncommon for managed rights photos. Always make sure you know where a photo came from.
Getty has been doing this for a long time. We had a client that did this. They wanted $1,200 it seems for the image and I think he settled for $800.
As a photographer, I applaud Getty for defending the rights of their photographers in such a way. The proof lies on you. If you can prove that you are legally usingthe images then demand an apolgy from them, but when you can't pay the bill or get dragged thru the courts where they will win and not only will you be up for the cost of the rights of the photo's but also their legal costs. This should be a little lesson for everyone who buys a website - make sure that you get documentary evidence that you have the right to use any images on the site.
I agree with RRWH. There are so many new web designers out there that feel everything is free game, and they will never get caught. This is an instance where you got caught unless you can prove you have a right to use the images.
I received the same letter yesterday and that I need to settle $2400 for 2 small images that my designer downloaded from their site 6yrs ago. Sounds like Getty has really been nailing people in the UK. I am in the U.S.
I believe that you should pay copyright fees, but at the same time Getty is price gouging little people like me who if I knew these small little photos were worth $1200 ea. I sure would not have selected them. Besides they led my designer and I to believe they were free. These are mafia techniques to suck people dry, just like what the RIAA is doing to webcasters.
Why pay it? Yes, you are in the wrong by using their copyrighted material, but let them pursue you for damages if they choose to do so. Too often, people give up when pressured by large companies. Hold on tight, and call their bluff. Don't desperately try to find the money to pay them.