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From: Copyright Compliance [mailto:Copvright.Compliance@gettyimages.com] Sent: Tuesday, July 31, 2012 4:01 PM To: ATG MI Bellingham CRC Subject: re: Gregory Troy, Your File Number: 413058
605 Fifth Avenue South, Suite 400, Seattle, Washington 98104 Tel 206 925 5000 Fax 206 925 5001 www. Rettyimages .com
July 31, 2012 Via e-mail to BelCRC@atg.wa.gov and Fax to (360) 73 8-6190
Taylor N. Bolin Complaint Analyst Attorney General of Washington Consumer Protection Division 103 East Holly Street, Suite 308 Bellingham, WA 98225-4310 Tel: (360) 738-6187
Re: Gregory Troy for Yeah We Can Do That Your File Number: 413058 Our Case Number: 1182895 Dear Mr. Bolin: We are in receipt of the complaint filed by Gregory Troy for Yeah We Can Do That that you forwarded to us on July 27, 2012. We appreciate the opportunity to respond to Mr. Troy's concerns. By way of introduction, Getty Images is the leading creator and distributor of still and moving images. More than 4,000 images per day are licensed on our website, www.gettyimages.com,. which features wholly-owned content (i.e., images to which we own the copyright), as well as
exclusively licensed content (i.e., third-party contributor images which are licensed exclusively through us). Customers such as graphic designers, advertising agencies, and publishers license our imagery for a variety of purposes, including but not limited to print advertising, billboards, newspaper and magazine articles, brochures and websites. Our license information is clearly available from each page of our website, and we do not permit the use of our imagery without a license. Notwithstanding the license requirement, like other digital media companies, Getty Images does fall victim to individuals pirating its intellectual property. To combat this, Getty Images uses both employees and digital image recognition software to locate entities that have used Getty Images' imagery without paying a license fee. One such individual recently identified as having used unlicensed imagery from our collections is Yeah, We Do That ("YWDT"). On March 29, 2012, we sent YWDT a letter with notification that we had found unauthorized use of one of our images on the website, www.yeahwedothat.biz. The image is part of Getty Images' Rights-Managed "Stone" collection, #10094294 (the "Image"), and can be found on our web site at http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/10094294. We informed YWDT that use of the Image without a license constitutes copyright infringement, and that it must either (i) provide evidence that a license was issued, or (ii) pay a fee for use of the Image. In this instance, the fee was $8750.00, and we provided an invoice in that amount, which featured a thumbnail of the Image and its image number, along with a "screenshot" of the Image on the YWDT website. The amount invoiced is in line with what typically would be charged for a license of the Image under these circumstances. Mr. Troy states that the Images were presented as "free" in an internet search. However, the Images are available for licensing exclusively through Getty Images and are not legitimately available from any other source. The ability to view content via Google, Yahoo or other internet searches does not mean that the image is not subject to copyright protection. Nor does it mean that permission to use content has been granted. An internet search merely provides responses to the query entered. Indeed, most search engines warn that the content displayed within the search results may be subject to copyright. The image is legitimately available only through Getty Images and as mentioned above, we have not issued any licenses which would allow for commercial web redistribution of the Image. Mr. Troy questions the copyright status of the Images. As we explained to him, copyright exists the moment a work, including a photograph, is created. Watermarks or notices of copyright are not a requirement for copyright protection. Mr. Troy also requests proof that Getty Images owns the Image. While confidentiality provisions prevent us from providing copies of our agreements with our photographers, we explained that we are the exclusive licensor of the Image, with the responsibility to protect our represented photographer's intellectual property from unauthorized use. We would be glad to provide an affidavit to that effect. Mr. Troy states that he has removed the Image from the YWDT website. While -we appreciate the removal, the Image is protected by copyright, and was previously displayed on that website.
Copyright law holds responsible anyone who publicly displays an image without authorization of the copyright holder. The use of the Image without a license constitutes copyright infringement, for which we are entitled to seek damages. At this time, Mr. Troy has not raised any valid defenses. Regardless, we plan to continue working with his attorney to reach an amicable resolution to this matter. Getty Images has acted appropriately and in good faith in pursuing the unauthorized use of our intellectual property. Should you require any additional information about this matter, please do not hesitate to contact us. Regards, Getty Images - Copyright Compliance