Complaint Category: Improper collection practices

Complaint 02/06/2014: Getty Images sent us an Unauthorized Use Notification with an unethical Settlement Demand with language of coercion in the amount of $875.00 USD due upon receipt (Case# XXXXXXX) about the supposed use of an image (Getty Catalog #XXXXXXXXX) on a secondary page of a website called http://www.*********.com/ for which we don't claim ownership, nor any right or benefit to, and for which we reject all responsibility and obligation as we have no interest in this website and we don't maintain that website. Upon further investigation the pertaining website links to a hosting service and no such image was found on this website. Furthermore, based on our research it appears that this image as well as thousands of other images were/are placed into free circulation by Getty Images in order to trap unknowing consumers to use/download such images and then to send out their Unauthorized Use Notification with a Settlement Demand to intimidate such consumers and to pressure payment from such consumers. Pertaining the image that Getty Images noted in our instance, it was not for sale on the gettyimages.com website, and therefore this supports our observation of the unethical business practices of Getty Images as noted above. Also based on our investigation, Getty Images does not own the copyright to the pertaining image. As noted, ****** *********** does not maintain, own, etc. the pertaining website nor does it claim to do so. Based on our research the pertaining website has virtually no or only minimal traffic which confirms the practice of extreme price gouging by Getty Images. ****** *********** does not use unauthorized/unlicensed images and does not have the image in question on its website(s) and/or even on its computer system anywhere. ****** *********** has its own database of its own created images to which it owns the distribution rights and it does not need to use images from other parties for it publication content.

Initial Business Response We are in receipt of the complaint regarding the referenced matter that you

forwarded to us recently. By way of introduction, Getty Images is a leading creator and distributor of digital content, including still and moving images. We license thousands of images each day on our website, www.gettyimages.com. 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. We recently identified the Complainant as having used unlicensed imagery from our collections. We sent the Complainant a letter with notification that we had found use of our imagery on their website; that we had been unable to locate a license for such use; that use of the imagery without a license constitutes copyright infringement; and that the Complainant must either: (i) provide evidence that a license was issued, or (ii) pay a fee for use of the imagery. We included an internal case reference number and provided proof of use, showing our image and associated data, along with a screenshot of the image in use on the Complainant's website. We also asked the Complainant to contact us immediately if they believe they received our letter in error. The unauthorized use fee is in line with what we would typically charge for a license under these circumstances. Even if the Complainant has removed our imagery from their website, removal alone does not resolve this matter. Our imagery is protected by copyright. Getty Images either owns or is the exclusive licensor for the image(s) at issue. Copyright law holds responsible anyone who copies or publicly displays an image without authorization of the copyright holder. Copyright infringement is based on strict liability, meaning that the act itself establishes liability and no intent is required.

Thus far the Complainant has failed to produce a valid license or raise any valid defense to copyright infringement. The Complainant's use of our imagery without a license constitutes copyright infringement, for which we are entitled to seek damages. Please note that we are not alleging that the Complainant owes a debt; we are alleging that the Complainant used intellectual property without authorization and therefore is liable for damages. We are simply asking the Complainant to pay for the imagery that the Complainant used and the damage caused by not licensing the imagery in the first place. We understand that copyright law can be confusing; however, the campaign to file complaints against us is misguided and misdirected. We encourage review of the license compliance information provided on our web site at: http://company.gettyimages.com/license-compliance/. Getty Images has acted appropriately and in good faith, and we are well within our legal rights to seek damages for unauthorized use of our images. Should you require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us. We remain hopeful of reaching an amicable resolution to this matter. Regards, Getty Images - Copyright Compliance

Final Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) We have provided Getty Images with extensive information including screenshots that first of all we have nothing to do with the supposed website which in fact is an expired URL. Getty Images demanded an investigation and that's what we did and we used our resources including legal counsel, etc. So far Getty Images has not paid our bill due (now past due) for their demanded investigation in the matter.

Again, the pertaining website of a supposed image that Getty Images claims to own the copyright to is an expired URL. Even before expiration going back some 10 years that pertaining website was not even an active website and had virtually no and/or actually had no traffic, ... and it had various owners and various generic content from whatever websites, based on the history going back many years on that website and nothing over the past several years at all. So Complainant is not responsible for the content of this website nor does it claim ownership or any benefit for/from the pertaining website and we've explained that to Getty Images with screenshots and other evidence extensively. Now the IMAGE in question for which Getty Images claims Copyright Infringement: (1) Our investigation shows evidence that Getty Images does not own the copyright to this image; (2) The pertaining image has in a simple image search nearly 1 million returns/hits within 0.67 seconds. It's a generic image, very popular on tens of thousands of websites of which thousands of websites claim Copyright ownership to this image as well tens of thousands of websites offer free downloads and claims of public domain, etc., etc. for this image. So even if we or anyone would have utilized this particular image with nearly 1 million returns/hits within 0.67 seconds in the image search, any Copyright Infringement claim is absolutely without merit. Furthermore it is questionable if Getty Images even has a rights contract with the supposed copyright owner to represent that copyright owner as Getty Images does not sell, license, etc. this image on their website other than via supposed approval by the supposed copyright owner, .... meaning Getty Images is simply a image harvester in hopes to find popular images on the internet and in further hopes to find a copyright owner in order to perpetrate their extortion attempt and fraud to send out their fraudulent Settlement Demand Letters in hopes that people are intimidated to "settle" with Getty Images for $600-$1200 per image/letter. Pure extortion as they threaten legal action if people do not

settle/pay, etc. Imagine, they don't own anything, no copyright, and they apparently don't even represent the copyright owner and they sent out these fraudulent claims of Copyright Infringement. Based on the evidence in our investigation and in our opinion (including legal counsel's opinion), Getty Images is a fraudulent operation and even a criminal enterprise as they're involved in a malicious racket of fraud, theft, extortion, etc. around the world and they've already been found guilty many times of Copyright Infringement themselves which further supports the evidence in our investigation that Getty Images is simply an image harvester in an attempt to enrich themselves via unethical business ethics and in our opinion criminal behavior. Getty Images has not proven to us with evidence that they own the copyright to the pertaining image nor did they prove that they represent the legitimate copyright owner. In their Settlement Demand letter they are more concerned that people will settle their claim/settlement demand as quickly as possible instead of providing any legitimate evidence of copyright ownership or copyright representation. "Damages" in a copyright infringement case as to the pertaining image and supposed "use": Zero and at best 25 Cents which is the common charge for use of an image in the website environment/business that Getty Images claims a "copyright infringement" took place, which it didn't. Getty Images wants to charge initially $900-$1200 per image in their claim, $875 in this particular case and in hopes someone will settle without many questions at approx. $600 or so. It's Getty Image's racket and that's how they now try to make money as their traditional business model is failing rapidly due to the fact that billions of images are uploaded free of charge by rightful copyright owners for free use on the Internet, etc. on a daily bases. And Getty Images can't cope with that as its traditional image licensing model is failing and it is resorting to fraudulent activities. Getty Images is not a reputable company as it has one of the highest complaint rates from consumers of any U.S. company, ... and for good reason, ... just as partially explained in these notes here.

In the above example, that one image alone would be valued at approx. $850 million and would value Getty Images at many hundreds of thousands of TRILLONS of dollars based on their claimed images they have in their "catalog" for licensing, sale, etc., which again is evidence of their perpetrated fraud. In a 2010 acquisition of Getty Images the buyer valued the company at $3.3-$3.4 billion which equates to approx. $42 per image of lifetime earnings/income potential based on the traditional licensing model which is now failing and this means for one-time users the fee is usually $0.25 for popular images like they claim to have a copyright to as it has nearly 1 million uses and it's a generic image of which by the way we have thousands of our own images to which we own the actual copyright and our images are far superior to that claimed image of Getty Images. Not so popular images may command a fee of perhaps $25 per image at best. So the best thing for consumers is to file complaints with the pertaining BBB as well as with the WA Attorney General's office and their AG in their home state, as well as forward the pertaining information to the offices of the FBI in Washington DC and FTC so that they can finally investigate Getty Images' unethical and in our opinion fraudulent business practices. Again, we've provided Getty Images with a lot of evidence regarding their frivolous and fraudulent claim that it is without merit. And so far, the amount Getty Images now owes us for part of our investigation has not been paid by Getty Images as of today. Any other reputable company would pay their bills on time. Even if Getty Images would have any claim to represent the copyright owner on this image, they sure demonstrate in this case their inability to protect any image as it has nearly 1 million uses and with all the claims of copyright ownership by other supposed copyright owners as well as tens of thousands of free download sites as well as broad distribution of this image as a public domain image for free use virtually everywhere on the Internet across the globe from Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc, etc, etc, to tens of thousands of large and small company websites with all kinds of use. We would never want this type of image on any of our authorized websites our authorized official websites represent high-quality

product/images that are unique. We would have no use on any of our authorized websites for that particular image, ... it would be an embarrassment to our business model. And our evidence is on top of the fact that we don't own that pertaining website and that we have nothing to do with it as it is an expired URL and it was already linking to a generic website last year and to various generic content from wherever and from whoever through many years before. It's the most ridiculous claim anyone can ever make on anything. But we understand it now based on the evidence from our extensive investigation (of a few thousand pages) that Getty Images does what it does due to their unethical business model of finding popular images in order to harass unsuspecting consumers wherever they can in the hope that they can extort money via their frivolous and fraudulent Settlement Demand letters. And that's the reality behind Getty Images and hopefully a federal investigation will shut them down soon. Also, according to our knowledge, numerous law firms are collecting evidence and are seeking victims of the ***** Images scam, etc. to put class actions forward against Getty Images. For us we just want Getty Images to send us an apology, retract their settlement demand and pay our bill for at least the partial investigation which is only a fraction of the actual cost of our full investigation.

Final Business Response We have received the above Complainant's response to our previous letter summarizing Getty Images' claim for copyright infringement. We note that the Complainant has not addressed the legal issue of having displayed our imagery without authorization. We have provided screenshots and links showing proof of infringement. We have recently also provided the complainant additional and comprehensive

details addressing their comments and representations regarding the matter, to which we are not aware of having receiving a response, nor has the complainant contacted us directly at any time to address the fact that our represented photographer's work was displayed without appropriate permission. Should the BBB require any additional information about this matter, please do not hesitate to contact us. Sincerely, Getty Images - Copyright Compliance

Complaint Resolution: The parties could not provide sufficient information to support their positions nor were they agreeable to make reasonable efforts toward resolving the issues of the dispute. - See more at: http://www.bbb.org/western-washington/businessreviews/photographs-stock/getty-images-in-seattle-wa37000916/complaints#breakdown