Copyright Issues: Photographer POV

Lisa Willmer, Corporate Counsel at Getty Images discusses the importance of protecting photographers' work with photographers Catherine Ledner and Garron Nicholls.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• copyright
• Getty Images
• Lisa Willmer
• Catherine Ledner
• Garron Nicholls
• intellectual property
• photographer
• photography.

[hsuwito]

It's a scam, they demand big penalty payment years later where you no longer have any proof of legitimate use of the image. All you can do is to negotiate down with this scumbag.

[grumpystiltskin04]

According to the law innocent infringement, which is what most infringing cases are found guilty of, is a fine of no less than $200. No judge will fine someone the max of $70K when a billion $ corp goes after tiny businesses or individuals trying to survive just above poverty line. Poor photographers... it's a cost of posting your images online - just like music, people will share and the industry will lose income. Find new ways to sell your product. It's business evolution. Or get a real job!

[grumpystiltskin04]

Total scam! I got a generic letter from them asking for $2500 for the use of 2 images that my designer used and they are coming after me?! I had the images removed and they still want the money. When you go on their site, the cost of the image is $45 (still more than what I would ever pay) and they somehow calculate $2500 for loses to the photographer and the time Getty had to spend searching for the image? Ridiculous. I can't wait for a civil lawsuit to go after them for legalized extortion!

[mjansick]

I find this situation deplorable as it amounts to little more than legalized extortion. As the designer for my client, I acknowledged the error and removed the content as soon as I was made aware of the error. It is disconcerting that Getty would systematically extort the very individuals they rely on to utilize their services, as I myself have done for years.

[mbutier]

I've had the same experience with Getty. I stopped using them several years ago because of this scam. Even after spending a lot of money to use their images, they still come after you years later. They appear to wait a few years so they can collect a substantial amount of money.

[zonker720]

This is a complete scam. Getty has release plenty of images that are not marked as copyright, and now they are tracking those down. Even though we paid good money to another supplier for the images we used, they are still coming after us. Unfortunately the Getty Images legal team has enough money behind them that us smaller guys stand little chance. The best way to resolve this is to avoid spending any money on Getty websites and wait until they go under. BOYCOTT GETTY IMAGES!!!!

[peggywillett]

@Delveinformation1 : Our use terms and license requirements are on every page of our website, but we understand that many new image users are coming into thd digital space, so we are making Info like this video and a copyright 101 referenced at the end, to help everyone understand how to license images and why one must do so. If your designers do not know this, please share these resources with them so they can protect you and other clients. Best, Peg at Getty Images

[Delveinformation1]

EVEN though we had a third party design company design the website, they DO NOT initially clearly state that the images are copyrighted!! They appear to flood the internet with what appear to be public domain images and then go after you for money AFTER the fact.