Catalyst Complaint Cover Page

428158

Complaint
Number 428158 Date 3/26/2013 Status Assignee Actual Savings Amount Disputed Estimated Savings Closed Offril, Wency V $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Location Seattle - Lemon Law (Motor Veh. Arbitration) NAICS 541920-Photographic Services

Complainant
Name Jack F Sarro 198 Columbia Rd Hanover, MA 02339 Phone Day (781) 829-9300 Phone Evening Email (781) 829-9300 sarrochiropractic@verizon. net

Respondent(s)
Name Getty Images 605 5th Ave S Ste 400 Seattle, WA 98104 Contact Phone (206) 925-6753 Toll Free Email copyright.complian ce@gettyimages.co m

Referral(s)
Name Contact Phone Contact Phone Email

Practice(s)
Code 100 640 Practice Misrepresentation of Terms Fees

Activities
Date Added 3/27/2013 3/27/2013 3/28/2013 Activity Type Email to Complainant Email to Respondent Email from Complainant Activity C 1st Letter to Complainant To: sarrochiropractic@verizon.net R 1st Letter to Respondent To: copyright.compliance@gettyimages.com

428158

1 of 2

Date Added 3/28/2013 3/28/2013 3/28/2013

Activity Type Email from Respondent Email to Complainant Resolution-UNADJUSTED

Activity

Csup Closing Unadjusted (C-UNJ) To: sarrochiropractic@verizon.net

428158

2 of 2

Catalyst Report
Complaint Description
Description RE: Getty Images Extortion Letter Getty Case # 1299463 Getty Images 605 5th Ave S, Suite 400 Seattle, WA 98104 USA Tel 1-800-972-4170 Fax 206-925-5001 To whom it may concern: My name is Dr. Jack Sarro, I am a small business owner in Hanover, Massachuesttes with one part time employee. I do business as Sarro Chiropractic Center. I am writing this letter to formally file complaint and concern, and call for an investigation into Getty Images. This is over what I consider to be a troubling extortion letter that I received from Getty Images of 605 th Ave S, Suite 400, Seattle Washington. The letter was sent to me in regards to the alleged use of a copyrighted image on my website www.sarrobackandneck.com. The alleged image was of a woman holding her back with her hands. I received the letter on February 4, 2013. I want to bring this matter to your attention as per my internet searches; it appears that thousands of people are receiving these extortion letters from companies like Getty Images on a regular basis. The term used to describe these threatening, harassing, and intimidating letters, which make demands for exorbitant amounts of money from individuals and small business owners, is "Copyright Trolling". An internet search of Getty Scam or Getty Images Scam produces approximately 1,000,000 to 4,000,000 hits on Google and Yahoo. Copyright trolling by stock photo companies generally involves a major corporation like Getty Images using internet robots such as PicScout to crawl internet blogs and websites looking for images that the company claims to have exclusive copyright ownership over. The robot and Getty make no allowances for the fact that most of these images are all over the "free public domain" of the internet while bearing no identifying logo, watermark, or identifying information that would alert a viewer of copyright. Once an image is potentially identified by PicScout, a series of intimidating unreasonable money demand letters are automatically sent to the website or blog owner. These letters are threatening in nature. They are of the appearance that they are legal documents, as though a suit has already been filed against the recipient. The owner of the website is accused of copyright infringement, and further legal action is threatened if an unreasonable fee is not paid within 14 days for the use of the alleged image. The fees demanded typically range from $800.00 to several thousand dollars for the alleged innocent infringement of a single image that would similarly cost anywhere from $2.00 -$25.00 to license. I use the term innocent infringement because the people receiving these demand letters generally are not knowingly infringing on someone else's property. With the complexities of the internet and Google these days, it is very difficult to identify a truly copyrighted image or photo if a water mark copyright logo is not present. Most people I have found that receive these letters had thought that the image in question was of the "free public domain". That is certainly the case in my circumstance, if in fact the alleged image in question is truly actually copyrighted. I would never knowingly commit copyright infringement. A reasonable response from a company who feels they have identified such a innocent infringement would be simply asking the website owner to cease and desist and or pay the standard fee for the use of a similar image. The letter I received from Getty Images dated January 29, 2013 is unreasonable and of an extortion nature. In

this letter Getty Images alleges that a Getty copyrighted image was present on my website www.sarrobackandneck.com on an undisclosed date for an undisclosed period of time. Getty Images sent me this harassing letter demanding $875.00 to be paid within 14 days for the alleged use of an alleged copyrighted image. In my circumstance, the website and the page in question that the alleged image was said to have appeared on, was only 4 weeks old at the time I received the Getty letter, and had only approximately 5 page views within that time frame per Google Analytics. If the alleged image was in fact truly copyrighted individually with the federal government, then damages incurred by Getty Images would be minimal at best. This, considering the context of www.sarrobackandneck.com's existence, history, and traffic. It is, for these regards, that I consider Getty Images letters an attempt at legalized extortion and harassment. I find their approach to be intimidating, threatening, and callous. I have done my own cost analysis of similar stock photos from a Getty Images company IStockphoto, and have found that the average cost to license a similar image to the alleged image, depicted on their claimed screen shot of my website, to be on average $5.00. No one of sound mind would pay $875.00 to license and use the alleged Getty image they claim legal copyright over. The alleged image is simply not worth anywhere close to $875.00. As I stated earlier most stock images of similar depiction, size, and resolution sell for approximately $5.00 on various stock images websites. In an effort to resolve this matter with Getty Images without involving government agencies, and burdening the legal system, I had offered to pay Getty Images $50.00, or 10X the value of a similar image for the alleged infringement if they could produce the following evidence to support their claim. 1) Verification that the image in question was filed and registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. 2) Verification that the copyright is either for the individual image or a group of images. 3) A copy of the signed contract, assignment or other documentation between Getty Images and the artist transferring copyright and giving Getty exclusive rights to the image as they have stated in their letter. 4) The complete sales history and records of this image and prices received for the image. 5) The exact date the alleged copyright infringement began. 6) The formula used to calculate the $875.00 settlement fee, including the alleged damages for the image in question. Getty Images to this date has not produced any of the evidence I requested to support their claim of infringement, losses, and or damages. Given the circumstances I have had no choice but to assume that Getty Images may in fact not hold true legal copyright ownership over the alleged image. I am perplexed by their failure to cooperate to resolve this matter reasonably. I did want to resolve this matter reasonably by offering them 10X the value of a similar image if they could produce the evidence I requested. However, this seems to be a pattern of their behavior. It has been suggested that a large majority of Getty revenue is made through the letter extortion program rather than through reasonable stock photo licensing fees. After all, it is a lot easier to make money by demanding $875.00 for an image that is similarly worth and sold for approximately $5.00. I asked Getty Images to cease and desist in their pursuit, harassment, and extortion of me. I told them in writing if they could not produce the evidence I requested to support their claim, no further contact should be made to me. Yet after my request, approximately 2 weeks later, I received another extortion letter, and the evidence I requested was not provided. I am asking your agency to intervene, by asking Getty Images to cease and desist in their harassment and attempted extortion of me and my money. If they wish to produce the evidence I have requested I would pay them the $50.00 for the image.

Thank you for your help in resolving these matters. Sincerely,

Jack F. Sarro D.C. Owner of Sarro Chiropractic Center Expected resolution details: Cease and Desist all contact with me.