Catalyst Complaint Cover Page

428610

Complaint
Number 428610 Date 4/2/2013 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 Steven Neal Goodson 231 Oligi Circle Loudon, TN 37774 Phone Day (865) 408-7475 Phone Evening Email (865) 408-7475 steve@PiranaMedia.com

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 316 Practice Billing Issues

Activities
Date Added 4/3/2013 4/3/2013 4/18/2013 4/18/2013 Activity Type Email to Complainant Email to Respondent Email from Respondent Email to Complainant Activity C 1st Letter to Complainant To: steve@PiranaMedia.com R 1st Letter to Respondent To: copyright.compliance@gettyimages.com Please See Activity Log 1273529 Csup Closing Unadjusted (C-UNJ) To: steve@PiranaMedia.com

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Date Added 4/18/2013 4/18/2013

Activity Type Email to Respondent Resolution-UNADJUSTED

Activity Rsup Closing No Adjustment (R-UNJ) To: copyright.compliance@gettyimages.com

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231 Oligi Circle

Pirana Media
Loudon, Tennessee 37774 www.PiranaMedia.com

(865) 408-7475

February 9, 2013

Copyright Compliance Team Getty Images Inc. PO Box 84434 Seattle, WA 98124-5734 RE:

Certified Mail 7006 0100 0006 1987 5497

Unauthorized Use Notification Case Number:1299249 | Access Code: 0Y0emDG4 | URL: http://lc.gettyimages.com

To Whom It May Concern: I am in receipt of your correspondence dated January 29, 2013 stating that my company website (PiranaMedia.com) has made use of two small images which your company asserts to holding the legally copyrighted management and licensing rights. You further infer that my company may have used these images without a valid license from Getty Images, Inc. (Getty). Your correspondence goes on to say that I now owe Getty Images, Inc. $2,130.00 for the unauthorized use of these two images. Upon receipt of your correspondence, I immediately removed these two images from my website as a good faith gesture, all without having any proof that your firm actually has any legally binding copyright or management agreement with the original photographerss of these images. I would never knowingly use copyrighted material and most definitely thought these were commonly available to the general public in the public domain. I can assure you that if the alleged copyright infringement did take place, that it was entirely innocent, inadvertent and unwilling on my part. As a graphic artist, photographer and web designer, I have an extensive library of fonts, clipart, vector images, templates, banners, photography and image clips that date back ten years or more and there is no way for me at this time to realistically identify where I obtained the two images in question. I might note that the two images had no watermark, digimarc, or exif data embedding into the image file which identified it as (i) a Getty image, (ii) a copyrighted image, or (iii) an image with licencing requirements by a specific photographer. I went to the Getty website (GettyImages.com) to view the two images referenced in this claim and found that the images (measuring 1.625" x 1.0625") are readily available to any person using a screen-grab. There is no watermark or any other type of protection until one rolls their mouse over the image when a larger photos pops up with a watermark. Unfortunately, Getty has not done a very good job at protecting the images they represent to manage. I was perplexed as to the valuation that you have placed on the two small images which are approximately 180px by 150px shown at a rate of $1,065.00 each, when your website catalog shows the images are valued at $415.00 each (screen shot attached). Additionally, it seems odd that most of your images are valued between $15 and $50, but somehow the two pertaining to my situation have extreme value far exceeding the norm. Its as though you have increased the price for these two simple images now that an alleged copyright issue has come to light.

Copyright Compliance Team Getty Images Inc. February 9, 2013 Page 2

To further evaluate your claim in regards to valuation, I will need the following information. A. B. An exact detailed formula as to how you determined the $1,065.00 fee for each image. A detailed sales history with actual prices paid and with contact information of all customers that have purchased these two images since January 29, 2008 (60 months).

Lets be honest and admit that the fair market price for these type images is less than $10.00 each. I might add that if Getty can ask and actually get a market price of $415.00 each (as now advertised on their website) for these two 180px by 150px images, of this subject matter and quality, I have thousands of images I would like to license with Getty and receive a 50% split for each transaction. Consequently, I have attached an image sheet containing six (6) photos similar in content and size as those that are in question. They can also be viewed at the following URL: http://www.piranamedia.com/KeyboardImages/ For the record, these six images took me approximately ten (10) minutes to photograph, Photoshop and print. Had I spent some additional time in Photoshop, they would have looked better. These images were done at my desk using a Nikon D7000 camera and a 18-200mm lens, with no special lighting, backdrops, or props. These images are so simplistic that they could have been taken with an average point-n-shoot camera which would have achieved the same results. Prior to this event, I have had no prior affiliation or business dealings with Getty nor have I ever been to their website. Because of this correspondence I have been forced to spend numerous hours of carful investigation regarding Gettys business practices and past legal claims which are similar to this situation, specifically (i) the 2008 court case titled Getty vs. Advernet, (ii) the class action lawsuit in Israel, and (iii) the fact that Getty was "selling" images on their site that were in the public domain and they held no copyright nor management agreement. Therefor, I must demand strict proof of your claim. Before any more discussion can take place you will need to forward the following documentation to my attention for review. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Copyright registration with the United States Copyright Office and the chain of title for the image. Signed Licensing and/or Management Agreement between Getty and each of the photographers. Evidence which determines that the copyright is for the individual images or a group of images. The exact day or period of time that Getty asserts the alleged infringement took place. Contact information for both photographers, i.e., mailing address and telephone number. Website or other web presence information for both photographers. The specific file format in which your images are distributed for purchase (example - png / jpg / gif).

In closing, I would like to thank you for notifying me of this alleged infringement and I look forward to a fair and amicable resolution to your claim. Regards,

Steve N. Goodson

/3 enclosures

Pirana Media
231 Oligi Circle, Loudon, TN 37774 (865) 408-7475

Calculator Keyboard 1 180px X 150px

Calculator Keyboard 2 180px X 150px

Calculator Keyboard 3 (Warm Tone) 180px X 150px

Calculator Keyboard 4 (Emphasis on Number Two) 180px X 150px

Telephone Keypad 1 (Left Tilt) 150px X 180px

Calculator Keyboard 3 (12 keys) 150px X 180px

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