Getty Images Attorney General Complaint 20

7/31/2019 Getty Images Attorney General Complaint 20

1/9

Status

Amount Disputed

Actual Savings

Estimated Savings

Activities

Location

NAICS

Complainant

Number

Date

Name Contact Phone Toll Free Email

Getty Images

605 5th Ave S Ste 400Seattle, WA 98104

(206) 925-6753 copyright.complian

[email protected]

399939

12/22/2011

Respondent(s)

Complaint

Vancouver - Consumer Protection Division

Date Added Activity Type Activity

12/28/2011 Form Letter to Complainant C First Letter to Consumer

12/28/2011 Email to Respondent R First Letter to Respondent To:[email protected]

1/18/2012 Email from Respondent

1/18/2012 Email from Respondent

541920-Photographic Services

Assignee Norby, Patricia L

$0.00

$875.00

$0.00

Code Practice

404 Collection Practices

316 Billing Issues

Practice(s)

Closed

Referral(s)

Name Contact Phone Contact Phone Email

399939

CatalystComplaint Cover Page

Name Phone Day Phone Evening Email

Anna SherrisGlobal Health Care Services2460 Lemoine Ave Fl 5Fort Lee, NJ 07024

(800) 505-5966

1 of 2399939

RK-00473

PRR-2012-00283


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From: Copyright Compliance [mailto:[email protected]]Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2012 12:24 PMTo: ATG MI Vancouver CRCSubject: RE: 399939 : A notice from the Washington State Attorney General'sOffice

605 Fifth Avenue South, Suite 400, Seattle, Washington 98104Tel 206 925 5000 Fax 206 925 5001www.gettyimages.com

January 17, 2012

Via e-mail to [email protected]

Patricia L. NorbyComplaint AnalystAttorney General of WashingtonConsumer Protection Division1220 Main Street, Suite 549Vancouver, WA 98660(360) 759-2152

Re: Anna SherrisYour File Number: 399939Our Case Number: 983157

Dear Ms. Norby:

We are in receipt of the complaint filed by Anna Sherris that you forwarded to us on December

28, 2011. We appreciate the opportunity to respond to Ms. Sherriss concerns.

By way of introduction, Getty Images is the leading creator and distributor of still and movingimages. 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 asexclusively licensed content (i.e., third-party contributor images which are licensed exclusivelythrough us). Customers such as graphic designers, advertising agencies, and publishers licenseour 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 clearlyavailable from each page of our website, and customers are not permitted to use imagery

EmmettG 1/18/2012

399939

RK-00479

PRR-2012-00283


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without agreeing to 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 usesboth employees and digital image recognition software to locate companies that have used GettyImages imagery without paying a license fee, much akin to pirating music. One such companythat recently was identified as having used unlicensed imagery from our collections is Ms.Sherriss company, Global Healthcare Services, Inc. (Global Healthcare).

On June 24 2010, and again on August 27, we sent Global Healthcare a letter with notificationthat we had found unauthorized use of one of our images on its website,www.globalhealthcareinc.com. The image is part of Getty Images Rights-Managed TheImage Bank collection, #10167049 (the Image), and can be found on our web site athttp://www.gettyimages.com/detail/10167049/TheImageBank. We informed Global Healthcare

that use of the Image without a license constitutes copyright infringement, and that GlobalHealthcare must either (i) provide evidence that a license was issued, or (ii) pay a fee for use ofthe Image. In this instance, the fee was $875.00, and we provided an invoice in that amount,which featured a thumbnail of the image and its image number, along with a screenshot of theImage on Global Healthcare website. The amount invoiced is in line with what typicallywould be charged for a license of the Image under these circumstances.

Ms. Sherris states that she has removed the Image from the Global Healthcare website. Whilewe appreciate the removal, the Image is protected by copyright, and was previously displayedon that website. Copyright law holds responsible anyone who publicly displays an imagewithout authorization of the copyright holder. The use of the Image without a licenseconstitutes copyright infringement, for which we are entitled to seek damages.

At this time, Ms. Sherris has not raised any valid defenses. We would prefer to resolve thismatter amicably, but in the event that Global Healthcare remains unwilling to pay for the Imageunlawfully used on its website, we will continue to pursue this matter as copyrightinfringement. Getty Images has acted appropriately and in good faith in pursuing theunauthorized use of our intellectual property. Should you require any additional informationabout this matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Regards,

Getty Images CopyrightCompliance

399939

RK-00480

PRR-2012-00283


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RK-00484

PRR-2012-00283


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RK-00485

PRR-2012-00283


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RK-00486

PRR-2012-00283


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RK-00487

PRR-2012-00283


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RK-00488

PRR-2012-00283


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RK-00489

PRR-2012-00283

Documents

Getty Images Attorney General Complaint 20