Fucking Getty Images strikes again!

Whenever I build a website for a third party I always include in my contract a statement regarding copyright and that they accept full legal responsibility for any images supplied.

When i get a graphic designer to do graphics for me, I get them to do something similar (i.e indicating they accept full legal responsibility for images they supply)

Its a good practice to get in to.

In saying that, if you have some form of contract from the designer then check it out and if need be just remove the image but ideally just don't reply.

btw: A good tip to assist in fucking over others stealing your images is to simply embed meta data into them before you publish. Most people stealing them don't think about the meta until they see a nice letter showing how images on there site have your meta data in it. Easy way to win the argument and occasionly get some extra bucks.
 


For those of us in the US, this may be a good place for people to start contacting their representatives in congress asking for help in getting some "safe harbor" modifications to the law. Clearly there are plenty of people who are being victimized where they purchased a website. Also, it may be -- the right to transfer legally licensed / purchased images to the buyer of a website is already protected via the "first sale doctrine". Unfortunately, no one can afford to test that in court. Just because Getty images says you can't, doesn't make it so. They don't trump the US Supreme Court.

I am going to email my reps. We webmasters ought to have a political arm to stand up for our business interest. Who else is going to do it?
 
I wonder if arronklaw or some of the resident lawyers care to wade in with thoughts? If a web designer legally obtains a copy of a protected work, the US Supreme Court says they can dispose of their copy of that work any way they please. They can sell it, give it away, throw it away, etc. So in a case where you purchased a website and the image way legally obtained, Getty may have a beef with the original designer for breach of contract, but I don't see how they can prove the purchaser owes them for copyright infringement. Perhaps that is why people say they never actually sue in the USA. I smell a class action suit here.
 
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