BeeDeeDubbleU - 8:46 pm on Dec 13, 2006 (gmt 0)

Note: I am not a solicitor and nothing that follows can be considered to be informed legal advice. It is however worth keeping people up to date on this because it is likely that others in these forums will be affected.

My latest research into this problem has shown that Getty have been sending out similar threatening letters to people all over the world so Corbis my just be getting in on the act. Getty are also trying to get people to pay extortionate amounts for unauthorised use of images. Like Corbis they do not use "Cease and Desist" beforehand.

Several forums have sprung up on the 'net about this and there is talk of people getting together to start a class action against them.

In the UK the general consensus seems to be that you just ignore it until they try to take action. It seems that if the "debt" is under £5K they must take you through the small debts court where the maximum costs payable are £100. If this is true (can anyone confirm?) it may be worth sitting it out to see what happens and that will be my approach for the moment.

I have spoken to a lawyer but he did not seem very convincing. Also getting a lawyer to defend this may cost me more than Corbis are claiming through their agents.

It is also worth pointing out that the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (c. 48), article states ...

97.—(1) Where in an action for infringement of copyright it is shown that at the time of the infringement the defendant did not know, and had no reason to believe, that copyright subsisted in the work to which the action relates, the plaintiff is not entitled to damages against him, but without prejudice to any other remedy.

Apparently it is up to the plaintiff to prove that the defendant did know that there was a copyright on the image .