“They also will have to prove it originally came from Corbis.”
Is this a fact?
The burden would be on Corbis to prove the image came from them, a court won’t accept hearsay.
If you are from Scotland, then this may be true. But if you are not can you be sure what courts there may or may not accept? Please remember that here we all come from different walks of life with different rules and different customs.
Booler, in England we have the Citizens Advice Bureau, do you not have something similar in Scotland? If so, call then and ask to make an appointment with one of their solicitors for advice.
I have to say I’ve always tried to be careful where I got my images from but all of this made me decide to go back over all my client sites as well as my own to double check the sources. How impossible is that? Luckily 99.9% of the stuff I’ve used are photos taken by the client themselves but there are a few that I suspect I’ve picked up from Freebie disks that came with web mags where the disks have long gone so I have no proof, Certainly can’t find them on the web anywhere but then I don’t really know what to search for. Unless you kept the original image name you’re stuffed.
I have now set up folders specifically for images and titled them
Mag Freebies
Purchased
Client Supplied
Permitted Use
and keeping as much info with each pic as I can so for example,
Purchased, I’ll store the image along with the receipt,
Mag Freebies I have the disk contents in a folder that’s dated and uses the mag name and issue number.
Permitted use is where I’ve contacted an owner to ask and they’ve emailed back, I store the email with the image
It’s a royal pain but I’d rather be safe. Any images I have failed to find I’ve taken down and replaced with something of a known source.
IANAL but I don’t think that just pretending you never got the letter is a good idea.
Excellent Idea IMO! I have similar folders just to keep my you-know-what covered! 
However, Although I keep receipts, I never thought to add them to the same folder as the images I purchase. It looks like your way is much better organized! Thanks for the heads up! :tup:
It assumes the readers not from a country where people are still burnt at the stake, and it stands to reason such a claim would need to be supported by evidence of wrong doing - and that can only be established, in cases like this, where ownership is proven without a doubt.
Else, there is no wrong doing.
But thank’s for the multicultural heads up, none the less 
Well most of us know what “assume” does, don’t we. 
Here’s from the Business & Legal Forum:
Yes it would be foolhardy to take anything said on a forum and use it as gospel in any court, opinions are sought and given - nothing more nothing less.
Yes it would be foolhardy to take anything said on a forum and use it as gospel in any court, opinions are sought and given - nothing more nothing less.
AFAIA aware no one has suggested that we should use our chat here in court. The thread was intended to discuss Corbis copyright, its legal approach and implications. There is another thread about a similar issue with the other company that has been running since July.
[http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?t=390902]
These threads are valuable and there is also a degree of comfort to be found where stories are exchanged and up to date information promulgated. I was hoping to hear from other people who had received the Corbis demand because it seems that I am isolated at present. :sick:
Booler,
A friend on mine got a Corbis letter early this year for one image. He also got a Getty letter too for an image - he can’t recall where he got either images.
As far as Corbis is concerned, he got a letter for a UK solictor (without receiving anything from Corbis itself, unlike Getty’s approach). He took the image down and ignored the letter. Few weeks later he was phoned by the solicitor, threatening legal action. He told them to stop bothering him and if they wanted to take him to court, to go ahead. He never heard from them again.
Sal.
I got a second letter this morning. I now have until 2 January to pay.
Hi Booler - Me too - payment due date 2nd jan also by coincidence.
It has really caused me some sleepless nights
Have a happy christmas (try too!), and hopefully and it will blow over …
Toneharb, how much did they ask from you and did you ignore their first letter?
(Merry Xmas to all by the way)
Choosing the 2nd Jan seems a fairly nasty option for a invoice deadline. The banks and Royal Mail will be closed between 31st Dec and 2nd Jan in Scotland, and Royal Mail are useless around Christmas. Most business owners will have no interest in paying an invoice before Christmas and are probably more concerned about paying the HM R&C bill in Jan. It’s like they want you to fail.
It’s like they want you to fail.
Or it’s automated system that does not know it’s a holiday period?
Check this out guys, Corbis mean business:
http://www.lightstalkers.org/corbis_wins__20_million
Corbis is owned by Bill Gates the richest man in the world so they can afford the best lawyers.
What can we do? Do you think Bill Gates will forget about us? Who knows?
Check this out guys, Corbis mean business:
That case involved the flagrant reselling of thousands of images which one of only a few of the defendants who turned up actually admitted downloading from Corbis. It does not apply to the circumstances of people who did not know nor had reason to believe that copyright subsisted in Corbis.
Not only that it is the ONLY case were Corbis have won anything for image infringement.
Its all a load of BS and just relax. Corbis are like getty -for a whole range of reasons mentioned in the getty thread they haven’t got a leg to stand on. Tell them to f off.
Hi
I’ve also received one of these letters
Your case for the defence sounds quite strong Tristana. I am sure that you will be OK.