Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Texas

Getty Images Claims Infringement

I was contracted by a non profit group to design a website for them that was completed and launched in February of 2005. While I did oversee the project, the site was actually outsourced to a design firm in India.

I was later contacted by that same non-profit group who forwarded me a letter from Getty Images indicating that the photos on the non-profit website were not authorized/licensed to be used.

Getty accused the non-profit group of copyright infringement and requested a settlement of $15,000. The non-profit only paid a total of $600.00 for the entire site.

Needless to say the non-profit is blaming me for putting them in this situation and wants me to make the problem go away. I have made several attempts to contact the firm in India to see of they had a license to use Getty Images, but they say the person who worked on the site is no longer with the firm. They could not help me.

I want to do what I can to help the non-profit against Getty, but what can I do to protect myself (legally) should they (the non-profit) decide to come after me?

Another question...considering the time line of when the site was launched versus when the letter from Getty was dated, does any kind of statue of limitations apply?


Asked on 7/13/08, 3:31 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
David Leon David L. Leon, P.C.

Re: Getty Images Claims Infringement

The infringement continues as long as the image was displayed. Therefore the statute of limitation might not have lapsed. Yes, you could, in theory join the design firm in India in case you got sued, but good luck getting them to reimburse you.

My suggestion is that you (1) get the client to take down the image (2) hire a lawyer to write a response letter to Getty's attorney, and (3) purchase insurance for your company in case this happens again. Getty should be willing to take substantially less if the image wasn't used for commercial gain.

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Answered on 7/13/08, 9:26 am


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