Getty Images Deceptive and Unethical Practices to Extort Money from Small Business Owners Seattle Internet

Over a year ago I received threatening emails out of the blue from Getty Images saying I had violated copyright laws regarding one of their images.  They said they mailed me a letter regarding such but I never received any letter.  If they had in fact mailed a letter, it should have been sent certified mail, but they have no proof of the letter having been mailed. 

There was one image in question on my website which my web designer had placed there.  I informed Getty that my web designer either purchased the image or it was royalty-free.  My web designer said he purchased the image from a company that is now out of business.  I have never violated any copyright laws and informed them of such.  I also removed the image in question.  Now over a year later, the matter has been turned over to some law firm for action demanding some arbitrary figure of over $1400.  Getty Images is trying to bully small business owners, and extort money in the process. 

With the number of complaints already on this site, surely there are enough others for a class action lawsuit to be filed against Getty. 

Please DO NOT do business with Getty Images.  You will regret it if you do.