It's more nuanced, and more sinister. Getty maintains the "exclusive right" to license an image on behalf of the copyright owner (typically a photographer). Th

It's more nuanced, and more sinister. Getty maintains the "exclusive right" to license an image on behalf of the copyright owner (typically a photographer). The photographer does not assign ownership, just the right to license. They use automation to find cases of license violation--using the image without paying Getty a license fee. That triggers an automated message saying "You owe us $500." Getty doesn't (as far as I can tell) verify that the photographer owns the rights to the image, and when a person asks for that proof, Getty's response is to "Check the website" and will only submit further proof upon subpoena.