Copyright threats from lawyers
 

Ok, so I linked to some photos on an image host and now I got a couple of letters from laywers claiming copyright infringment and that I have to pay x amount of money per x amount of photo they claim I published. This figure they claim they got from previous cases.

I didnt upload these images myself to the image host. They also claim that I have hacked a photographers computer and that I have scanned these images (both false) and are threatening me with criminal prosecution. This is probably just a threat to get me to pay up.

Just wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation? I obviously wont pay since its a ridiculous amount and it would prove that Im liable which I dont think I am. Going to contact a lawyer tomorrow to see what my rights are but curious what the GFY community has to say.

Hmm that's a tough one. Usually copyright infringement isnt something people go throwing around. If they are seeking damages, they probally have enough evidence I would assume. I'd get a lawyer just to be on the safe side.
Duke

if they are located in US and u are in canada, tell them to go fuck themselves..

and remove the images asap...

dont even respond to them....

well, here is the thing. I know they have a screenshot of thumbnails on my site.. but thats pretty much it.

They are actually a swedish lawfirm representing a British client. Im a permanent resident of Canada so I dont think they even have jurisdiction here.

start sending them funny videos from video sites with your own quirky little commentary..

then tell them that you are falling in love with them and you want to move to sweden..

invite them to your house for christmas, but use some bunk address..

after a while they will think you are crazy and stop bothering you...

move to a remote malay village pronto. any decent lawyer will tell you the same.

they are entitled to minimum/maximum statutory damages when you infringe on registered works. if you think telling them to fuck off will be funny... you might consider that the judge has the discretion of reading those comments which will be presented as evidence and most likely be a deciding factor in whether or not you pay the minimum... or the maximum.

can you afford to defend yourself?
can you afford to pay 1000.00's in damages?
or.. might a better tact be to act mature and get some real advice to determine whether or not their claims have any merit?

well, I haven't told them to fuck off and Im talking to a lawyer tomorrow so Im acting mature about it. I just wanted to see if anyone on GFY had any experience in dealing with this.

Send a plain white envelop. Inside put some of your friends (not your own, this is important!) fecal matter inside.

i have friends who have punished others severely by hammering them after they refused to remove copyrighted content from forums and sites. its not a fight you want to fight.

wooohoooo euuurope!!! :)

pleasurepays - the content was removed, thats not the issue. They still want me to pay despite removing the images.

This is just from my experience. We have filed and won a number of © and ® infringement cases. Mostly in Europe but a few in the USA. The law allows up to a maximum of $150,000 per infringment although we have never been awarded that much ( :Oh crap ) I will say my attorneys made bank and there was still some left over for us. Our attorneys have offices or representation in many countries including the UK, Germany , USA, Poland and even China so don't think because you live in Canada and the company who ownes the © lives in Sweden you are safe because you are not.

Get legal advice ASAP:thumbsup

:2 cents:

thepiratebay.org/legal

Really? News to me.

Fair use would probably be your best bet. Go through the four different sectors accounted for by court when it comes to fair use, see which ones you have and reply saying they don't have a case.

I would also suggest you explain if any 50+ court judge is going to even waste his time with you using a few naughty images on your website. The big boys tend to send out legal threats as with The Pirate Bay - they've been approached by big names such as Microsoft and they've never removed a torrent.

Both Sweden and Canada are signatories to the Berne Convention - so yes they do. And both are signatories on the Hague Convention. Its a bit tricky but you can easily sue someone outside your native countries if the defendant is in a country that is a signatory to both these Conventions.

Good-luck....

how did they notify you?

I loved the way TPB replied to sega on their last email...
about this one... if you did nothing wrong, there is nothing to worry about... but if you did what they said, than you should get worried...

let me see what i read here.........

"I linked to some photos on an image host" - this could be considered an attack on someone else's website - it cost them money to serve the image, and excessive links from you could crash their server and business, you are basically stealing.

"They also claim that I have hacked a photographers computer and that I have scanned these images (both false) and are threatening me with criminal prosecution." - humm - sounds like SOMEONE did this and you just don't want it to be YOU..... yet you seem to be hoilding the profits from the robbery...

"I didnt upload these images myself to the image host." - so the images are on YOUR server but some misterious person put them on there?

"Going to contact a lawyer tomorrow to see what my rights are " good - theives need to spend money at a min to try and defend themselves. Spending on a lawyer will help to make you make more honest business decisions in the future

gOH Canada! 8 P

Have you done a web search for the firm to determine (or at least be confident) that it's a legitimate notice?

if copyright infringement were so big of a deal, there wouldn't be a tube sites out there. Ignore them.

You are a complete fucking idiot.

Image Host. Ever heard of one? Look it up.

Calling him a thief, although a nice addition, was pretty stupid to do. At least it would be if you had been on the internet in the last 4 years.

I tried to quote your whole message to respond to the other silly things you typed, but it crashed my spellchecker.

You need Attorney Leonard Crabs http://www.somethingawful.com/hosted/crabs/

How do you know it is not an image host that provides a link to display the content?

If the images are stolen and on the image host the image host has to deal with this issue. I am sure they have terms for pirated content. Should he have used them for a site to make money? I would not have.

Where does he say the images are on his server? He linked to them.

How is he a thief using an image provided by an image host?