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Author Topic: Brandon Sand Settlement Demand Letter  (Read 22503 times)

Matthew Chan

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Brandon Sand Settlement Demand Letter
« on: April 30, 2011, 01:01:26 AM »
There is a new settlement demand letter player that was brought to Oscar's attention and subsequently to me.

This time around it is NOT a stock photography company sending out the demand letter.  It is a private solo lawyer based in San Diego who is sending out demand letters now.

Brandon Sand is asking $10,000 for 1 image and he wants payment mailed to him! Presumably, he keeps a percentage and forwards the rest to his client?

Feast your eyes on his letter!

http://www.scribd.com/doc/72740193/Brandon-S-Sand-Settlement-Demand-Letter

Then feast your eyes on his resume! He is no Oscar Michelen, that is for sure!

http://www.scribd.com/doc/72753092/Brandon-S-Sand-Resume

Enjoy the reading!

===========================

This post was modified on November 16, 2011 to comply with the DMCA complaint made to my hosting service. We were originally hosting the large PDF documents and happy to not incur the bandwidth behind this anymore and have taken down those PDF documents. We prefer Scribd for posting PDF documents.

In case Scribd takes down the resume that he freely shared with the world via LinkedIn, you aren't missing much. His resume is still available at LinkedIn minus these very interesting musical career entries. I am guessing that is now too embarrassing for a respectable lawyer image. Even without the five music entries, he has a very weak legal resume indeed.  Again, he is no Oscar Michelen.

Music Artist at Paramanu Records
May 2006 - February 2011

Music Artist at Uncommon Records
January 2004 - February 2009

Music Artist at Equinox Records
May 2005 - July 2008

Multimedia Producer at Vision Enhanced Studios
January 2004 - April 2007

Music Artist at Definitive Jux Records
January 2004 - January 2005
« Last Edit: November 16, 2011, 06:29:37 AM by Matthew Chan »
I'm a non-lawyer but not legally ignorant either. Under the 1st Amendment, I have the right to post facts & opinions using rhetorical hyperbole, colloquialisms, metaphors, parody, snark, or epithets. Under Section 230 of CDA, I'm only responsible for posts I write, not what others write.

SoylentGreen

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Re: Brandon Sand Settlement Demand Letter
« Reply #1 on: May 05, 2011, 11:37:57 AM »
Matt, this is hilarious.

They're sending all that US law psychobabble to a Canadian resident?
The US registrations don't mean much in Canadian law.

That resume!!  A failed music career?  Why not try IP law?
Hilarious.

S.G.

« Last Edit: November 16, 2011, 05:48:15 AM by Matthew Chan »

ea1971

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Re: Brandon Sand Settlement Demand Letter
« Reply #2 on: May 11, 2011, 12:26:29 PM »
My Client just received one of these letters. Any advice on what to do?

Eric
« Last Edit: November 16, 2011, 05:48:26 AM by Matthew Chan »

Matthew Chan

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Re: Brandon Sand Settlement Demand Letter
« Reply #3 on: May 12, 2011, 11:07:23 PM »
SG,

It is certainly a very humorous resume. I wonder how other lawyers will regard his stellar resume.

When I got wind of Brandon Sand and did some digging, I just had to share it.

Matthew

Matt, this is hilarious.

That resume!!  A failed music career?  Why not try IP law?
Hilarious.

S.G.


« Last Edit: November 16, 2011, 05:48:37 AM by Matthew Chan »
I'm a non-lawyer but not legally ignorant either. Under the 1st Amendment, I have the right to post facts & opinions using rhetorical hyperbole, colloquialisms, metaphors, parody, snark, or epithets. Under Section 230 of CDA, I'm only responsible for posts I write, not what others write.

Matthew Chan

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Re: Brandon Sand Settlement Demand Letter
« Reply #4 on: May 12, 2011, 11:10:30 PM »
The short, easy answer is to hire Oscar if you want to make it easy.

But if you want to save yourself some money, you need to get educated on the relevant issues.  That is not something we can explain in 3 sentences.  The advice we have given about Getty Images also applies to most other extortion letters.

We have this discussion forum and the free videos/audios in our Free subscriber area as your resource.

Matthew


My Client just received one of these letters. Any advice on what to do?

Eric
« Last Edit: November 16, 2011, 05:48:48 AM by Matthew Chan »
I'm a non-lawyer but not legally ignorant either. Under the 1st Amendment, I have the right to post facts & opinions using rhetorical hyperbole, colloquialisms, metaphors, parody, snark, or epithets. Under Section 230 of CDA, I'm only responsible for posts I write, not what others write.

Matthew Chan

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Re: Brandon Sand Settlement Demand Letter
« Reply #5 on: June 29, 2011, 02:17:10 AM »
Today, I was informed by Oscar that San Diego Attorney/Lawyer Brandon Sand does not like the fact that his information is being posted on this website and wanted the information removed. Oscar told him if there were any inaccurate information about him or his case, we would happily remove it.

However, I should point out that all the information we posted on Brandon Sand and his extortion letter actually comes from him!  It was his paperwork that we scanned and shared.  It was his LinkedIn profile information that he posted that we are sharing.

He was informed that if he decided to get into this business of threatening to sue people to pay $10,000, people receiving his letters are likely to get upset and angry and ask for help and share this information. He also needs to back up what he puts out there.

From what I was told, Brandon Sand is a relatively young attorney.  His own lack of professional experience comes shining through on his online resume.

Brandon Sand, attorney from San Diego, is now being watched and monitored by Oscar, myself, and this entire forum community. He may want to reconsider sending out extortion letters in the future and be more measured in the future.  Another thing he MIGHT want to know that getting into the "copyright trolling" business is going to be a highly-visible contentious business.  If he isn't prepared for the heat, it is going to get very uncomfortable.  Oscar and I are allying ourselves and supportive of the efforts of EFF.org.

If Brandon Sand or any of his clients decide to pull the trigger to file a lawsuit, he can be sure it will be reported loudly for all to see and hear.

Matthew
« Last Edit: November 16, 2011, 05:48:59 AM by Matthew Chan »
I'm a non-lawyer but not legally ignorant either. Under the 1st Amendment, I have the right to post facts & opinions using rhetorical hyperbole, colloquialisms, metaphors, parody, snark, or epithets. Under Section 230 of CDA, I'm only responsible for posts I write, not what others write.

Jerry Witt (mcfilms)

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Re: Brandon Sand Settlement Demand Letter
« Reply #6 on: July 05, 2011, 03:21:00 AM »
Yeah sorry to hear Mr. Sand doesn't appreciate people looking into who is threatening them with legal action.

I found the MySpace page of his previous record label interesting. It's at http://www.myspace.com/paramanurecordings and under Bio it says, in part: "We don't believe in Contracts. FUCK CONTRACTS. Besides we are not rich, just like every other starting record label its straight out the pocket, we here do it for the passion and for the love of music, the entertainment, and the culture. "
« Last Edit: November 16, 2011, 05:49:09 AM by Matthew Chan »
Although I may be a super-genius, I am not a lawyer. So take my scribblings for what they are worth and get a real lawyer for real legal advice. But if you want media and design advice, please visit Motion City at http://motioncity.com.

SoylentGreen

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Re: Brandon Sand Extortion Letter
« Reply #7 on: July 05, 2011, 02:08:48 PM »
All this is really amusing.
Thanks for posting the info.

This is the kind of sleazy business that Mr Sand has associated himself with.
But, he wants to hide what he's doing? Good luck.

Keep posting the LOL's guys.


S.G.


« Last Edit: July 21, 2011, 04:08:03 AM by Matthew Chan »

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Re: Brandon Sand Settlement Demand Letter
« Reply #8 on: July 19, 2011, 04:38:30 PM »
Oscar & Matthew, you are doing the world a great service by educating those who suffer by these outrageous extortion letters. This website is a very great source of information & if anyone out there is in need of legal help - do not hesitate to call Oscar!
« Last Edit: November 16, 2011, 05:49:18 AM by Matthew Chan »
Kim

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Re: Brandon Sand Extortion Letter
« Reply #9 on: July 31, 2011, 01:25:31 PM »
Thanks for the vote of confidence It is appreciated!

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Re: Brandon Sand Settlement Demand Letter
« Reply #10 on: October 26, 2011, 10:28:57 PM »
I have recently received a similar letter from a different lawyer representing the same company.  Does anyone know who brandon sand sent that letter to? I would like to touch base with them and how things turned out or proceeded.

Dear Mr.

Re:  Cease and Desist Demand and Offer to Settle Copyright Infringement Claim

I represent Hawaiian Art Network LLC (HAN), the owner and operator of HawaiiArt.com and HawaiiPictures.com, and photographer V.K. Tylor.  

It has come to our attention that you are using one (1) of Mr. Tylor’s images without authorization on your website  

My client’s Image is used at:

Page URL:       
Image URL:    
   

Copyright subsists in Canada in this work by virtue of Section 5 of the Canadian Copyright Act and the Berne Convention. Even if your use of the image was an innocent infringement, you could be liable for statutory damages as high as $20,000 as set forth in Section 38 of the Copyright Act plus the legal costs of proceeding against you.  We have copies of your unlawful use to preserve as evidence.  
 
Demand is hereby made that you immediately remove the image from the website, delete all digital copies of the image from your computers and digital storage devices, and destroy any hard copies of the image maintained in your files.  If you believe you have been granted a license to use the above-described image, please provide me with any documentation upon which you base that belief.  

Removal of the infringed work does not relieve you from liability for damages arising from your past infringement.  An award of statutory damages for the copyright infringement would likely be multiples of actual damages and would also include legal fees and costs of bringing suit.  

My client prefers to settle claims amicably whenever possible and without recourse to lengthy and expensive litigation.  For settlement purposes, Hawaii Art Network offers settlement for a fee of $2,268.00, including legal fees incurred to date and a retroactive license back two years for the past website uses.  Kindly pay this amount in full on or before October 31, 2011, without Hawaii Art Network and Mr. Tylor being caused to incur further legal fees and costs.  Any further legal fees and costs that Hawaii Art Network or Mr. Tylor must incur in order to resolve this matter will be added to the settlement demand. This settlement amount anticipates immediate removal of the image from the website by October 31, 2011 with no future uses.   Any other uses of the image, or any other image must be negotiated separately with Hawaii Art Network (I can provide contact details).

Accordingly, we hereby demand that you:

1.   Immediately cease and desist from all unlicensed use of the above image, remove the image from the website and delete all digital copies of the image from your computers and digital storage devices, and destroy any hard copies of the image maintained in your files.

2.   Remit the full amount of $2,268.00 to my office by October 31, 2011. (Payable to:  Hawaii Art Network)  A copy of the transmittal for your payment with a copy of the check should also be mailed directly to Hawaii Art Network, 1888 Kalakaua Ave., Suite C312, Honolulu, HI  96815.

Hawaii Art Network has a commitment to their photographers to enforce the copyrights for their images.  Consequently, I have been instructed by my client to take all appropriate steps to pursue this claim.  Again, my client would like to settle this claim amicably; please feel free to contact me directly to discuss further.
« Last Edit: November 16, 2011, 05:49:29 AM by Matthew Chan »

SoylentGreen

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Re: Brandon Sand Settlement Demand Letter
« Reply #11 on: October 27, 2011, 01:26:47 AM »
Hey Loopster,

Brandon Sand was/is based in the US and he sent a letter to a Canadian resident.
Is the lawyer that sent you the letter also a US attorney?

They're using PicScout to troll the web for infringements.
http://www.picscout.com/images/stories/pdfs/HawaiianArtNetwork.pdf

I also notice that they've used "photoattorney" in the past...

S.G.

« Last Edit: November 16, 2011, 05:49:40 AM by Matthew Chan »

Loopster

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Re: Brandon Sand Settlement Demand Letter
« Reply #12 on: October 27, 2011, 12:36:39 PM »
Photographer is a US resident - we are a Canadian company - they are using a Canadian Lawyer

Thanks for the heads up on picscount
« Last Edit: November 16, 2011, 05:49:49 AM by Matthew Chan »

SoylentGreen

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Re: Brandon Sand Settlement Demand Letter
« Reply #13 on: October 27, 2011, 02:37:43 PM »
Loopster,

I did some checking at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO).
http://www.ic.gc.ca/app/opic-cipo/cpyrghts/dsplySrch.do?lang=eng

I found no works registered by "Tylor" or "Hawaii Art Network"

This means that they could only legally collect actual damages (the actual retail price) of the images in court.
They couldn't collect "statutory damages" (legal fees, other damages & losses).
So, the prospect of a court case is unlikely; they'd have to spend thousands just to get an award of what would likely amount to a few hundred dollars.

Some companies make a big deal of having an 'exclusive' contract with the photographer.
But, that still doesn't allow the photographer to transfer rights that he/she doesn't have due to non-registration.

They mentioned the Berne Convention, but that's not really an issue here.

What you can do is offer a smaller settlement that reflects that purchase price of the images.
If you can put up with some harassment, you might choose to do nothing as a court battle is highly unlikely.

Good luck.

S.G.

« Last Edit: November 16, 2011, 05:49:58 AM by Matthew Chan »

Loopster

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Re: Brandon Sand Settlement Demand Letter
« Reply #14 on: October 27, 2011, 04:06:15 PM »
I appreciate the information - not sure I want to roll the dice yet or not - still weighing options as to what to do.  I certainly don't agree with the approach and tactics being used much like everyone else, however I'm not in a position to dedicate a lot of personal time/hence money to the matter either.  Might see how low of a settlement I can get first before proceeding.
« Last Edit: November 16, 2011, 05:50:07 AM by Matthew Chan »

 

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