ExtortionLetterInfo Forums
ELI Forums => Getty Images Letter Forum => Topic started by: Matthew Chan on January 31, 2014, 10:44:48 PM
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It is with mixed feelings that I am officially announcing my return to ELI after my nearly year-long (10+ months) self-imposed exile. I say “mixed feelings” because I don’t consider my return to be an entirely voluntary one. It is a direct response to the most recent attack on ELI.
On January 27, 2014, I unexpectedly received a copyright infringement / defamation / harassment letter from Seattle Attorney Timothy B. McCormack, more infamously known as ELI’s most despised copyright infringement collections lawyer for Getty Images.
http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/getty-images-letter-forum/mccormack-legal-sends-copyright-infringementdefamationharassment-letter/
Although I maintained ownership of ELI and administrative rights to the website throughout my self-imposed exile period (from March 28, 2013 until January 31, 2014), ELI was managed and operated independently by volunteer ELI community members with no daily involvement from me. I trusted them to keep ELI alive and operational and they did a great job.
The reason for my self-imposed exile was my unhappy reaction to an unfavorable legal ruling during a court hearing from February 28, 2013. Having no criminal record, I was stunned by the outcome of this lawsuit. Even more stunning was that, despite my best efforts to defend myself in that hearing, I entirely lost the case. The good news is that with ELI Community support, I appealed the case in August 2013. My appeal case is currently awaiting a ruling from the GA Court of Appeals: http://www.gaappeals.us/docket/results_one_record.php?docr_case_num=A14A0014
Since then, McCormack has made multiple attempts to attack, accuse, and discredit me with lies, half-truths, distortions, and exaggerations. He did it with the Muscogee County Superior Court with his hearsay "affidavit". He did it with the PDN article. He did it with Matthew Cuomo (of Cuomo LLC) trying to discredit both me and Oscar. He did it with the GA Court of Appeals with his outlandish excuse of an “amicus brief”. Each of those times during the last 10+ months, he was met with public silence and no public rebuttals from me.
And now, he comes at both me and the owner of http://copyright-trolls.com simultaneously with a form letter of frivolous accusations and more legal threats.
http://copyright-trolls.com/site/seattle-attorney-mccormack-ip-law-claims-copyright-infringementdefamation/
It has been clear that my efforts to be the better man have been unsuccessful. McCormack has taken my ongoing silence and self-imposed exile from ELI as an apparent sign of my weakness and that I no longer have the will defend myself. He is absolutely wrong in this.
People should know that in the last 10+ months, I’ve had several ELI members, including Oscar Michelen, periodically ask me to return and resume my role as leader of ELI. For both personal and professional reasons, each and every time I’ve been adamant about staying silent and not publicly posting or commenting on ELI.
However, McCormack single-handedly accomplished something within 60-seconds of my reading his letter that no one else could in the last 10+ months. I am breaking my silence, ending my self-imposed exile, and returning to ELI as Leader to publicly defend myself and ELI. Unlike my adversary, I have no problems staying in the light whereas he prefers to operate in secrecy behind closed doors.
And I have a lot to say and information to share and report. Stay tuned.
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Welcome back, Matt!
And to Tim McCormack, "Thanks for waking the sleeping bear." I think I am going to enjoy watching what he has in store for you.
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Hi Stinger,
I would not say i was "sleeping", more like "hibernating" at best! :)
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So glad to see you back Matthew!
A huge thank you to Mr. McCormack for bringing Matthew back to the forefront. I had given up asking when we would speak, so again thanks!
I am looking forward to your commentary and insight back on the forums. Welcome back my friend! ;D
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Freedom of the Press
The right, guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, to gather, publish, and distribute information and ideas without government restriction; this right encompasses freedom from prior restraints on publication and freedom from Censorship.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads, in part, "Congress shall make no law… abridging the Freedom of Speech, or of the press." The courts have long struggled to determine whether the Framers of the Constitution intended to differentiate press freedom from speech freedom. Most have concluded that freedom of the press derives from freedom of speech. Although some cases and some legal scholars, including Justice Potter Stewart, of the U.S. Supreme Court, have advocated special press protections distinct from those accorded to speech, most justices believe that the Freedom of the Press Clause has no significance independent of the Freedom of Speech Clause.
The Court explained its reasoning in First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti, 435 U.S. 765, 98 S. Ct. 1407, 55 L. Ed. 2d 707 (1978). According to Chief Justice warren e. burger, conferring special status on the press requires that the courts or the government determine who or what the press is and what activities fall under its special protection. Burger concluded that the free speech guarantees of the First Amendment adequately ensure freedom of the press, and that there is no need to distinguish between the two rights:
Because the First Amendment was meant to guarantee freedom to express and communicate ideas, I can see no difference between the right of those who seek to disseminate ideas by way of a newspaper and those who give lectures or speeches and seek to enlarge the audience by publication and wide dissemination.
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Matthew's Back. Woot!!
It's great to see you back on your board Matt. We missed you. I'm sure Seatle lawyer Timothy McCormack of McCormack lntellectual Property Law is glad he pulled you back onto these boards.
The way I see it is he is accusing you of copyright infringement for retouched parody images that are NOT currently on your site, in posts that were not created by you but rather other users, and hosted on completely different servers? Is that correct?
Wow. What a copyright expert.
Anyway, Thank you Tim McCormack for doing something that everyone on ELI wanted to see happen for a long time.
Welcome back, Matthew Chan.
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The way I see it is he is accusing you of copyright infringement for retouched parody images that are NOT currently on your site, in posts that were not created by you but rather other users, and hosted on completely different servers? Is that correct?
Wow. What a copyright expert.
LMAO!
Welcome back Matthew!
8)
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I for one an more than Happy to share Timmy with you, your being silent for this long was rather surprising to me, but not as surprising that none other than McCormack Intellectual Property Law actually is responsible for you coming back. maybe Timothy B. McCormack isn't so bad after all...
Nah, he's still an asshat and dickwad in my humble opinion... I can still have my opinion can't I??
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Hey - You need to change the "Founder-In-Silence" thing! Welcome back!
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Ah, I sense the ELI embers heating up, soon to burst back into the Matt Chan flame we all know and love.
Welcome back, Matthew.
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So McCormack claims defamation by random cartoons referring to him as an AssHat, Turd Polish and Copyright Troll. Good luck with that one. Thats the price he pays for deeming himself a public figure. Above ground, we call this Freedom of Speech.
http://ferrellgummit.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/asshat.jpg (http://ferrellgummit.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/asshat.jpg)
http://revolutionaryradar.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/rush-limberup-for-rr.jpg (http://revolutionaryradar.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/rush-limberup-for-rr.jpg)
http://www.theliberaloc.com/2008/10/24/prop-8-campaign-threatens-business-leaders/ (http://www.theliberaloc.com/2008/10/24/prop-8-campaign-threatens-business-leaders/)
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Wow, what a warm reception. I get love and joy from one side, fire and brimstone from the "other side".
You guys have no idea how it felt to be silent for over 10 months and how much discipline and tongue-biting it took especially when you have lawyer thugs try to kick you while you are down.
The kicking I endured from the Sack of Shit from Seattle (SSS) was very hard to not speak about. After all, I'm not forbidden to comment about him or any other copyright extortionist. But for him to directly accuse and attack ELI and copyright-trolls.com simultaneously with one of his extortion letters with bogus accusations was just too much. There was no way I could be silent anymore.
The quieter I got, the more passive I became, the more he attacked and piled on. I felt like the kid on the playground who was trying to avoid a fight but they "bully" decided to kick sand in my face once too many times.
I don't like bullies kicking sand in my face. Somehow, a nasty rumor was started that I lost my gumption along the way. I can say, that it is NOT true.
I can be quite stubborn as my friends and allies know. When I decided to stay silent and stay away from ELI, I meant it. It was no B.S. declaration. I figured by staying silent and staying away, I could avoid more time-wasting hassles. But it has not worked out that way at all. As I said, my silence and tongue-biting has been taken as a sign of weakness and cowering. No more of that.
It is time to start reporting and sharing information of what happened during my long absence.
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I say this with the utmost respect. Timmy got me to do something that you were not able to do despite your best arguments, persuasion, and flattering efforts. He is a much more accomplished "motivator" than you can ever be, Oscar. I am sorry to have to tell you that in front of everyone. :)
Hey - You need to change the "Founder-In-Silence" thing! Welcome back!
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Hello Mulligan,
I can honestly say that I am not sure I am absolutely happy to be back. I was pretty happy and content staying in my corner of the universe. Unfortunately, it has been perceived as a sign of weakness and cowardice to the point it has actually ENCOURAGED more attacks on me and ELI. That absolutely has to stop.
Ah, I sense the ELI embers heating up, soon to burst back into the Matt Chan flame we all know and love.
Welcome back, Matthew.
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Yes, I guess the whole "Founder-in-Silence" deal is over now. It was nice while it lasted.
Hey - You need to change the "Founder-In-Silence" thing! Welcome back!
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Be sure to update you BIO too, it should reflect your nearly your long absence as well as credit Timothy McCormack of McCormack IP law for your return.
It's the least you can do for him. ;)
Hey - You need to change the "Founder-In-Silence" thing! Welcome back!
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Yes, I agree with you. Even I surprised myself I was away that long. Time flies. I had to go back to the forum calendar to see when I lasted posted anything.
Honestly, I am back but I am not that thrilled about it given the circumstances.
He really is a Copyright Cow. Only a cow could be so dumb to send bogus extortion letters to three of the most outspoken opponents of stock photo copyright extortion there is. Timmy sent a letter to me, you, and Oscar!
I have to believe that Timmy's staff and his cohorts in the copyright extortion business are shaking their heads over this thinking, "How dumb can Timmy be?" It was nice, quiet, and drama-free on ELI for 10 months. But he could not leave us alone.
Timmy even had the nerve to send an extortion letter to Oscar Michelen's house! Is that stupid or what? Did Timmy think Oscar would just cower down and not respond to this unprofessional behavior? WTF.
I for one an more than Happy to share Timmy with you, your being silent for this long was rather surprising to me, but not as surprising that none other than McCormack Intellectual Property Law actually is responsible for you coming back. maybe Timothy B. McCormack isn't so bad after all...
Nah, he's still an asshat and dickwad in my humble opinion... I can still have my opinion can't I??
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You guys are killing me! All of you so-called friends are enjoying my weird comeback way too much. Now, I have all this non-revenue generating work to do to update everything. Ugh.
Be sure to update you BIO too, it should reflect your nearly your long absence as well as credit Timothy McCormack of McCormack IP law for your return.
It's the least you can do for him. ;)
Hey - You need to change the "Founder-In-Silence" thing! Welcome back!
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You can deduct it from my generous pay. ;)
You guys are killing me! All of you so-called friends are enjoying my weird comeback way too much. Now, I have all this non-revenue generating work to do to update everything. Ugh.
Be sure to update you BIO too, it should reflect your nearly your long absence as well as credit Timothy McCormack of McCormack IP law for your return.
It's the least you can do for him. ;)
Hey - You need to change the "Founder-In-Silence" thing! Welcome back!
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You can deduct it from my generous pay. ;)
Speaking of which...I need a raise
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Thank you Jerry, Do you think I should run out and send Timmy a thank you card for what he did to get me back in? He sure is brilliant isn't he? I guess that is why Getty Images went out and hired Attorney Scott Wilsdon of Yarsmuth Wilsdon PLLC to roll out the most recent Getty Images lawsuits.
Boy, I really thought I was going to make 12 months. Things were so quiet and I was loving it. Alas, it was not to be.
Matthew's Back. Woot!!
It's great to see you back on your board Matt. We missed you. I'm sure Seattle lawyer Timothy McCormack of McCormack lntellectual Property Law is glad he pulled you back onto these boards.
The way I see it is he is accusing you of copyright infringement for retouched parody images that are NOT currently on your site, in posts that were not created by you but rather other users, and hosted on completely different servers? Is that correct?
Wow. What a copyright expert.
Anyway, Thank you Tim McCormack for doing something that everyone on ELI wanted to see happen for a long time.
Welcome back, Matthew Chan.
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A hearty welcome back from around the globe! The anti-copyright troll world is a safer place with you back at the helm!
Ian
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Cheers, Matt.
McCormack's attack stinks badly, it is not only attack on you, Oscar or Robert, it is attack to all the anti-troll communities, thus it's my duty to help spreading the word and exposing this turd of a "lawyer," Timothy McCormack.
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SJD,
What a pleasant surprise you stopping by. I had planned on reaching out to you but I have been literally swamped with unexpected work due to this unexpected attack and accusation on me and ELI. I am guessing you found out about this latest fiasco from news announcements from Copyright-Trolls.com.
There are several announcements in quick succession that are being rolled out. People within the ELI Forums will get advanced knowledge before a "formal" article is posted on the ELI Blog side.
Allow me to publicly state my gratitude for your friendship and support the last 2 years. Especially last year, when ELI faced its greatest legal challenge during its (then) 5-year existence. ELI was almost shutdown during that tumultuous time but loyal and dedicated ELI Volunteers saved it and kept it operating.
You have no idea how much it means to me for you to make an appearance here and voicing your support. As the reinstated Leader of ELI, I speak for the ELI Community that we are honored and privileged to have you here and caring enough to step in.
For those of you who don't know who SJD is, SJD operates and writes one of the most influential, respected blogs on the Internet covering and reporting on Copyright Trolls and has been instrumental in helping put an end to the reign of terror and fraud perpetuated and spewed by Prenda Law, one of the most despised abusers of the court system in extorting money from alleged infringers. SJD can be found at http://fightcopyrighttrolls.com. This blog is read by the "big boys" such as TechDirt, Ars Technica, EFF, and many others.
By comparison, ELI is "small fry" compared to the audience they reach. But we are a fiesty, tight-knitted group of extortion-fighters standing up for the little guys.
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Welcome SDJ! I have been following www.fightcopyrighttrolls.com now for a couple of years and have gleaned quite a bit of excellent and timely information from your site. Thank you for all you do and I am very glad you are here!
Cheers, Matt.
McCormack's attack stinks badly, it is not only attack on you, Oscar or Robert, it is attack to all the anti-troll communities, thus it's my duty to help spreading the word and exposing this turd of a "lawyer," Timothy McCormack.
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Hi guys,
I am Canadian and brand new to this forum!!
Can someone help me on how to start a new thread? I can't find a button that does that.
Sorry, if I posted in the wrong thread but that what I found most recent and that my message will find a response.
Appreciate it!!!
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Hi guys,
I am Canadian and brand new to this forum!!
Can someone help me on how to start a new thread? I can't find a button that does that.
Sorry, if I posted in the wrong thread but that what I found most recent and that my message will find a response.
Appreciate it!!!
simply go to the forum you want to post in , and click the big red button on the upper right that says "new topic"