Hello Chris,
Thanks for doing some homework before asking questions. It makes it easier for the rest of us.
Regarding my reluctance to giving advice to Canadians, quite simply the legal system, copyright laws, and the culture of Canada (while similar in some respects) is different from the U.S.
Aside from my being fluent in English, there is very little in my background that would make my opinion any better or informed than anyone else discussing the Canadian environment. That doesn't mean that one day I couldn't spend time in Canada, study the Canadian legal system, study Canadian cases, and get a better feel of the Canadian culture as it relates to fighting the extortion letters. But that is a long very time down the road, if ever.
Quite frankly, I have my hands full just getting a grip on all the copyright troll activities here in the U.S. law. I never imagined that I would do so much reading on published court cases, copyright laws, court procedures, self-representation, current events, etc. I feel like I am doing all the work a new lawyer might do to become an expert in a particular field of law without the credit for it. It is sort of crazy that, as a non-lawyer, I have the audacity to write the upcoming BGIEL report.
There are no shortage of cases to follow-up or study here in the U.S. I do a lot of studying and research on any subject I decide to sink my teeth into. In fact, I am so far behind in doing my analysis of U.S. Masterfile cases because I have been writing the Beating the Getty Images Extortion Letter (BGIEL) report. It has been a lot of work cross-referencing wading through the various legal cases, legal opinions, extortion letters, forum posts, articles, and the various sources I am using to put my report together.
I am flattered you would ask me to elaborate on why I wouldn't tackle Canada. It is the same reason why I won't tackle the U.K. issues. There is already too much for me to take on being knowledgeable (much less becoming an expert) in U.S. environment. I never sought out to become an "expert" in these matters. But since I decided to write and publish the BGIEL report, I decided I would do all the things necessary to "earn" the expert title. That means being focused, niched, lots of research, reading, and analysis. As time permits, I then run my findings by Oscar so he can double-check some of my conclusions.
If I had to do the same thing for Canada or U.K, I would simply have to plead insanity and have a nervous breakdown. Maybe one day, someone in Canada will step up and lead the effort on that front. But it cannot be me. I simply won't do it.
First of all, thank-you for all the information you have made available on the website/forum. After a friend of mine received her letter from Getty last week (more than 1 image, less than 4), I have spent the last few days pouring over the forum trying to get up to speed.
In the following thread Matthew mentions he would not be comfortable giving advice to Canadians:
http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/getty-images-letter-forum/getty-in-the-uk/30/
Matthew, are you able to elaborate on this?
Topic: Canadian Advice (Read 4617 times)