Another letter from IMUA Legal Advisors

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

Some may know IMUA Legal Advisors works with Alaska Stock LLC, with the demand letter tactic, this letter dates back to Sept 2010 and is demanding 11,750 USD. To this point only attorney John Grant has been mentioned, apparently he has a "partner in crime" ( no I'm not actually accusing anyone of any crimes, for those that like to get their shorts in a bunch!) This letter comes from  Eric S. Meltzer, ESQ. I'm temped to contact the recipient for a quick follow up, but am still thinking it over..

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/72052958/48952624-Alaska-Stock-Murphy-Gonzalez-Copyright-Infringement-Cease-and-Desist-Letter

Names have not been redacted from this doc, but this was not posted by ELI.

It is also worth noting that IMUA Legal Advisors is now known as Meltzer Grant LLC

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

Another one not willing to educate themselves....apparently this person paid up, although he signed a confidentiallity agreement and can't disclose how much he settled for ...

Man sued for posting official Sarah Palin picture on his website

Read more: http://digitaljournal.com/article/303780#ixzz1fbpX2MSL

[Jerry Witt (mcfilms)]

He should have fought it. When the photographer turned it over to the State of Alaska to be the "Official State Photo" of Sarah Palin, there should have been a requirement to include copyright information with the photo. Without a proper photo credit the public is left with the belief that it is a government photo and in the public domain.

[SoylentGreen]

The Digital Journal article and some others state that the alleged infringer was actually sued.

However, I can't find any hits relating to the alleged infringers' name or his business on Justia Dockets or other similar sites.
Also, I can't find any hits on lawsuits filed by IMUA.
I'm not saying that I searched for hours, because I didn't.  But I couldn't really find anything.
If an actual lawsuit was filed, not just a bs threatening letter, something should have popped up.

Anyway, readers can enjoy PicScout's interview with John Grant of IMUA/Meltzer Grant:

http://picscout.com/imageexchange/blog/?p=359

S.G.

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

I don't think he was ever "sued" I think he just caved in..

"WNYC reported Sheridan feared "prolonged litigation" and its effects on the business and "paid the attorney Eric Meltzer." After the time of the actual payment, "Sheridan said he was asked to sign a gag order, which he resisted. He said both sides comprised: Sheridan would not say how much he paid, but was otherwise free to talk."

[Matthew Chan]

It looks like we got another bogus DMCA complaint against our Scribd account this time from IMUA Legal Advisors. For the record, we legally obtained our copy of the IMUA Legal Advisors letter from the original letter recipient and they gave us permission to openly share their copy.

I have written Scribd for the original complaint before filing a counter-notification letter.

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

Hello, extortionletterinfo --

We have removed your document, "IMUA Legal Advisors Settlement Demand Letter for Alaska Stock Images" (id: 74361657) in response to a third-party notification or other indicia that this document was uploaded to Scribd.com without the authorization of the copyright owner. If you believe the removal of this document is the result of a mistake or misidentification, please visit our Scribd Support Desk to access the instructions for providing a counter-notification.

For more information, read about our Copyright Management System or contact us through copyright@scribd.com.

Please note that under Section 512(f) of the Copyright Act, any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that content was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification may be subject to liability. Please also be advised that we enforce our policy that provides for the termination of users who are identified as repeat infringers.

Thanks for your cooperation.
-Scribd Customer Care

P.S. You can always fine-tune which notifications you receive or opt-out completely.

Scribd Inc., 539 Bryant St., Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

It would appear that IMUA Legal Advisors aka Meltzer Grant LLC do not like us reporting on these issues. I can't imagine why they wouldn't want the general public to view these and become educated. You would think being folks who supposedly know the law would be well aware of the ramifications of sending bogus DCMA takedown notices..

[Jerry Witt (mcfilms)]

buddhapi,

You are absolutely right. If IMUA Legal Advisors wants to protect their photographer's rights, one would think they would promote the honest exchange of information. Instead it seems they want to hide these letters from public view.

I know Matt will continue to dispute these silly DMCA take-down notices. Preventing someone from posting a letter in the context of education and information is a pretty severe First Amendment violation. I hope Scribd will continue to side by him and once all parties comply with the provisions in DMCA, the documents will become available again.

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

Here's a little something that jumped out at me in regards to the letter in the original post... seems they went a bit further than just the infringement angle..

"Additionally, your website claims "© 2008 Murphy & Gonzalez." As you are not, in fact, the lawful copyright holder of #351PL_AA0001D001_P, your action constitues the falsification of copyright management information under 17 U.S.C. 1202 (a)"

It then goes on to state the extra damages they can collect.....

I wonder is Alaska Stock or other companies pursue this angle when folks do license the images?? or will that be new tactic coming down the road...

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/72052958/48952624-Alaska-Stock-Murphy-Gonzalez-Copyright-Infringement-Cease-and-Desist-Letter

[Matthew Chan]

I received the official complaint text from Scribd of the DMCA complaint trying to suppress the contents of the very letters they are sending out to people. A counter-notification letter will be sent to Scribd sometime soon.

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

Attention DMCA Agent:

(1) I represent Imua Legal Advisors, the original author of the material
posted at
http://www.scribd.com/doc/74361657/IMUA-Legal-Advisors-Settlement-Demand-Letter-for-Alaska-Stock-Images
.

(2) The material at
http://www.scribd.com/doc/74361657/IMUA-Legal-Advisors-Settlement-Demand-Letter-for-Alaska-Stock-Imageshas
been published without the permission of the copyright holder.

(3) I have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner
complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the
law.

(4) I may be contacted at the address below.

(5) I hereby state that the information in this notification is accurate,
and under penalty of perjury, that I am authorized to act on behalf of the
owner of an exclusive right that has been infringed.

/s/ John E. Grant, III

--
John E. Grant, III
Attorney

Meltzer Grant LLC
107 SE Washington St., Suite 410
Portland, OR 97214

OR Phone: (503) 345-6912
WA Phone: (206) 903-8182
Fax: (206) 903-8183
john@meltzergrant.com

[Matthew Chan]

In reading their bios, http://meltzergrant.com/about/ these are relatively young lawyers. While not totally green, they don't appear to have an extensive track record either. 

John Grant's & Eric Meltzer's LinkedIn resumes are fairly short and simple.  Definitely not Oscar Michelen-level lawyers.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnegrant

http://www.linkedin.com/in/ericmeltzer

[Matthew Chan]

Today, I sent Scribd our DMCA counter-notification letter challenging John Grant's DMCA complaint about our openly sharing his settlement demand letter.

You can view a copy of our counter-notification letter here:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/75586030/Scribd-DMCA-Counter-Notification-Letter-IMUA-Legal-Advisors

As always, our counter-notification letters are NOT generic and actually provide specific reasons why we are openly challenging it.

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

Another one not willing to educate themselves....apparently this person paid up, although he signed a confidentiallity agreement and can't disclose how much he settled for ...

Man sued for posting official Sarah Palin picture on his website

Read more: http://digitaljournal.com/article/303780#ixzz1fbpX2MSL

Looks like the letter that was linked from this article on scribd ( not posted by Eli ) has also been removed from scribd..

"The document "Alaska Stock - Murphy & Gonzalez Copyright Infringement Cease and Desist Letter" has been automatically removed from Scribd by our automated copyright protection system because it appears very similar to an unauthorized copyrighted document that was previously removed from Scribd."