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Author Topic: Judge Awarded RM Media nearly $20,000 for 2 Creative Commons Images  (Read 10550 times)

Ethan Seven

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Higbee & Associates posted a link on their website to a court order for a copyright claim involving to RM Media images that were offered via a Creative Commons license.  The judge awarded RM Media nearly $20,000 in damages.  Most of the damages came from copyright and 1202 violations. 

The order is posted at http://www.higbeeassociates.com/practices/copyright-law/

Some takeaways:

The judge awarded an additional $10,000 for violations of section 1202, which pertains to the removal of copyright management information, among other things.   That is more than the $7,500 he awarded for the copyright violations.   

The court did not just rubberstamp RM Media’s request for damages.  The order was detailed.  He gave RM Media a lot, but not everything. The judge even reduced the requested amount of attorneys fees to $1650, which was required by the local rule.

RM Media seems to be comfortable arguing the validity of its claims and business practice of suing when people do not buy a license or comply with the Creative Commons license terms.   It will be interesting to see if this has an impact in their defense in the case against RM Media in NY.  That case has not moved since Higbee filed a motion to dismiss.  I check every week. 

This was a default judgment. The merits and context of default judgments was discussed thoroughly on a similar thread at https://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/higbee-letter-lawsuits-forum/judge-awarded-higbee-associates-$48-000-for-use-of-1-photo!!!/
« Last Edit: December 27, 2018, 03:40:17 PM by Ethan Seven »
Even if I am a lawyer, I am not your lawyer.  Copyright matters can have serious consequences.  If you have assets worth protecting, consult a lawyer who is familiar with copyright law and who can review the facts of your case. If you cannot afford one, call your state or county bar association.

 

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