Messages

1861

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Brandon Sand Settlement Demand Letter

« on: November 18, 2011, 12:53:01 AM »

Scribd provided me the original DMCA complaints from Brandon Sand. He filed two of them.  I don't really care about reposting his sorry resume I found on Linkedin which was fully accessible to everyone.  I think he got licensed as a lawyer in 2010, a newbie lawyer.  Plus his interesting stints in the musical career.

His Settlement Demand Letter, I have filed a counter-notification with Scribd to challenge posting that.

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

Pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, I am requesting the take
down of the following infringing documents hosted on your server:

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

The documents is an infringement of a work of authorship as defined in
Title 17 of the Copyright statute.

I have a good faith belief that use of the material on the above mentioned
website is not authorized by the copyright owner.

The information in this notification is accurate, and is made under penalty
of perjury. I am the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly
infringed.

I may be contacted at:
[email protected]

Brandon Sand, Esq.
699 14th St, Apt 252
San Diego CA, 92101

Electronically signed,
/s/ Brandon Sand

***

Pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, I am requesting the take
down of the following infringing documents hosted on your server:

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

The documents is an infringement of a work of authorship as defined in
Title 17 of the Copyright statute.

I have a good faith belief that use of the material on the above mentioned
website is not authorized by the copyright owner.

The information in this notification is accurate, and is made under penalty
of perjury. I am the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly
infringed.

I may be contacted at:
[email protected]

Brandon Sand, Esq.
699 14th St, Apt 252
San Diego CA, 92101

Electronically signed,
/s/ Brandon Sand

1862

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Brandon Sand Settlement Demand Letter

« on: November 17, 2011, 03:13:36 PM »

Our friend Brandon has issued a bogus DMCA complaint to Scribd regarding HIS Settlement Demand Letter.  He knows full well that letter has no protection given he sent/delivered it to the intended recipient as a business communication and that person freely shared it with us.  Brandon, like Julie, are two copyright attorneys that should know better than to knowingly file false DMCA complaints. They WILL be held to a higher standard in a court of law and public opinion.

Another counter-notification letter I have to write.  Sigh.... this is really tiresome.

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

Scribd:

Hello, extortionletterinfo --

We have removed your document, "Brandon S. Sand Settlement Demand Letter" (id: 72740193) 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 [email protected].

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

1863

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Blackline Lawyer Julie Stewart Successfully Cleans ELI Scribd Account

« on: November 17, 2011, 03:06:56 PM »

I may have jumped the gun.  It appears that the missing documents on Scribd were a result of one DMCA complaint over 4 different documents.  Scribd kindly provided the original complaint to me.

A DMCA counter-notification letter was already issued for the Blackline Settlement Demand Letter.

I am going to simply let her resume stay deleted. I don't care enough about it.

I will probably issue another counter-notification letter for the other two letters out of principle.  We are not dependent on Scribd but the DMCA complaint is really bogus on these two.  There simply is no standing and I am going to challenge it.

But I got other things to do besides mess with this day-in and day-out.  The one thing we can all thank Julie for is that all of us are learning a ton about the DMCA process.  I never wrote a DMCA counter-notification letter in my life but I think I am getting the swing of it.

Matthew

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

FROM SCRIBD

Pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, I am requesting the
removal of the following infringing document/s hosted on your server:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/72752689/Blackline-Lawyer-Julie-Stewart-s-Resume
http://www.scribd.com/doc/72744163/Blackline-Lawyer-Julie-Stewart-Email-Notice-to-ELI
http://www.scribd.com/doc/70625769/Blackline-Settlement-Demand-Letter
http://www.scribd.com/doc/72747335/Oscar-Michelen-s-Reply-to-Blackline-Lawyer-Julie-Stewart

The document is an infringement of a copyrighted work of authorship as
defined in Title 17 of the Copyright statute.

I have a good faith belief that use of the material on the above mentioned
website is not authorized by the copyright owner.

Furthermore these documents contain my home address and phone number and
this is now a personal safety issue, which I would hope Scribd would take
very seriously

The information in this notification is accurate, and is made under penalty
of perjury. I am the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly
infringed.

Please contact me at the number below if you have any questions, thank you
for your attention to this urgent matter.

Julie Stewart
Lawyer, Blackline Art + Entertainment Law
T: 1-(416)-628-8364
F: 1-(416)-628-8364
www.blacklinelaw.ca

1864

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: ELI Website Traffic Statistics Trivia

« on: November 17, 2011, 10:06:28 AM »

Quick update, I suspected that overall traffic might be up this past week so I checked my website logs.

It turns out on November 14, we broke another record with 921 unique visitors in a single day!! I run this little website and I am once again surprised at these numbers. And since that day we are registering well over 800+ unique visitors per day.

I guess all this drama with the Hawaiian Art Network-related lawyer fiasco has drawn in a lot more people to check things out.

1865

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: ELI Financial Issues

« on: November 17, 2011, 02:47:27 AM »

Digitizer,

I like a lot of your ideas.  I will definitely look into them. Thanks for your support and hanging out with us.

Matthew

1866

Getty Images Letter Forum / Blackline Lawyer Julie Stewart Successfully Cleans ELI Scribd Account

« on: November 17, 2011, 02:45:28 AM »

It appears Blackline Lawyer Julie Stewart has won in cleaning out our ELI Scribd Account of every document we uploaded INCLUDING the emails that Oscar and I entirely wrote yourselves!  She will be happy to know that we will not attempt to upload replacements since Scribd has already passed judgment.  I am a big boy and I know when to concede defeat on a front.

I cannot remember all the files she had Scribd delete from our Scribd account but this is the current list of documents being suppressed by her:

* Oscar Michelen's email reply to Julie Stewart
* Matthew Chan's email reply to Julie Stewart
* Julie Stewart Resume
* Blackline Settlement Demand Letter (currently in counter-notification stages)

Unlike her, I can admit my losses and mistakes.  She, on the other hand, is unapologetic and trying to cover her tracks and her embarrassing work. She may be able to suppress the information on the Scribd front but she will be hard-pressed to suppress the information that exists on the ELI website since the majority of the content is authored by us and the community base.

I have mixed feelings about what Scribd has done. I am annoyed but not angered by Scribd.  Scribd provides a great service, it is THEIR website, so we need to play by THEIR rules.  I can accept that.  But clearly, it is not a good platform to post content relating to disputes unless it is actually a court document. So I recommend that the ELI community not try to post anything to Scribd.  It isn't worth the hassle and appears to be outside the realm of their preferred content.

However, I am ticked that she deleted Oscar's and my email replies to her on the Scribd site.  She can't touch us on the ELI site because this is "home base" and we are free to speak freely and state our opinions. We wrote and authored our respective letters and there can be no claims whatsoever of copyright infringement at all.  My hosting provider appears to read the actual content being challenged. If she wants to shout defamation, libel, and slander, have at it. Oscar and I and the rest of you guys will be watching.

Going to start my rant now....

I normally try to not to engage in name-calling but I am going to make an exception for myself.... now. The following is MY OPINION which I am entitled to. She is a coward, inexperienced, and a cry-baby of a lawyer.  She is a supposedly an expert on copyright infringement and online issues and yet how pathetic is it when she wants to delete her own resume from the Internet and a so-called law practice with no identifying photo of herself.  Maybe she is too ugly or maybe she is too beautiful for the profession. Who knows? Oscar and I will never win awards for being Mr. G.Q. but for better and for worse, we stand up and stand by who we are.

What thing I don't like is being censored.  It is a huge pet peeve of mine. I try to be rational and reasonable but there is a reason I became an independent publisher and broadcaster.  I wanted a platform (however small it might be) where I have the freedom to communicate my thoughts, ideas, and opinions on different subjects. She has attempted to censor Oscar and I. And neither one of us like it very much if someone tries to shut us up.  That only adds fuel to the fire.

Julie is acting like a child, hiding out because she was exposed for her tactics that she is so desperately trying to hide.  How dare one of her opponents seek out help.  She has also been so embarrassed that she has been put in her place. Getting spanked (it's a metaphor, dumbass, you know who I am talking to) publicly and with words is not fun especially for a newbie lawyer.  As far as the Internet is concerned, she is a faceless entity hiding behind her email address and website with no online credibility.  It is sad from a professional point of view.

Believe it or not, I actually felt a little sorry for her earlier today.  That all changed when I discovered the ELI Scribd account cleaned out! I no longer feel sorry for her. That did tick me off.  She deserves the negative attention she is getting and will continue to get for sending her "bully letters".  Karma is a real bitch in this business.  Ask Righthaven, Riddick, Imageline, and the RIAA.  The newbie lawyers are upset about the term "extortion letters" because people might get them "confused" with real extortionists.  So I have just coined a new alternative to "extortion letters". We can call them "bully letters".  And we can have a website named BullyLetterInfo.com.

It is especially appropriate because when you punch a bully back, they start crying like a baby and running home to their mommy saying "he hit me" when the fact of the matter is they deserved that punch in the nose.  How is your nose feeling, Ms. Stewart?  Is it swollen yet?

She refuses to own up to the letters she wrote and take responsibility for the words she put down.  So, she wants to play this game of "wack-a-mole".  It is going to be tough game for her because the news and word is out on her regardless if anyone actually sees the document she continues to suppress. I can stop tomorrow and Julie will still have a crappy reputation. People aren't stupid and people can read between the lines.  No one respects a lawyer that cannot stand up or speak for themselves.

She will be happy to know that I am not going to obsess over her and her little practice.  From what I have seen, I am not impressed.  And if a client like Hawaiian Network is stupid enough to hire her, they deserve what they get.

My rant is now over.... I feel better.

Matthew

P.S. I try to be classy but I guess I am really not.  Sorry.  That is why I hang out with Oscar.  He has enough class for the both of us.

1867

Getty Images Letter Forum / BuddhaPi Becomes ELI Facebook Page Administrator

« on: November 17, 2011, 12:13:55 AM »

Just a quick announcement. Some good news for a change and a break from the ongoing drama.

I am happy to announce that Robert Krausankas (aka BuddhaPi) has graciously accepted another title as ELI Facebook Page Administrator.  Up until now, I have taken on that role by myself but I realized I needed help.  

Since BuddhaPi has done an excellent job being a Moderator on the ELI Forums, it seemed natural for him to also become a Facebook Page Administrator where he can update the Facebook feed more frequently and help spotlight significant events and posts happening within the ELI Forums.

I have agreed to double his pay! (His base pay has been ZERO dollars/month). LOL.

So if you haven't joined the ELI Facebook Page, it is going to get a bit busier and more active.

http://facebook.com/extortionletterinfo

Please join me in congratulating and thanking BuddhaPi for stepping up once again so I can have more free time (and breaks) to focus on other things.

Matthew

1868

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Got my letter today... read my screen name!

« on: November 17, 2011, 12:04:18 AM »

I got on to the Warrior Forum just fine.  They are most definitely active and live.

1869

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: A well deserved entertainment moment

« on: November 16, 2011, 11:19:21 PM »

Quick, someone go to Youtube and file a DMCA complaint!   

1870

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Got my letter today... read my screen name!

« on: November 16, 2011, 11:17:56 PM »

I have visited the Warrior Forum before and it makes for interesting reading and research. But then I run away and find my own resources.  I could be wrong but that whole community gives me the creeps and certainly doesn't smell of high credibility. I know that is a general statement.  Just my impressions of past visits.

1871

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Lawyer Brandon Sand & Julie Stewart resumes removed by Scribd

« on: November 16, 2011, 11:13:23 PM »

Brandon Sand's current Linkedin resume lists only 3 positions.

* IP Clerk at Upper Deck from Jan. 2010 - May 2010
* Attorney at Law as Solo Practitioner from Dec. 2010 to present
* Music Licensing Consultant for SESAC.com from March 2011 to present

He conveniently left out 5 positions from last year's version from Linkedin:

* Music Artist at Paramanu Records from May 2006 - February 2011
* Music Artist at Uncommon Records from January 2004 - February 2009
* Music Artist at Equinox Records from May 2005 - July 2008
* Multimedia Producer at Vision Enhanced Studios from January 2004 - April 2007
* Music Artist at Definitive Jux Records from January 2004 - January 2005

Essentially, he eliminated all trace of his musical career from 2004 until today.

His education includes:

* Southwestern Law School, LL.M., Entertainment and Media Law, 2010 - 2011
* Thomas Jefferson School of Law, J.D., 2007 - 2010. He joined Phi Alpha Delta, Jewish Student Union, Entertainment Law Society here.
* City University of New York-Brooklyn College, B.A., Digital Media, 1999 - 2005

There you have it, the summary of his resume in a nutshell.

He seems much better suited for the music world and not the stock photography world.

1872

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Lawyer Brandon Sand & Julie Stewart resumes removed by Scribd

« on: November 16, 2011, 10:56:39 PM »

This is the summary for Julie Stewart's lawyer resume but it might be a little outdated. You might need to cross-reference her current bio on her website. The resume I have lists utoronto.ca as her domain email address and living in Toronto, ON, M6R 2K7 as her address.

She supposedly has expertise in Human Rights, Constitutional Law, Entertainment Law, Constitution Act 1867, Canadian Charter of Rights & Freedoms, Legal Research & Analysis, Legal & Academic Writing, English & French translation skills.

She claims she is dynamic & multi-faceted with a passion for human rights and media freedom!  Really?  She is doing a great job with her bogus DMCA complaints in suppressing information.

She claims she has background as an independent documentary filmmaker, a bilingual writer, and experience in legal research and legal databases.

The employment history she lists include:

* Kate Henderson Entertainment & Intellectual Property Law in Toronto, Ontario as a Part-Time Entertainment Law Associate from 2008-present.  The bio on her website says she has broken away from this firm.

* David Asper Centre For Constitutional Rights, The University of Toronto as a Student Participant from 2009-present.

* Canadian Civil Liberties Association in Toronto, Ontario as Articling Student from 2007-2008. She states she was under the supervision of CCLA General Counsel A. Alan Borovoy.

* Faculty Of Law, University Of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario as Research Assistant from 2006-2007. She supposedly worked under Richard Moon.

* Canadian Civil Liberties Association in Toronto, Ontario as Legal Intern in Summer 2006.

* The Green Corridor, University Of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario as legal & research assistant from 2005-2006.  She supposedly worked under the guidance of Professor Rod Strickland and artist Noel Harding.

* Cjam Campus Community Radio at Windsor, Ontario as Legal Advisor & Board Of Directors Member from 2006-2007.

I left out the detailed commentary of each position. After all, I wouldn't want to be accused of plagiarism. I just summarized the high points.

1873

Getty Images Letter Forum / Lawyer Brandon Sand & Julie Stewart resumes removed by Scribd

« on: November 16, 2011, 10:38:32 PM »

It appears that both lawyers Brandon Sand & Julie Stewart had their resumes removed from the ELI Scribd account.  The funny thing is I wasn't notified by Scribd at all since I did receive a DMCA complaint on the Blackline Settlement Demand Letter.

Oscar and I find it amusing that they are embarrassed by their own resumes. They are making every effort to delete them or sanitize them for public consumption. Or maybe they simply don't want their resumes associated with our Scribd account and Hawaiian Art Network. Regardless of the reasons, I don't care.  I can simply report them here and give a quick rundown of their "lengthy" experiences.

A link was found to Julie Stewart's resume here: http://clients.triggersandsparks.com/resumes/julie_stewart.pdf

My guess is that this will be a dead link within a week but I have a copy to report on. I also have Brandon Sand's untarnished resume that includes his colorful musical career. I will simply report on that.  I am not going to fool around with posting those so-called resumes again.  Not worth the hassle.

I will simply post a summary of their prior employment history in the next couple of posts.

1874

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: New Canadian Settlement Demand Letter by Attorney Julie Stewart of Blackline Law

« on: November 16, 2011, 09:59:05 PM »

I emailed and faxed my counter-notification letter to Scribd. I have also uploaded a copy of that letter to Scribd. It is quite self-explanatory and definitely not a cookie-cutter counter-notification letter.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/72973745/Scribd-DMCA-Counter-Notification-Letter-Blackline

I have also pasted the text of that counter-notification letter below.

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

November 16, 2011

Scribd, Inc.
Attn: Jason Bentley, Copyright Agent
539 Bryant St, Suite 200
San Francisco, CA 94107
FAX: 415.896.9896 (Attn: Scribd DMCA copyright infringement notification)

Dear Mr. Bentley:

We regret that a DMCA complaint was made to our account and that you and Scribd have to take time to deal with this matter. While we are not perfect, I can assure you we strive to be good and compliant online citizens with Scribd and every online service we utilize.

Because I have not yet been provided a copy of the original complaint, I have assumed the identity of the original complainant is Julie Stewart of Canada.  I respectfully request a copy of the original DMCA complaint for my records. You can email it to: [email protected] or FAX it to: 888-696-3441.

This letter is a formal response to a claim of copyright infringement against one of the documents ((id: 70625769) that I’ve uploaded and published on Scribd.com. I believe the claims of copyright infringement are inaccurate and should be rejected because:

The complainant has provided no copyright registration information or other tangible evidence that the material in question is in fact copyrighted, and I have a good faith belief that it is not. The allegation of copyright violation is therefore in dispute, and at present unsupported.

Because of the nature of the material being reported and prior arguments were given in an earlier email letter by both myself and New York Attorney Oscar Michelen to the original complainant, I have strong belief that the original complainant (who is a copyright lawyer herself) did not simply make an honest error but has knowingly and willfully filed a false DMCA complaint. Unfortunately for her, she has now potentially exposed herself to liability as described in 17 USC 512(f).

As the original complainant knows, the disputed document we shared on Scribd was sent/delivered by herself as a legitimate and legal business communication to the original, intended recipient.  That recipient was within her full rights as the intended recipient to provide her copy to us or anyone else for the purpose of sharing or publishing of the contents and messages within that letter.

It had already been made clear by myself and Mr. Michelen that copyright protections do not extend to actual business communications. Certainly, to our knowledge she has not registered that business communication letter with any legitimate copyright registration service. As a copyright lawyer herself, she should realize she could be held to a higher standard of knowledge and conduct.

It is for the reason of the egregious contents and messages within this letter that the document is being suppressed at Scribd through the abuse of the DMCA complaint process. I find her conduct of abusing the DMCA complaint system both outrageous and unbecoming of a lawyer of any state or country including Canada.

Further, I will be sharing this counter-notification letter to inform her and others that we will not tolerate persistent and abusive and illegitimate DMCA complaints against our online accounts (and consequently our online reputation) with Scribd or any other online service.

This communication to you is a DMCA counter notification letter as defined in 17 USC 512(g)(3):

I declare, under penalty of perjury, that I have a good faith belief that the complaint of copyright violation is based on mistaken information, misidentification of the material in question, or deliberate misreading of the law. I also understand that you will provide a copy of counter-notification letter to the original complainant.

Further, according to 17 USC 512(f), any person who knowingly misrepresents that material is infringing shall be liable for any damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees incurred by me and other related parties as a result of removing or disabling access to hosting services or other materials claimed to be infringing or in replacing the removed material.

I ask that Scribd, upon receipt of this counter-notification, restore the material in dispute, unless the complainant files suit against me within ten (10) days, pursuant to 17 USC 512(g)(2)(B).

My name, address, and telephone number are:

Matthew Chan
1639 Bradley Park Dr.
Suite 500, PMB 110
Columbus, GA 31904
Phone: (762) 359-0425

I hereby consent to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district in which I reside. I agree to accept service of process from the complainant.

Having received this counter notification, you are now obligated under 17 USC 512(g)(2)(B) to advise the original complainant of this notice, and restore the material in dispute (and not take the material down again).

Sincerely,
 
Matthew Chan

1875

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: DMCA complaint regarding Julie Stewart thread of discussion

« on: November 16, 2011, 09:09:00 PM »

I received written confirmation from eApps that they received my DMCA counter-notification letter. In theory, a lawsuit could appear on my doorstep within 2 weeks. If not, the original content will be reinstated.

I would also like to publicly acknowledge Tyler and Lynn at eApps for taking so much time to educate and meticulously explain the DMCA process from their end and even drilling down to discuss each of my specific cases.

Having a great relationship with your hosting provider helps a lot in dealing with bogus DMCA complaints.

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

Hello Matthew,

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. We are in receipt of your counter-notification with regard to an open DMCA complaint against material hosted on your account: (http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/index.php/topic,2346.0.html)

I have verified that access to the disputed material has been disabled, and I certainly appreciate your efforts to conform with the requirements of the DMCA. The complaintant in this matter has been notified and provided with a copy of your counter notification.

Best regards,

Tyler B.
eApps Hosting