Messages

211

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Getty Images is Hiring!!

« on: September 12, 2012, 11:38:21 PM »

I wish that somebody in the area would apply for the job, attend an interview while wearing a hidden camera.
You have no idea what I'd give to see that on ELI.



S.G.

212

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Copyright Defense League - Inside Strategies Revealed!

« on: September 12, 2012, 11:33:45 PM »

Wow.  Great sleuthing, guys!!

It's baffling to me why anyone would pay Godaddy extra for its "DomainsByProxy" feature.  Yes, it costs extra.
Although Godaddy has a disclaimer with its service, it's clear that anyone can simply request the "private" information and get it anyway.

Here's some interesting info about "DomainsByProxy":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domains_by_Proxy

Again, very impressive research indeed!!

S.G.

213

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Copyright Defense League Recruiting Extortionist Lawyers

« on: September 12, 2012, 07:33:21 PM »

Thanks for confirming our suspicions that he wasted his entire life.



S.G.

214

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Copyright Defense League Recruiting Extortionist Lawyers

« on: September 12, 2012, 04:11:04 PM »

Something that came to mind today...

We're beginning to see what I'd call wide-scale marketing of services offering the production and dissemination of "demand letters" in regard to alleged copyright infringements.
We know for certain that most of these demands and even lawsuits have no basis.

But, I wonder if the people or entities making claims that their content has been infringed upon actually know the risks and possible consequences of simply threatening or even starting litigation?
For example, if a person was simply threatened by a demand letter, that person could file a Declaratory judgment in his/her home state.
He/she may then simply wait for some time, and even "pull the trigger" so to speak, upon which the sender of the demand letter would need to hire legal counsel in the above state, and may even have to travel there for trial.
The alleged infringer in the above scenario would in fact become the plaintiff, controlling the process, with the defendant struggling to prove a dubious claim.

I think that it's just a matter of time before we see somebody get really burned by some bogus legal advice from one of the troll lawyers.
These lawyers are "selling" the trolling/infringement concept as "free money" with no risks.  I do not think that it's risk free at all.

S.G.

215

Legal Controversies Forum / Re: Google to start devaluing sites

« on: September 12, 2012, 12:52:50 PM »

Here we see how Google's new scheme can be used in a negative way, as I mentioned earlier.
One company is using Google's DMCA scheme as a way to hurt the sales of another company.

Dragons’ Den Company DMCAs Google To Censor Competitor
http://torrentfreak.com/dragons-den-company-dmcas-google-to-censor-competitor-120812/

It's also interesting that Google applies US law to non-US companies?
While I realize that Google is a US corporation, the Web is world-wide... we will see this point in future litigations?

S.G.

216

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Copyright Defense League Recruiting Extortionist Lawyers

« on: September 12, 2012, 11:15:47 AM »

This is great.  Thanks Oscar.

S.G.

217

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Copyright Attorney Leslie Burns shows her ignorance

« on: September 08, 2012, 02:45:45 PM »

Good commentary as always...

I laughed a bit over the "don't react publicly" and "you shouldn’t discuss your case on social media" thing.
Because, the exact opposite happens every single time, and the battles are won primarily on social media.
I guess that Inman really "russled some jimmies" in the copyright troll world.



As Oscar would say "there endeth the lesson" lol.

S.G.

218

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Copyright Defense League Recruiting Extortionist Lawyers

« on: September 08, 2012, 12:13:30 PM »

Interesting posting indeed.

Note that Levine writes of the 350 dollar filing fee and the costs of serving the alleged infringer.
This seems to indicate that he expects the lawyers working on contingency to be willing to take cases to court.
At their expense.  Therefore, if nothing comes of it, the contingency lawyers take the loss.

There's definitely a multitude of alleged infringements.  I'm still pretty doubtful of how many actual infringements exist that are worth litigating over.
Only a minute fraction of photographers have registered their photographs properly.
Demands are often made for between 1500 to 10,000 dollars on these infringements.
But, I'm doubtful that a court would award that much, unless there's a paper trail to show that the images(s) in question sell for that much.
Failing such evidence, the courts only real option to determine value would be to compare the price of similar images in the marketplace.
The plaintiff might find something for 500 dollars.  The defendant could find an example for less than two dollars.

To me, this is the same old extortion/trolling scheme.  The uneducated pay, the smarter people don't.

S.G.

219

P2P/BitTorrent Lawsuits Forum / Re: Pirate Bay founder arrested in Cambodia upon visit of Obama ambassador...

« on: September 06, 2012, 11:59:05 AM »

Pirate Bay Founder Arrest Related To Tax Hack, Not Piracy

http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-founder-arrest-related-to-tax-hack-not-piracy-120906/

The arrest of Pirate Bay co-founder Gottfrid Svartholm last week resulted in much speculation about the motives and forces driving the action. In most scenarios it was assumed that Svartholm was arrested for his role in The Pirate Bay, but this turns out to be untrue... Svartholm is being held at the interior ministry’s counter terrorism department in connection with the alleged hacking of a Swedish IT company and the subsequent leak of thousands of tax numbers...

220

P2P/BitTorrent Lawsuits Forum / Re: Pirate Bay founder arrested in Cambodia upon visit of Obama ambassador...

« on: September 05, 2012, 12:16:18 PM »

Pirate Bay Founder Arrest Followed By $59m Swedish Aid Package For Cambodia

http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-founder-arrest-followed-by-59m-swedish-aid-package-for-cambodia-120905/

"While it perhaps isn’t all that unusual for Swedish authorities to be in Cambodia, a development today will join a long line of interesting political coincidences in which one nation appears to be rewarded by another following an apparently unconnected favor that everyone but the politicians are suspicious of."

S.G.

221

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Masterfile $12K per Image Extortion Letter

« on: September 04, 2012, 03:37:22 PM »

I think that part of the problem is the semantics.  Anyone can sue for anything at any time.  That's a fact.
The concept of "no right to sue" is kind of an impractical concept.  We might say that Getty has "no right to sue", for example.
But, if Getty disagrees with us, they can file a lawsuit and have a go at it in the court anyway.  So much for "no right to sue".

Additionally, while Getty can claim a "worldwide license", actual "lawsuits" always come down to "copyright registrations", which are only country-wide.
But, I do agree that the chances are close to zero.  Not because they "have no right to sue", but rather, that they cannot win.

S.G.

222

P2P/BitTorrent Lawsuits Forum / Pirate Bay founder arrested in Cambodia upon visit of Obama ambassador...

« on: September 04, 2012, 03:19:08 PM »

Pirate Bay founder Gottfrid Svartholm has been arrested in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh
http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-founder-arrested-in-cambodia-120901/


Obama Ambassador In Cambodia On Day Pirate Bay Founder Was Arrested
http://torrentfreak.com/obama-ambassador-in-cambodia-on-day-pirate-bay-founder-was-arrested-120903/


Pirate Bay Founder Will Be Deported, Cambodian Authorities Confirm
http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-founder-will-be-deported-cambodian-authorities-confirm-120804/


S.G.

223

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Masterfile $12K per Image Extortion Letter

« on: September 04, 2012, 03:01:21 PM »

These are very good questions.  Also, get ready for copyright trolling using these methods.  The uneducated will pay.

As to your question, the answer is "no, you've done nothing wrong".
The image is may well be copyrighted in the US as in your example.
But, it's not a "copyright infringement" to host the image in Canada, as US copyrights don't have jurisdiction in Canada.

I know what you're thinking...
...what if Masterfile has the right to license the image in Canada, but Getty has the right to license it in the US?
...and you've bought the image from Getty in the US, but now you're hosting it in Canada... what then?
I haven’t read any passages in law or seen any actual court cases that address this (please chime in if you have).
But, I’m of the opinion that a copyright troll/extortionist (Masterfile in this hypothetical situation) would call this an “infringement” on the basis that they “cannot find a valid license for the image in the name of the end user in question”.
I’m also of the opinion that nothing would ever come of this; so long as the end user possesses a valid license (from the artist or a retailer) to use the image, then that should be sufficient.
After all, the “world-wide web” IS world-wide, after all.

Having said all that, people are stupid to use rights-managed images.  They should choose royalty-free whenever possible.
The only time that rights-managed products are useful is when one needs an image to use as an exclusive trademark, or for exclusive branding.

Television and radio adhere to much stricter conventions in this regard, but it’s expected and understood to be the convention.
Additionally, “file-sharing” infringements appear to have taken on a world-wide scope, regardless of copyright, country, or local statutes.
People aren’t normally extradited from foreign lands to face trial in the US over major drug charges, or even murder.
But, when big money is involved, it’s an entirely different matter.
Don't expect this to happen in the case of stock images; the industry is shrinking.

S.G.

224

P2P/BitTorrent Lawsuits Forum / Re: Copyright extortionist lawyers whining about websites

« on: September 03, 2012, 11:47:32 PM »

Interesting post.  Yeah, people are getting educated, and the trolls are making less money.
If the lawyers have legitimate cases, and their clients have legitimate damages, they'll have nothing to worry about.
But discussion and information about the issues are here to stay.

S.G.

225

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Masterfile $12K per Image Extortion Letter

« on: September 02, 2012, 05:29:01 PM »

I've been expecting you, Mr Scraggy.
I thought as you did when I first read it.

However, disparate entities can have "exclusivity" in differing territories.
The concept of "exclusivity" in contractual agreements often differs from what we'd logically expect from the dictionary definition of "exclusivity".

When one thinks about it, "copyright" is quite territorial in its very nature.
One might register an image with the Copyright Office in the US, for example.
But, that wouldn't necessarily give one legal standing in another territory, such as Canada.

S.G.