Messages

271

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Service to "fight back" against Higbee

« on: December 27, 2017, 06:17:38 PM »

Earlier in 2017, someone had emailed me a list of Higbee-related lawsuits. I looked over the list of lawsuits and did some poking around.  People need to be more discerning as to WHO the PLAINTIFF is.  For example, Highbee separately represents Alex Wild and Nick Youngson. Victims who receive a Higbee letter on behalf of Alex Wild is far more at risk of a lawsuit than a letter for a Nick Youngson image.  Same lawyer but entirely different lawsuit risk levels because the plaintiff is different.

However, Higbee's staff will be thrilled that most people will not be so discerning as we are here on ELI. (And for the occasional critic about ELI's open discussions and analysis by non-lawyers, show me a lawyer who will freely and openly tell you this, using their full names, free of charge. There are lawyers who visit and read ELI but they tend to stay underground.)

I looked through the first 15 or so filings, searching for Pacer records. Four of them I couldn't find. But, of the 11 or so that I did find, all WERE for copyright infringement. So, something to examine to understand the profile of the folks he/his clients are filing suits against given that he's filing 5 or 6 lawsuits a month.

272

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Service to "fight back" against Higbee

« on: December 27, 2017, 06:07:59 PM »

I saw it begin with Picscout which Getty Images have since acquired to scan the Internet for potential infringements. I am certain Picscout has competitors that perform a similar service.  And yes, the companies that do find/flag potential infringements do have a "recommended list of lawyers". That is how some of the lawyers we report on get some of their early work.

From what we have reported over the years, there is a very small community of lawyers who do what Higbee does.  Many lawyers pre-Higbee era have left the business.  The very public pushback and exposure against extortionate demands for "de minimus" infringements and constantly be referred to as a copyright troll/extortionate takes its toll.

And words has gotten out that going dark, ignoring, and simply NOT paying is a perfectly legal strategy. No lawyers or fees required. Of course, the caveat is every person bears the burden of risk for doing so.  But we have had MANY people successfully report over the years that simply and quietly waited out the 3 years.

In regards to Higbee operations doing everything and the client not being involved at all, then the client puts themselves at Higbee's mercy.  Who would even know if Higbee collected money and NOT pay out the money???  This happens often with unethical collection agencies.  If Higbee got caught by a client of not paying monies and it went public, things would go very badly for the entire law firm.

I can't prove it, but when I first looked into some of Higbee's cases I got the impression he is probably being fed cases from https://www.imagerights.com/recovery or other comparable outfits because I really doubt all these people were suddenly finding this expungement attorney to do copyright work as much as he found lead sources. For those leads I'd wager the client has no involvement in any decisions and probably knows next to nothing of the details. They just wait for their check.

273

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Service to "fight back" against Higbee

« on: December 27, 2017, 05:56:44 PM »

Good discussion.  My comments inline...

I wondered if Higbee is involved in that operation so he either gets the settlement money directly to himself or he has a stooge charging outrageous fees for this non-representation against him. Either way, he gets paid.

There is no easy way of knowing right now.  It seems hard to believe that any lawyer would be behind that website given that it is supposedly a "referral service."

And in normal attorney client relationships it is always the client's call to file a suit, but if you look at the power of attorney Higbee uses and some of his cases I'm still very skeptical that his 'clients' are all making the decision to file and paying the filing fees.

That is a very good observation regarding the POA. HOWEVER, I find it hard to believe that Higbee would put his law license at risk by filing lawsuit without the specific consent of a client. I certainly believe Higbee has a HUGE influence as to whether a client chooses to file a lawsuit or not, but it just seems like professional suicide for a lawyer to file a lawsuit for a client without first discussing about it. It is possible I may be giving too much credit to Higbee but some do blow up in people's faces in very unexpected and unintended ways.

In regards to the filing fees, it is certainly possible that Higbee is willing to FRONT the fees for the clients but I cannot see a scenario where he will not ultimately be reimbursed for the hard costs one way, shape, or form. And regardless of who pays the hard costs, it does not change the fact that all plaintiffs expose themselves to countersuits if any defendant is inclined to exercise that option.

I very much believe in the volume operation (not all his clients are volume filers) Higbee is under the impression his clients are assigning these decisions to him and he advances filing fees and expenses as he sees fit.

It is possible but FOOLISH for both Higbee and the client. Both parties stand to have lots of exposure if lawsuits go wrong.

Unless someone can convince me that guy Youngson in England agreed to pay $400 out of his pocket to file a case in California where he will likely never show up for trial and lose by default if the defendant doesn't fold before trial.

Most of these lawsuits are expected to settle way before trial. That is the gamble. It is a game of chicken. I am very certain federal judges will find it insulting and bad use of their time to oversee an low-resolution image on a low-trafficked website from a smaller party who works from home.

Or why one of Higbee's clients filed a lawsuit after agreeing to a $1,000 settlement to gain a confidentiality clause that no judge would give. A lot of Higbee's moves indicate to me that he is the decision maker, not the client.

There is no question Higbee has a HUGE influence but being the ultimate decision-maker for a lawsuit for another party is contrary to everything I know about a reputable lawyer/law firm. I know an argument can be made that Higbee may be unethical or disreputable but my vibe of what I see is that he is striving for credibility.  As offensive as his actions have been, he has not yet approached the likes of RIAA, Righthaven, Prenda Law, etc. If he does adopt uglier ways, he will get LOTS more attention from the Internet at large.

274

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Service to "fight back" against Higbee

« on: December 27, 2017, 05:40:07 PM »

In the interest of fairness, my comments inline...

Multiple red flags here.

I'd stay away from that site.

- Wordpress theme
(We have a Wordpress component to ELI which consists of mostly static content.)

- Generic stock homepage image

- Multiple hyphens in the domain (done strictly for SEO purposes)

- No contact info
(Yes, that is a red flag.  I don't like contact forms when you have no idea who is behind the website.)

- No business info
(Yes, I agree with this as well. Victims are going to entrust their case information to an unknown individual or company?)

- http not https
(Our Wordpress side is https compliant.  We are working on getting the forums on https compliant "soon".)

And the list goes on..

IMO its just a POS opportunist site with data compiled from here (possibly) looking for the quick cash grab.

Again: Stay away.

Read this site and save yourself from getting ripped twice.
(Thank you for saying that. I am biased but I think we are very open and transparent in the information we provide and what/why we do what we do.)

275

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Service to "fight back" against Higbee

« on: December 26, 2017, 05:35:36 PM »

That link to copyright-demand-letter.com seems to be a fear-mongering website operated by unnamed individuals. That certainly doesn't inspire a lot of trust and confidence.

It is entirely possible I am charging way too cheap at $60 for my ELI Support Calls vs. the $1,499 they want to charge for this service:

NEGOTIATION (Prior to Lawsuit Being Filed)
Typical Price: $1,499

* Reviewing the demand letter
* Reviewing your use of the image or images and all possible defenses
* A phone call with you to discuss the defenses or offers
* Making a recommendation on what amount to offer (if any)
* Sending a letter that explains your offer
* One follow-up call
* One follow-up call to you

To be fair, I am not writing any letters for anyone. I just do some basic research, speak to people, and provide some light after-call support.  But does someone need to pay a non-lawyer $1,499 for someone to write a letter for them?

If you have $1,500 to pay for a consulting service, you have money to just settle most cases or hire Oscar Michelen to officially represent you.

In regards to all the lawsuits that Higbee might have filed for his clients, it is the client who decides who files a lawsuit, not the lawyer.  Some clients are more litigious than others.  They also assume a greater risk of a copyright lawsuit going wrong.  One only needs to look to lawsuit history for that which include Masterfile, RIAA, Righthaven, Getty Images, etc. As of today, I only know of one Nick Youngson lawsuit out of the many many infringement letters Higbee has issued on his behalf.

I know Higbee law firm would love for everyone to get the idea that everyone getting a letter is going to get hit with a lawsuit. But that is factually untrue. As far as I am concerned, it is still less than 1% of all letter recipients who get hit with a lawsuit.  That percentage might become a bit higher (5%-10%) depending on other factors and circumstances.

We at ELI don't engage in fear-mongering.  We believe in empowering people with education and the right fight-back/push-back attitude.  While both Oscar and I do offer premium services, that is an off-to-the side item if you REALLY want personalized help. The very heart of ELI is these open discussion forums where we openly and honestly share information, strategies, and attitude.

276

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Higbee & Assoc. Lists RM Media Ltd in Nick Youngson Template Lawsuit

« on: December 19, 2017, 11:09:33 PM »

I was alerted the new development 2 weeks ago but haven't had time to publicly comment on it yet. But I will in more depth later.

For now, there is not much to get excited about.  It is just ONE lawsuit and it appears to be a special circumstance. There is nothing to indicated a rash of new lawsuits for the vast majority of people.

FYI Everyone - Higbee has started filing lawsuits on behalf of RM Media
The case was filed on November 27, 2017 in the Central District of California.
Case No 2:17-cv-08577-R-JC RM Media Ltd. v. 420 Evaluations, Inc., et al

Of note in the complaint, the Defendant never removed the images from their website, even after the initial cease and desist letters. So it is possible they are filing suits against companies that don't remove the images and not yet against companies that do.

277

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Higbee and Adlife

« on: November 29, 2017, 01:37:11 AM »

I tend to agree with the sentiment that use of Creative Commons is risky. I don't recommend it.
 The user needs to beware.

278

UK Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Getty Letter Advice

« on: November 29, 2017, 01:35:43 AM »

Getty is an American company. As such, Getty USA tends to set the general direction for how Getty international subsidiaries operate.  Getty in the U.S. has been much more measured in recent years.

279

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Mathew Higbee of Higbee & Associates 2017 idiot of the year!

« on: November 26, 2017, 01:28:34 AM »

To be fair, if defendants choose to settle the case, there is no reason to proceed ahead to trial. 

Having said that, I am fairly sure they are highly motivated to settle with defendants also. There really is not much benefit to "go all the way" if you don't have to.

It's true that Higbee is not a intellectual property lawyer.  His main business is criminal record exspongement.  And his firm has gotten bad reviews for that business.  As far as my research goes, he's never taken a copyright case to trial.  No way in the world does he want to go there.   

280

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Higbee & Assoc. Lists RM Media Ltd in Nick Youngson Template Lawsuit

« on: November 18, 2017, 10:28:04 PM »

In case he takes down his ad, I am preserving the text here with some of my own comments.

Copyright Litigation Attorney
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Full-time

National law firm seeks an Associate Attorney with a great work ethic to join its copyright litigation team in the firm's Las Vegas office. The copyright division's clients include top-rated photojournalists, visual artists, celebrity photographers, and high end-commercial photographers. The associate will work with a paralegal and law clerk to manage a significant caseload of federal court cases. (Be prepared to have your personal name turn into mud and get bar complaints like Righthaven and Prenda.)


DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Evaluate copyright cases (Read at a 7th-grade level.)
Engage in pre-litigation and post-filing negotiation with opposing parties (Email and phone harass the victims)
Draft complaints for filing in federal court (Fill in boilerplate lawsuits)
Work with professional staff to insure that cases are maximized and handled in a professional manner ("Maximized"=Squeeze as much money as you can!)
Correspond with clients via email and telephone (Tell clients: I am working on getting your damned money but these fuckers won't pay up!)
Provide legal advice to clients (We need to lie and scare the shit out of people to get the money, okay?)
Draft various motions related (Attach fake template lawsuits to extortion letters)
Propounding and responding to discovery. (Surprise discovery! One day, your name becomes mud in Google searches when people complain and talk about you!)


REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Willingness to negotiate and argue with opposing parties (We need harass them for 3 years!)
License to practice law in ANY state (Any state will do. Just have your law certificate handy just in case.)
Be organized, detail-oriented, and able to work well under pressure and deadlines (You mean those 14-day deadlines that don't mean shit?)
The ability to always treat prospects, clients, co workers, court personnel and opposing parties in a civil, polite and respectful manner (We have to put on a good front since we are a NATIONAL LAW FIRM but really only have virtual/rent-an-address "offices".)
Be able to take initiative and work as part of a team (Find new ways to squeeze extra money out of people especially if we can get away with it!)
The ability to provide extraordinary customer service to all clients and prospects (Just get us the money, okay?)
Ability to act with honesty and integrity in all matters (You mean like saying you will file lawsuits on every victim but it is actually a scare tactic? Or "let me speak to the client" and see if they will accept your offer? That kind of "honesty and integrity"?)
Ability to respond positively to change (we do things different and are constantly evolving) (We do things differently and evolve because ELI members openly report on how we do things making it tough to squeeze money.)


SALARY AND BENEFITS:

Base $45,000- $70,000 annual, depending on experience (For that salary, it is totally worth fucking your online reputation over when pissed-off victims post your name online, talk about you like dogshit, and possibly get bar complaints. Yeah, it is totally worth that smoking salary.)
Bonus opportunity $30,000 annual, depending on performance (You are going to need the bonus money after you realize reputable law firms in the future won't touch people who fuck their reputation over by working for a "National Law Firm" that really is just a front for one California outfit.)
Medical, vision and dental benefits provided (If you last that long)
Paid vacation days (If you last that long)
401K benefits after one year (If you last that long)


IMPORTANT LEGAL MUMBO-JUMBO
We are an equal opportunity employer, meaning that we do not discriminate in favor of or against anyone based on age, race, religion, gender, ethnicity or any other legally protected class. Job description, duties and hours are subject to change. This is an at-will position.  (Paying on outrageous extortion letters is also an "at-will" position)

281

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Higbee followup

« on: November 18, 2017, 09:41:46 PM »

You are making this too complicated and being too polite. No one is obligated to take anyone's call even if you accidentally pick up the phone. You just hang up immediately and block that number.  I will not hesitate to hang up on anyone if it is an unwanted call.

And while I am not encouraging anyone to commit illegal acts, but people do it everyday

If you took a pen without permission even unintentionally, you broke the law. If you took a washcloth from a hotel even unintentionally, you broke the law. If you drive over the speed limit, you broke the law.  Same with running a red light and not coming to a full stop at a stop sign. You are breaking the law.  You engage in certain sexual acts with a consenting adult in the privacy of your own home, in some states, you are breaking the law by performing those specific sexual acts. If someone (like a neighbor) besides a postal worker puts something inside your mailbox, they broke the law.

My point is that recording a phone call for private use using a private app (even in a one-party consent state) is not something society at large or local police are interested in prosecuting. Those recording laws were intended to be used for other purposes, not someone who is trying to defend themselves against unwanted and unruly calls.

And who is going to report you to the police for recording an unwanted phone call ? Higbee? They will sooner file a lawsuit and have you served than report you to the police for recording their phone call. The aren't interested in having you prosecuted. They just want your money. And the way to your money is through the civil process, not the criminal justice system.  People really need to get grip on reality and think.

In any case, I have heard a few recorded Higbee voicemails submitted to me from victims. The voicemails are pretty tame and generally respectful and professional. Not much of a "gotcha".

And no one is required to "go away" unless you want to push the issue and deliver to them a cease-and-desist letter. But even if you did that, then what?

Focus on what you can do. You cannot stop them from sending 100 demand letters to you or make 100 attempts to make phone calls. But you can toss them and block the calls. If you must, you can even change your number.

Problem solved.

One thing I'm starting to wonder about is whether Higbee will continue to harass me for the next three years. I don't believe he has a case, I have ZERO interest in giving him any money, I'm not afraid, and I need to start thinking about how to make him go away. And, I'm in no rush to take any action.

Sure, I can screen calls and, if I accidentally answer one of his calls, I'll tell his rep that I'm recording the call. I'll put him on speaker phone and record via my cell phone's recording app. (I'm in a one-party consent state but he's in CA which is a two-party consent state so I'll let him know I'm recording.) If he somehow doesn't hang up I'll listen and not offer up any information.

Thoughts on how I might proceed to make him go away? Yes, I might pay for that 30-minute phone call if he annoys me enough.

Thanks!

282

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Higbee followup

« on: November 18, 2017, 09:03:21 AM »

Of course, they will not tell you that ANY claims is a strike on your account, will likely be reported to LexisNexis, and subject to premium increases.  People who have too many claims (across multiple lines like auto, property, and business) can find themselves with higher premiums or even denied coverage.

I know one guy who cannot easily get business insurance because he had too many claims over the years and he is being denied as a customer.

People who want to check their credit reports as it relates to insurance should pull their file from LexisNexis.

Most people know about the big 3 credit agencies: Equifax, Experian, and Transunion. Most people don't know that many insurance companies go to LexisNexis to check up on someone's insurance history.

I recently pulled my LexisNexis report, it was a thick pamphlet due to all the policies opened and closed over the years as well as my many moves over 25 years, and there are Lexis entries that go back 20 years! And there were claim hits I totally forgot about.

Second, most business liability insurance policies covers this type of claim.  Please contact your insurance provider.  If they say they do not cover this type of claim, I will be glad to have one of our attorneys review your policy to see if they are wrongfully denying you coverage.  It is in both of our interests to make sure your insurance provider is not denying you coverage that you paid for.

If you did not have a license or proper business insurance, we can talk about how to come to a reasonable resolution.  I will call you soon.

283

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Higbee followup

« on: November 18, 2017, 08:54:54 AM »

I agree with Robert. I am not a big fan of the BBB. They have done a good job promoting themselves and they have a lot of businesses suckered.  They are only good for very limited purposes.

I have gone through them a couple of times just to see how they worked. They are generally not consumer-friendly. I have learned to handle situations without their help.

Their website, however, is good to see complaints that have been filed. Perhaps, the BBB is learning from Yelp that if you want your ratings to mean something, you have to be impartial otherwise people like Robert and me will tell others that their "A" ratings might actually be meaningless.

People who really want to get the lowdown on a business have to go to multiple review sources look at the aggregate and not depend on any single source. 

I know plenty of businesses who don't use the BBB logo but they still get many good reviews because they know how to link and refer people to review/feedback sources.

The BBB is useless, their "ratings" mean nothing, there are a for profit business trying to sell memberships to advertise peoples businesses, who gives a rat ass how they calculate anything.. and BTW I've had clients who posted the BBB logo on their sites linking to their profile, and they have gotten letters from the BBB demanding they "become members" and to remove the logo unless they do so.

284

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Mathew Higbee of Higbee & Associates 2017 idiot of the year!

« on: November 18, 2017, 08:43:09 AM »

Well, you just know that some Higbee letter recipients might give him some interesting Yelp reviews.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-law-firm-of-higbee-and-associates-santa-ana

If someone is going list themselves on Yelp, they better be prepared. Yelp has a reputation of strongly protecting legitimate reviews. If the Higbee operation gets too heavy-handed or vicious in their behavior, they might find themselves with some unhappy 1-star reviews.

However, it does seem he has scored some positive feedback in the non-copyright areas.

285

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Confused on Who Getty Targets and Who They Ignore?

« on: November 12, 2017, 01:44:30 AM »

The fact of the matter is small-time copyright infringement is rampant. Much of it is unintentional and de-minimus but it is happening nonetheless and it should stop.

ELI has been accused of supporting infringing activity.  That is not true.  We are against the egregious lying, manipulation, and the outrageous profiteering through unreasonable, disproportionate demands. I have seen, read, and heard of some outrageous bullshit tactics used against letter recipients which is why I am not beyond throwing some outrage bullshit tactics back in people's faces.

If you get one of these letters, take it as a warning to clean up ALL your websites. If you won't clean up, then don't be shocked when more nasty letters come your way.

Everyone wants free which is fine. But if you can't be smart about finding the right free images, then you assume the risk.

Everyone has to decide how to resolve their own situation but they also get to deal with whatever consequences comes from it (money, stress, lack of sleep, worry, etc.) Financial settlement or not, everyone pays in one form or another.

Another webmaster I know got one a few months ago and it did actually cite the date.

They cited a date in May, but he did not receive a letter until July - about 5-7 weeks I think after initial infringement was discovered. It was a photo of a table with a red ball on it.

I actually do know someone who works for Getty, but in sales. He knows a little but not a lot. Based on what he told me, their primary focus is to scan the internet for people using those type of stock images. I'm not entirely sure why, but likely because the abuse is more rampant with them because people assume that it's safe to use them, as opposed to a random photo of a celebrity or a baseball game or the president. And also because website all the time are built, likely thousands a year, with stock images from Getty or some other company, that a designer just grabbed off Google images.

He may be right, because I've read through at least 100 letters that were posted online by people Getty went after and 99.9% of the time it was some type of stock photo.