Messages

391

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: School tutor

« on: May 06, 2017, 07:00:20 PM »

I don't imagine that Vistaprint actually "owns" any images themselves. I think they "buy" or "license" them for use for their customers. Again, that is my suspicion.

I received a reply letter from the copyright department at Vistaprint that stated that they had a license for "all the images in their image gallery."  Since my website was a combination of my own pictures and generic pictures of school students that I had taken from Vistaprint, I decided to do a search using Microsoft Edge.  Something I did not realize you could do -- but a very handy tool!  I don't think you can search photos like this with other browsers.  But if you right click on the image and select "Ask Cortana" she will match the image with the exact image found elsewhere on the web.  If there is no match, she will provide images that come the closest to your image.  If your image is your own, she probably will reply that she cannot find anything on that image.  I found at least five other images that matched images in the Vistaprint gallery and were also the EXACT images that GettyImages claimed were theirs and listed for fairly high costs ($500+).  I immediately took the images down and wrote to Vistaprint about those as well.  So who owns these???  Vistaprint or Getty or both???

392

Legal Controversies Forum / Good article about the defense programs for Porn Troll victims

« on: May 02, 2017, 09:51:22 PM »

Porn trolls is not what we normally cover here on ELI but a lot of the principles apply and very insightful as to some nasty stuff going on in another corner of the Internet. By comparison, the stuff that stock image victims go through is tamer than the stuff porn troll victims go through.

https://dietrolldie.com/2017/05/02/greed-and-the-bt-copyright-troll-settlement-factories-aka-dont-be-a-dick/

393

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: New Pixsy letter

« on: May 01, 2017, 07:03:30 PM »

I absolutely agree with you on this.

This is why I no longer use any "free to use" image sites.

Because you never really know who's on the other end and if the work being uploaded is even theirs.

Good luck

394

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: New Pixsy letter

« on: May 01, 2017, 07:02:50 PM »

I am going to tell you that $250 for a settlement is about as low as it gets.

If that is too much, then at this point, you might as well just ignore and ride it out.  Free websites are simply suspect as far as I am concerned. It is too problematic. Better to find a cheap image website and have an online receipt to show for it.

There is no easy way to verify the integrity of any freebie website.

Hello,

I'm experiencing something similar and I'm already glad to have found this forum! Pixsy contacted me last week to complain about an image I've been using on my non-profit blog. They are asking for $250 to expunge the unlicensed use and to allow for a further year's use. Lots of issues with this: to me $250 is a lot of money, I don't really want to continue to use the image if it means paying for it, and there are multiple free alternatives out there as it's only a picture of sheet music. But the BIGGEST issue is that I got it from Pexels.com, which is a free license website! I explained this to Pixsy and sent evidence, but they've come back to say it's still my responsibility to contact the original photographer to confirm that an image is free license. Having looked into the law I now realise this to be true, though incredibly unfair. Who thinks or has time to double check free license websites?!

I'm arguing my point and trying to at least get a reduced fee considering $250 also seems a lot for a license when I didn't earn any money from its use. I'd be interested to know how this pans out for you as it sounds like you've been in conversation with them about similar unreasonable-ness for much longer!

Tiff

395

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Turning the Tables on the Accuser: MyWebGrocer vs. Adlife Marketing

« on: May 01, 2017, 05:05:45 PM »

Well, since I have some first-hand knowledge of how to file pleadings pro se, private parties have a lot more discretion to file documents on their own behalf even if it is not their own case. HOWEVER, there has to be RELEVANCE and CONTEXT to what you file in the case, not some random pleading from out of left field.

Honestly, the average non-lawyer gets the most "freedom" in filing a signed affidavit with the Motion to Intervene or Declaration.

There is a good chance that a Motion to Intervene could get punted out procedurally.  But I don't care what most lawyers say.  Very few people can ignore a "pink elephant" once it has been seen. What that means is that no matter what anyone tells you to do to ignore, disregard, or "unsee" a "pink elephant", it cannot be unseen.

And regarding doing it the "right way", it comes mostly down to the Microsoft Word template where you have to get the caption correct.  Listing the court name in the heading, the parties, the case number, and making sure the pages are correctly margined and double-spaced.

In the past, I have been able to legitimately get things in front of a judge and communicate with them to see and read what I think is important by making such filings.

IN fact, DieTrollDie has made a number of Declarations incorporating affidavit style content ANONYMOUSLY in cases he was not a party in but felt the court and judge needed to be informed. He calls them launching "torpedoes" in a case.  https://dietrolldie.com/dtd-torpedos-declarations/

The opposing lawyer can object all they want to what is sent but the judge cannot "unsee" what has been filed.

And based on DTD's feedback, it seems the court welcomed some of the information it received. DTD's "torpedoes" are pretty good for a non-lawyer.

I can vouch first hand that MYWebGrocer is fully aware of the blog voices of jupiter florida.com, they are also fully aware of other events that took place including that Joel has hired on Higbee and Associates to send out their dirty demand letters.. MWG is also aware of the entire ISTOCK photo situation that was uncovered by a letter recipient.

Filing a declaratory lawsuit is a good idea to fight back threats if one has the funds and the where with all to follow through, which many don't.. Another tactic if you recieved a letter from Adlife and or Higbee , would be to enter a motion to intervene in the MyWebGrocer case. Anyone that received a letter certainly has a vested interest in the outcome of this case, and are thereby offered the opportunity and have the right to file this motion, which can be done for a relatively low cost, or even by oneself, with no fees..It just has to be done properly in order to be accepted into the court record. This counter-attack would likely stop Higbee in his tracks, while this case grinds its' way to a solution.

396

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Agence France Presse

« on: May 01, 2017, 04:44:11 PM »

Ignoring the LCS letters is the easiest course of action but that doesn't mean they will go away and not nag you a lot.

397

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: copyrightcorrect web details

« on: May 01, 2017, 04:30:06 PM »

So Henry1,

Your very first and only post on the ELI Forums is to announce copyrightcorrect.com? What is your relationship to that website?  You didn't say specifically and you are posting anonymously.

It just seems strange that your very first post would be to promote a website and their supposed "free" service. However, it doesn't look "free" to me and based in the UK. It is far from free and actually sounds VERY expensive. Also, the majority of readers here are based in the U.S. who deal with U.S. Dollars, not the UK pound.

http://www.copyrightcorrect.com/#ordering

398

Getty Images Letter Forum / Another turn-the-table case: New You Media vs. Adlife Marketing

« on: May 01, 2017, 04:17:48 PM »

For some reason, Adlife Marketing seems to attract a disproportionate number of lawsuits of people seeking declaratory judgments against them. 

In the case of New You Media v. Adlife Marketing filed in Florida on Dec. 15, 2016, it was a short-lived case whereby New Your Media accused Adlife of sending an $8,000 demand letter, purportedly agreeing to settle for $1,500 then increasing the settlement to $5,000.  My guess is this did not sit well with New You Media and they decided they didn't want to be jerked around anymore, make the matter a public record, and filed a lawsuit against Adlife Marketing for declaratory judgment.

https://ia601900.us.archive.org/11/items/gov.uscourts.flsd.497954/gov.uscourts.flsd.497954.1.0.pdf

The docket shows that the case was dismissed only 3 weeks later on January 6, 2017.  I assume that New Your Media and Adlife Marketing settled the matter. But the fact that New You Media filed a lawsuit against Adlife Marketing says that they weren't just going to take things sitting down and they objected to Adlife Marketing's conduct or actions.

Filing a lawsuit and seeking a declaratory judgment is not feasible for most people getting extortion letters but it is definitely feasible for businesses looking to make a statement by going on the offense.  Not something I necessarily recommend but it is undeniable that it gets the accuser's attention in the matter to gain some serious leverage. IN this case, Adlife Marketing must have agreed to something otherwise New Your Media would not have dismissed the case so quickly after filing it.

As a reminder, there was a pro se defendant Rhon Johnson who flipped the matter against Getty Images and filed a countersuit whereby the defendant made a number of counter-accusations against Getty Images. I interviewed Rhon Johnson and was impressed at how he handled himself and the case. From what I gather, Getty Images was respectful to him and they came to a settlement Rhon could get behind. But I suspect they gave him a lot more respect AFTER a countersuit was filed (at Getty's expense) and Rhon demonstrated he would be willing to persevere and push forward on his own if he had to.

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/getty-images-letter-forum/the-interesting-case-of-getty-images-v-jj-cleaning-co-(rhon-johnson)/

People often think that you have to throw dollars at lawyers to benefit but sometimes all it takes is some grit to stand up. My guess is that the Getty Images lawyers really didn't want word to get out that this billion dollar corporation was going to get into a fight with a spunky, sole proprietor (who believed in his position) over a small image infringement matter.

In the matter of the two turn-the-table lawsuits against Adlife Marketing, I get the feeling the dispute is "among equals" (not a David vs. Goliath in most Getty cases) but it is entirely role reversal when the accused goes after the accuser.

My guess is that the two declaratory judgment lawsuits against Adlife Marketing has left a sour taste in their mouth and they have now outsourced their demand letter work to Mathew Higbee and Higbee & Associates.

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/getty-images-letter-forum/new-letter-by-higbee-associates-on-behalf-of-adlife-marketing-(food-images)!/

Higbee & Associates now have the job of making sure their clients don't get any more declaratory judgment lawsuits and countersuits.  (On a side note, if anyone is asking for one, it is the Nicholas Youngson misleading "creative commons" honeypot set up going on there).

399

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Turning the Tables on the Accuser: MyWebGrocer vs. Adlife Marketing

« on: May 01, 2017, 03:44:05 PM »

In the past, ELI has covered the occasional turn-the-tables lawsuit where a supposed infringer feels so strongly in their own position, they file suit against the accuser! The case of MyWebGrocer vs. Adlife Marketing whereby MyWebGrocer seeks a declaratory ruling is an example of this turn-the-table lawsuit.  The accuser feels the wrath of the accused.

https://ia801509.us.archive.org/19/items/gov.uscourts.vtd.27347/gov.uscourts.vtd.27347.docket.html

The complaint describes the interactions between the two companies whereby Adlife Marketing demanded payment, threatened to sue MyWebGrocer, and inform it's clients of purported copyright infringements. Apparently, MyWebGrocer did not like these threats. Instead of waiting around for a potential lawsuit and constantly being on the receiving end of threats, MyWebGrocer turned the tables by filing suit against Adlife Marketing.  (Oopsie, that wasn't supposed to happen or part of the plan...)

http://www.archive.org/download/gov.uscourts.vtd.27347/gov.uscourts.vtd.27347.1.0.pdf

This lawsuit was initially covered by Robert Krausankas on Copyright-Trolls.com and he brought to my attention that the parties were being now being compelled into an ENE session (early neutral evaluation "mediation") in Vermont. The idea is to preserve the scarce time resources of the court by forcing the two parties to have a mediated conversation over the disputed matters to see if they can settle the matter without the court having to rule on the matter.

However, it appears Joel Albrizio, CEO of Adlife Marketing mildly objected and filed a motion for a telephonic or video conference as an alternative to a live appearance at the ENE session in Vermont. His core complaint being that it would be 4.5 hours one way to attend the mediation in additional to hotel accommodation. (I presume the 4.5 hours means the drive time from Rhode Island to Vermont.)

https://ia801509.us.archive.org/19/items/gov.uscourts.vtd.27347/gov.uscourts.vtd.27347.19.1.pdf

The judge denied that motion and entered an order to force Albrizio to physically attend the ENE session in Vermonth to maximize the effectiveness of the session. IN fact, the judge seems to be very complimentary of the mediator and his experience. The order states that "both sides sit down together in the same room with principals present in good faith effort to resolved their differences, is a fixed requirement in virtually all cases.... A telephone call or a skype appearance is no substitutue."

https://ia801509.us.archive.org/19/items/gov.uscourts.vtd.27347/gov.uscourts.vtd.27347.20.0.pdf

The court record shows May 12, 2017 at 10am as the time/date for the first ENE meeting. However, the court allows for the rescheduling of this meeting if there is an issue by either party. Depositions are due November 30, 2017. Expert witness reports are due by November 30, 2017. All discovery is to be completed by that date, also.

It appears that Adlife Marketing is going to have a very long year in 2017 as this case drags on. There appears to be a lot of discovery deadlines each side have agreed to.

https://ia801509.us.archive.org/19/items/gov.uscourts.vtd.27347/gov.uscourts.vtd.27347.17.0.pdf

Joel Albrizio has a record of threatening people in "over-the-line" ways which has resulted in some fierce blowback in various fronts. Most closely related to ELI is the bullshit threats and actions Joel has taken against Robert and his apparently online smear campaign against Robert and his family on what we believe is Joel's Voices of Jupiter Florida website. 

It is my understanding that MyWebGrocer might be aware of Joel's shenanigans on Voices of Jupiter Florida. It certainly doesn't paint Joel or Adlife Marketing in a very credible or reputable light.

ON a different note, this case bears watching as it paints in painful detail what a savvy copyright infringement "defendant" can do towards an aggressive accuser.  This is why copyright extortionists should not reckless threats against another. When a threshold is crossed, it can get very ugly, indeed.

It is my guess that Joel, in his aggressive pursuit against MyWebGrocer, never foresaw that his actions could boomerang so viciously against Adlife Marketing.

But there are more and more people who are not standing around getting accused endlessly.  Some people bite back and file inconvenient countersuits.

400

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: New Higbee & Associates Letter on Behalf of Adlife Marketing (food images)!

« on: April 24, 2017, 07:24:03 PM »

A second Higbee Letter on behalf of Adlife Marketing was sent me to me.  This time around, it was $4,000.

Based on the two letters I have seen so far, there appears to be some variance in the proposed settlement amounts. Remember, the numbers shown in the letters are not absolute. Everything is negotiable.

I suspect there are probably more of these Higbee letters on behalf of Adlife Marketing that will be making the rounds or appear again.

Based on this very small sampling, there does not yet appear to be a tidal wave of these Higbee/Adlife letters yet.

401

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Beware of Photog Christopher Sadowski, Notorious Copyright Troll

« on: April 10, 2017, 04:43:32 PM »

There is no question that infringements have become epidemic often due to people's ignorance.

I must confess that I agree that people have been too loose about using images that aren't theirs.  People need to do a lot more due diligence before using images.

But I also object to the outrageous, disproportionate amounts also. I also object to the lies, deceit, and manipulation that many people use also.  I also object the presumption and expectation of large payments that have no basis in reality.

Howabout acting like a gentleman and don't use photographs that you a) haven't taken yourself, or b) haven't obtained a license/permission for?

Also, there is nothing writ into 17 USC that mandates a creator to request you simply stop using their work before they retail counsel, or even file a petition with the courts. Nothing. Zilch. Zip. Nada. You're gonna bleat about courtesy when you likely haven't performed a measure of diligence before you used a photograph? Did you make any effort to find out who the rightsholder was before using their work?

Oh, and here's one more thing for you to consider:

“[The infringer] cannot expect to pay the same price in damages as it might have paid after freely negotiated bargaining, or there would be no reason scrupulously to obey the copyright law.”, Iowa State Univ. Res. Found., Inc. v. Am. Broad. Cos., 475 F.Supp. 78, 83 (S.D.N.Y.1979) aff'd, 621 F.2d 57 (2d Cir.1980)

402

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Beware of Photographer Nicholas (Nick) Youngson of NYPhotographic.com

« on: April 10, 2017, 04:38:27 PM »

Yes, we know about "RM Media Ltd" and the unfiled boilerplate lawsuit template that they send to people as a tactic.  They want you to "imagine" and "visualize" a possible lawsuit.

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/getty-images-letter-forum/photog-nick-youngson-(higbee-assoc-)-lists-rm-media-ltd-in-template-lawsuit/

Just got documents in the mail from Higbee concerning Nicholas Youngson. Higbee now claims it is representing RM Media, Ltd instead of Youngson. Enclosed in the letter is a copy of court papers showing RM Meda, LTD. as Plaintiff stating COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF AND DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL. The problem is that there is NO CASE NO.

Looks like this is another way that Higbee is intimidating people to pay the $5000.00 extortion fee. They started mailing out these demands and sending emails around December, 2016.

403

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: New Higbee & Associates Letter on Behalf of Adlife Marketing (food images)!

« on: April 07, 2017, 02:35:33 PM »

It is possible that Sanders used a virtual address or maybe used an address from a "friendly" law firm.

BWP Media is/was a client based in California and Sanders has represented BWP media in the past. It is possible that Sanders has established some basic "presence" in California for cases in that state.

After all, Higbee has established virtual offices/presence in many states so he can claim his operation is a "national law firm".  Even Techdirt who has written about Higbee (which I only found out a couple of days ago) has commented on that peculiar bit of marketing and self-representation.

Different iamages and clients.  But 902704 and 92705 are adacent zip codes.  To me, that's too much of a coincidence to toss off as a coinciidence.  Maybe the same demand letter operation is operating from one location under different names?

404

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: New Higbee & Associates Letter on Behalf of Adlife Marketing (food images)!

« on: April 07, 2017, 02:27:01 PM »

Yes, I am familiar with the Sanders Law letters and they do appear to operate from NY. As such, Sanders letters would likely originate from NY.  And Higbee is from California.

And you are saying that Sanders Law is sending letters from California?  If that is the case, I would like to see that letter for myself if you are willing to share.

I have collected letters (from ELI Readers) from Sanders law but I don't think I noticed any Sanders letters from CA in the past. I might have missed it. I might need to go back and look.

Is this just a coincidence?

I got my first demand letter from Sander Law in 2015.  I freaked out at first but after speaking to my lawyer cousin, I was told it was only a letter.  To make a long story short, Sander Law as you probably know os a long Island law firm.  I get my first letter from Higbee last December.  So I review all my paperwork because I keep everything I get.  The first letter I got from Sanders came from a 92704 Zip code which is Santa Ana California.  Why would a Long Island law firm be sending me a letter from California.  The Higbee latter is from 92705 Sanat Ana California. 

Coincidence?

405

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / New Higbee & Associates Letter on Behalf of Adlife Marketing (food images)!

« on: April 06, 2017, 10:46:11 PM »

An ELI reader has submitted to me and Greg a copy of the newest Higbee Demand Letter.  Higbee's newest client?  Adlife Marketing & Communications! It is a small world after all. 

Up to now, the Higbee demand letters generated a lot of controversy because they were sending $5,000 demands for using Nick Youngson's (from the UK) $10 (or free with attribution) photos.  On top of that, both Higbee and Youngson seemed to be trying to profit from the "honeypot effect" of Youngson's generic "creative commons" websites where people would help themselves to images without necessarily paying attention to the fine print of atribution, "the gotcha effect".  Until recently, Youngson did not disclose his involvement in some of the websites.

Higbee has been criticized by ELI, in part, because of his misleading "national law firm" self-promotion which we mostly believe is a sham because most of the locations Higbee advertises appear to be virtual addresses or rented mailing addresses. I tend to believe he is primarily a California operation but he appears to want to convey to the world at large he has this huge presence throughout the U.S.

On a separate front, we have Adlife Marketing & Communications which was first reported on Robert Krausankas' (who is part of the ELI team) Copyright-Trolls.com website. The Adlife Marketing letters were noteworthy for sending out $8,000 demand letters for food images.

Many letter recipients were angry and outraged because many acquired the images through Getty Images' low-end agency, iStock Photos before the working relationship between iStock and Adlife Marketing ended. Based on Robert's reporting, iStock Photo (to their credit) has tried to assist their customers who received demand letters from Adlife Marketing.

Although ELI has covered Adlife Marketing demand letters, most of the information surfaced and was reported directly to Robert and copyright-trolls.com. (Oftentimes, ELI, Oscar, or I will get first wind of new demand letters). But in Adlife's case, people kept contacting Robert and copyright-trolls.com in a similar way that people who get Linda Ellis' Dash Poem extortion letters contact April Brown of AprilBrown.com. (The Internet works in mysterious ways.) And because Robert is also part of ELI, he shared his information with the ELI Community.

During that journey, Robert uncovered quite a bit of information about Adlife Marketing's CEO, Joel Albrizio, and the many legal skirmishes in his and the company's past and reported on them.  A few outspoken and angry victims also voiced their unhappiness on copyright-trolls.com.

This led to more people connected to Joel's past coming out of the woodwork who provided Robert quite a bit of interesting information, some of it was published, much of it was not as the information could not be corroborated. Some of it might have been truthful but it seemed to fall into the gossip category.

Robert took a snarky, sarcastic, and satirical perspective in his coverage of Adlife Marketing and its CEO, Joel Albrizio on copyright-trolls.com.  Joel reached out to Robert to discuss the criticisms. Joel even offered some comments to Robert's early blog posts.  There were some disagreement in their phone conversations and it eventually lead to unhappy verbal threats against Robert to "destroy and ruin his life".

This eventually lead to Oscar Michelen stepping into represent Robert and copyright-trolls.com. Oscar issued notification letters twice to Joel.  One was to explain what copyright-trolls.com was all about and that Robert was well within his rights to his self-styled reporting. The other letter was to warn Joel to refrain from communicating and threatening Robert.

Ultimately, the dispute and animosity by Adlife Marketing CEO, Joel, reached a peak and he and/or a close associate of his, launched VoicesofJupiterFlorida (VOJF) to smear and disparage Robert, Copyright-Trolls.com and Robert's family, friends, and associates in Jupiter. One of VOJF's stated goals early on was to force the takedown of copyright-trolls.com. However, because Robert did not capitulate, VOJF wanted the content of Dash Poet Linda Ellis, one of her ex-assistants, Adlife Marketing, and Joel's removed.

This was done through an alias "Jessica Langston" where "she" was emailing Robert's family members, clients, friends, and associates to draw attention to VOJF. A lot of emails came back to Robert wondering what VOJF was all about. They were confused and mostly thought that this "Jessica Langston" seemed creepy. Robert had to take the time to explain the dispute Joel had against Robert.

Over time, a great deal of evidence was uncovered and gathered which pointed towards Joel himself as being the responsible party behind VOJF. VOJF was a source of personal drama here on ELI because of the personal smears against Robert's family members, friends, and associates because they were innocents who really have no knowledge of the world of extortion letters as ELI readers do.

Part of the VOJF drama can be found here on ELI: 
http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/getty-images-letter-forum/'voices-of-jupiter-florida'-discussion-thread/

Long-time readers of ELI know about the ugly underbelly that have been uncovered over the years and the seedy tactics used by nearly every company/law firm we have covered. Not everything is all it appears to be.  What is written on the demand letters cannot be trusted and must be scrutinized.

GET TO THE DAMN POINT ALREADY!

Now that I have gone through this LONG explanation and narrative of all the various characters and their stories, this all culminates that Higbee (with his own history and controversy) appears to have taken on Adlife Marketing (and by association, its CEO, Joel Albrizio, his history, drama, controversy) as their newest client!

The one Higbee letter on behalf of Adlife Marketing I have seen so far uses a nearly identical template to many other Higbee letters I have seen. What is notable is the "lower" $2,500 demand. It is still outrageous, but compared to Higbee's "normal" $5,000 letters and Adlife's $8,000 letters, it is less egregious than we have seen.

None of us know if this new Higbee demand letter on behalf of Adlife Marketing is just a one-off, an experiment, or the beginning of a new ongoing working relationship.

My gut-feeling is that we will see more of these letters. It would seem that Joel wanted to outsource the collection effort. Reports were that Joel himself "negotiated" with people receiving the $8,000 letters. I think he probably had very limited success in collections given how outrageous the amounts being asked were. It probably also generated a lot of negative energy and negative PR for himself and the company.

By outsourcing these demand letters to Higbee, most of the initial arrows and animosity will be directed at Higbee, not Adlife Marketing.  However, there is an inescapable past and history by each party. The once separate stories of Higbee and Adlife Marketing has now suddenly crashed together.

What a small world we live in.