Topics

16

Getty Images Letter Forum / Oscar Michelen: Court Calls Out “Copyright Troll”, Fines Him $10K/Frivolous Suit

« on: March 14, 2018, 04:47:59 PM »

ELI's Oscar Michelen writes about "copyright infringement troll attorney Richard Liebowitz" and his frivolous lawsuit. Judge Cote called out Liebowitz as a "copyright troll" due to his filing 500 image infringement lawsuits in the last 2 years in New York.

https://courtroomstrategy.com/2018/03/court-labels-attorney-as-copyright-troll-and-fines-him-10000-over-frivolous-case-involving-photograph/

It is safe to say that copyright extortionist, Liebowtiz is the most prolific and abusive "lawsuiter" in ELI's history of covering photo image infringements.

17

Getty Images Letter Forum / Techdirt: Court Orders Copyright Troll, Post $10K Bond, Client License Agreement

« on: March 12, 2018, 06:07:12 PM »

Techdirt has posted an article about Richard Liebowitz of Liebowitz Law Firm using "unusual" tactics to extract settlements.

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180307/20363239383/court-orders-copyright-troll-to-post-10000-bond-after-he-lied-about-his-clients-licensing-agreement.shtml

Techdirt writes:

According to two recent orders handed down by two different judges, Liebowitz has filed more than 500 copyright cases in the Southern District of New York alone over the last two years, most often representing photographers.

Essentially, the lawyer/law firm (on behalf of his photographer clients) appears to have taken certain liberties in representing "facts" that are not quite so "factual". The law firm of Booth Sweet LLP apparently is the law firm fighting against Liebowitz.

Also, the fact that a court is willing to order a party to post bond, seems unusual. It generally means that a court is suspicious that the party's position may not be credible.

The article and court order goes into a lot of background information.

But the takeaway is that people should get educated and not be afraid to verify claims other parties make when they are trying to extract money from you. Things are never what they seem.

ELI is all about going below the surface of how these things work. Unfortunately, too many people do not get informed and let their fears and ignorance take over. I know most people are not lawyers but that does not mean they cannot get educated and be informed on a lot of relevant issues.

18

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / New RM Media Ltd / Nick Youngson Websites: WeBuyPics.com & AlphaStockImages.com

« on: February 23, 2018, 07:49:56 PM »

Well, it looks like Nick Youngson's honeypot operation will continue to grow.  Visit http://webuypics.com and http://AlphaStockImages.com.

Read this blurb from webuypics.com:

Sell Us Your Unused Pictures
Do you have high quality commercial pictures that you have never used, maybe left over from a shoot, where you have used a few of the images but the rest are just stored in your files never having been used then sell them to us and turn them into cash.

We buy pictures where we recognize they might have a commercial value and we offer them through our web site AlphaStockImages.com.

Ideally we are looking for pictures that have never been published, we wish to buy the copyright in the pictures so you need to be the copyright owner and be free to sell it.

To check if your pictures have a commercial value simply send them to us ideally resized to 800px wide with or without a watermark in a zip file and we will get back to you.


Gee, he wants to buy the copyright.  I wonder why?   Maybe to send out more extortion letters over new $10 images? He must be doing pretty well to be able to acquire new images from other folks.  I guess we can expect to one day see extortion letters from Higbee on behalf of "Alpha Stock Images".

19

Announcements / Oscar Michelen Launches New "Copyright Legal Defense & Representation Program"

« on: January 26, 2018, 06:05:25 PM »

For 2018, Oscar Michelen has launched his new "Copyright Legal Defense & Representation Program". Read more about this legal service to help extortion letter victims fight against the latest tactics from the latest copyright extortionists.

https://www.extortionletterinfo.com/oscar-michelens-copyright-legal-defense-representation-program/

20

Getty Images Letter Forum / ELI Forums recent conversion to https standard

« on: January 12, 2018, 03:54:57 AM »

Although I made a post on the rarely used Announcement forum, I should have made a broader announcement in this forum to inform everyone of the recent and overdue conversion of the ELI Forums to the new https security standard. The Wordpress side of ELI was successfully converted a few months ago in 2017.

https://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/announcements/eli-forums-being-converted-to-(https)-standard/

As with any major conversion, there are inevitable bugs and technical errors that are not caught. As such, I look to readers and members of the community for feedback.

An ELI Forum reader emailed me directly that he could not post new topics or respond to any existing topics the last 2.5 days. It turns out that was not a "bug", it was an admin (my) error. I unintentionally revoked permissions to post new topics and respond to topics for all users. That was obviously a major goof on my part.

Another thing, I have noticed (and expected) is that the forum performance is not quite as snappy and crisp as before. There is a certain amount of "overhead" that goes along with being https-compliant. So, I will be monitoring this.

Feel free to give your feedback and comments on any bugs / technical issues you might have on the ELI Forums. And if you cannot post here, definitely email me directly (matt30060 / gmail) of any technical issues you notice and encounter.

I apologize for any inconvenience. And thank you for being part of the ELI Forums.

21

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / ELI Forums recent conversion to https standard

« on: January 12, 2018, 03:53:11 AM »

Although I made a post on the rarely used Announcement forum, I should have made a broader announcement in this forum to inform everyone of the recent and overdue conversion of the ELI Forums to the new https security standard. The Wordpress side of ELI was successfully converted a few months ago in 2017.

https://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/announcements/eli-forums-being-converted-to-(https)-standard/

As with any major conversion, there are inevitable bugs and technical errors that are not caught. As such, I look to readers and members of the community for feedback.

An ELI Forum reader emailed me directly that he could not post new topics or respond to any existing topics the last 2.5 days. It turns out that was not a "bug", it was an admin (my) error. I unintentionally revoked permissions to post new topics and respond to topics for all users. That was obviously a major goof on my part.

Another thing, I have noticed (and expected) is that the forum performance is not quite as snappy and crisp as before. There is a certain amount of "overhead" that goes along with being https-compliant. So, I will be monitoring this.

Feel free to give your feedback and comments on any bugs / technical issues you might have on the ELI Forums. And if you cannot post here, definitely email me directly (matt30060 / gmail) of any technical issues you notice and encounter.

I apologize for any inconvenience. And thank you for being part of the ELI Forums.

22

Announcements / ELI Forums Being converted to (https) standard

« on: January 09, 2018, 02:16:29 AM »

It has been long overdue but the ELI Forums is being converted to https standard to increase security over Internet connections. Google has been strongly encouraging all website owners to do this. With Robert's help, we began preliminary work on this in 2017. The smaller Wordpress side was successfully converted in 2017. However, the much larger and more complicated ELI Forums has taken more time and required more effort.

As of January 2018, I believe we have converted most of ELI to https but there may still be elements we have missed.  If there are errors, bugs, or anything we have missed, please let me know so we can correct them.

Please email me any bugs or technical errors you have experienced to matt30060 / gmail. And allow me to apologize in advance for the inconvenience.

23

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Welcome to the new Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits forum

« on: December 28, 2017, 07:44:35 PM »

Nearly 3 years ago, I thought Higbee & Associates was a small player in the the copyright extortion business and they were. However, Higbee & Associates don't appear to be going anywhere. In fact, their operation has only grown larger over time.

I am generally resistant to creating a new forum because I think it can hurt the cohesiveness of a community. However, there comes a time when a more focused forum is more helpful. Many of the recent discussions revolve around demand letters and lawsuits connected to Higbee & Associates.

As such, I felt compelled to form the new Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits forum in preparation for 2018. We hope you will find this forum useful, insightful, and informative.

24

Getty Images Letter Forum / Please post Higbee Demand Letter & Lawsuits topics in the new forum.

« on: December 28, 2017, 07:09:10 PM »

The Higbee & Associates operation has continued to grow over the last two years and starting to overrun the default Getty Forum.  There are many more demand letters and lawsuits relating to Higbee being discussed this past year. As such, the time has come to launch a brand new forum for 2018 and dedicate it to them.

Please post all Higbee-related discussions in the new forum.  You will find all prior Higbee-related discussion topics have been moved there. Thank you.

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/higbee-letter-lawsuits-forum/

25

Getty Images Letter Forum / MOVED: Beware of Photog Christopher Sadowski, Notorious Copyright Troll

« on: December 28, 2017, 06:50:34 PM »

This topic has been moved to Higbee Letter & Lawsuits Forum.

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/index.php?topic=4538.0

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Getty Images Letter Forum / MOVED: How can I verify a copyright Certificate of Registration number online?

« on: December 28, 2017, 06:50:11 PM »

This topic has been moved to Higbee Letter & Lawsuits Forum.

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/index.php?topic=4549.0

27

Getty Images Letter Forum / MOVED: Service to "fight back" against Higbee

« on: December 28, 2017, 06:49:16 PM »

This topic has been moved to Higbee Letter & Lawsuits Forum.

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/index.php?topic=4606.0

28

Getty Images Letter Forum / MOVED: Turning the Tables on the Accuser: MyWebGrocer vs. Adlife Marketing

« on: December 28, 2017, 06:48:14 PM »

This topic has been moved to Higbee Letter & Lawsuits Forum.

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/index.php?topic=4541.0

29

Getty Images Letter Forum / MOVED: An Analysis of Nick Youngson/RM Media's Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

« on: December 28, 2017, 06:47:27 PM »

This topic has been moved to Higbee Letter & Lawsuits Forum.

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/index.php?topic=4608.0

30

Getty Images Letter Forum / MOVED: Nicholas Youngson Photographer (Rep. by Higbee Associates) Copyright Abuse

« on: December 28, 2017, 06:47:09 PM »

This topic has been moved to Higbee Letter & Lawsuits Forum.

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/index.php?topic=4516.0