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« on: September 05, 2015, 01:53:21 AM »
No, he's not protecting his work. Heck, it's not even his work. He took a photo of a tree that 1000 other people took before him. How does that make it his work? There's a million pictures of it on the internet. Most of them are freely downloadable from hundreds of sites. None of his work is original. It's all ripped off. It's unfortunate if the law allows him to claim essentially copied work as his own. He is operating because the laws are too f*cked up to put an end to his schemes. He's certainly not operating to the spirit of the law and it's probably not the only unethical thing he's doing. I won't go into it, but know that I have triggered investigations into him by several authorities for various illegal items.
Let's take apart his manifesto for a moment:
He goes into great detail on how to write a threatening letter to scare his victims into forking over hush money:
"It is amazing how the threat of a $150,000 lawsuit over a registered copyright brings compliance."
Wow, how is that not extortion?! He talks of how to chalk the value of his work far beyond what it is worth. His work is not top-shelf high-value exclusive stock yet he prices his work that way when it is common microstock.
He mentions how profitable the extortion scheme he documents can be.
He talks about choosing an amount that will "guarantee a settlement" and how he should have chosen a higher number. It's clear he's NEVER going to court and NEVER intended to. The way I see it, you are INNOCENT until PROVEN GUILTY in a court of law. Not you are innocent until Tom Schwabel says you are guilty and holds your website ransom. Don't pay this scammer a single red cent!!!! Report him on this forum and any others you can find.
Even if there was a crime committed, and I argue not since this work is NOT original, Schwabel's proposed penalty does not match the crime. At most, anyone would owe him a couple of dollars. His photos are unoriginal, clichéd, and common stuff. No models, no high priced shoots, nothing. Nothing that demands a $2000 price tag, or even $200.
I pity any poor slob who choses to work with this guy. He'll probably eventually turn on them and extort them too.