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21
I absolutely believe a class action is one way to potentially bring awareness and put a stop to Higbee.  Also, Matthew Chan, are there any risks to filing a complaint against Higbee with the California Bar Association? 
22
It looks like Lereve lawyered up on this.  Smart move.   Does anyone have insight on what happened?   
23
Spunky, but not a lot of litigation.  Only four cases filed for Masterfile.  None since February of 2017. 
24
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Creative Commons Photos on Facebook, Twitter, etc.
« Last post by Ethan Seven on February 18, 2019, 07:22:21 PM »
The UK does not have a copyright registration regime like the US does. 

Copytrack is based in Germany.  They are not a law firm and do not have standing to litigate in the UK.   However, their customer might.   If’s possible, you can search court records to see if Marco Verch has ever litigated in the UK.  If not, you can be pretty sure that your small case will not be the first.

25
Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: another copytrack letter
« Last post by CuFil_Z on February 17, 2019, 08:38:41 PM »
I also got a letter from copytrack for the 2 photos of beaches in my country. I removed the photos from our company website and decided not to reply to any of their complaint letters of copytrack. I got a total of 3 letters. They never received any letter from me. And they eventually stopped.

If it is of help to anyone who got a letter from copytrack, here's a letter I got from a lawyer who specializes in International law>>

>>Hi again! I wanted to let you know I finally caught up with one of the partners in the firm where I work, a guy who has lots of experience with intellectual property law, He said basically the same thing I already told you: The burden is on Copytrack to prove that they own a copyright that you have violated, and if they want to pursue it, they'll have to bring the case in your jurisdiction (meaning the country where you're from). It's anyone's guess as to whether they think it's worth pursuing. The amount of money they're asking from you (read: trying to extort) may be a lot to you, but for a large corporation, it's pocket change.

The guy I talked to also had two additional insights: 1) copyright law is quite strict concerning liability, that is, if Copytrack can prove to a court that they own the copyright and you violated it, then you would have to pay whatever the law says for the violation (this is where you would need to consult a local lawyer, who can tell you what the local law says concerning copyright violation and how much that might cost). However, it is very uncommon in Finland, for example, for a court to award attorney's fees and costs to the winning party. So what I take from this is that if Copytrack takes the trouble to sue in a local court AND they manage to prove all of the above, then you would have to pay damages for the violation, but not necessarily their lawyers fees and costs (if they're threatening you with that).

The second insight I got from the guy I know is this: The more time passes, the less likely Copytrack will take any action. If you decide to simply not respond, they may not carry through on their threats, just because it's a lot of trouble to go through in order to collect what for them is a very small amount of money. You would then have to decide how you feel about not having any closure to the matter.

It does seem quite shady that Copytrack refuses to release the name of the actual copyright owner, or to produce the documentation saying the owner has transferred the copyright to them. That's the first thing they need to  be able to prove their case. Also, the lawyer I talked to has never heard of Copytrack, so I can't tell you what kind of reputation they have. You can decide what to make of that.

In any case, I think the best you can do is consult a local lawyer who can tell you what the penalty for this particular violation is under your country law (and whether it's less than Copytrack is demanding), and then decide which course of action to take.<<

This letter brought light to my situation with Copytrack. I'm guessing, Copytrack can tell if you're a person who would easily take their bait. They must have earned a lot of money from people who responded to their threat. But think about it, why would they spend thousands of dollars to pursue someone and just get a few hundred dollars in return? They will have to spend lawyer's fees. Besides, if Copyright has no office in a concerned country, they will have to send their own people, spend for his airfare, hotel accommodations, and in-country expenses just to pursue "pocket change". Doesn't make sense, does it?
26
I almost died right here. LMAO!!!

"CEO and now also PRESIDENT of internet"
28
my guess is " I will be glad to present a reasonable offer to my client." won't be anything close to "reasonable"...it's all about the money... I strongly suggest you read the latest blog post that was recently posted by Levy on the Higbee issues..before doing anything else, or communicating with them.
29
Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Higbee Demand Letter for news article
« Last post by ccmike on February 15, 2019, 08:28:42 AM »
The situation seems to have escalated. Mr. Higbee himself emailed stating he was willing to settle for a reasonable amount.
30
Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Email from Matthew Higbee himself
« Last post by ccmike on February 15, 2019, 08:26:20 AM »
Hi Matthew. Mr. Higbee sent the following:

Pastor Spaulding-

Your understanding of the Fair Use Doctrine and DMCA protections are misguided.    Do you have an attorney in your congregation that can assist you with this matter?

Or perhaps I an suggest some references as to what is covered by fair use: 

https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use/what-is-fair-use/

I will be glad to present a reasonable offer to my client.  However, I cannot go back to them and ask them to close the claim based on faulty fair use arguments.   You used their work without a license and they deserve to be compensated.     I would be glad to discuss this with you on the phone if you like.

Best regards,


-Mat
Mathew K. Higbee
Attorney at Law
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