Need some Legal Advise. LETTER FROM A LAWYER ENCLOSED!
 

Ok, I need to hire a lawyer with experience in this type of case. My local attourney is not willing to fight this battle, because he believes that it will become very public.

I know that there are some lawyers on here, need some advise as to what to do

Here is the letter I just got in emai:

Dear Mr. Vanderslice:
A client has retained this office to represent her in an action against you for invasion of privacy or misappropriation of a photograph for commercial purposes. Unless you immediately remove all photos of her from your website, nebraskacoeds.com, and cease and desist from using her photograph in any other manner, she will pursue this matter under the Nebraska statutes prohibiting invasion of privacy. Nebraska law prohibits exploitation of a person for advertising or commercial purposes. Since you are not a news organization or other exempt entity and since my client has expressly denied her permission for use of her photograph, you are in violation of the law.
My client's photograph is a black & white, the eighth picture from the bottom on the left side, on the website's main page. All photographs of my client must be removed. You need to respond to me immediately upon receipt of this message that you have removed my client's photos. If I do not hear from you within 48 hours of my sending this message, legal action will be taken.

Tom Keefe
Attorney At Law
Student Legal Services - UNL
335 Nebraska Union
Lincoln, NE 68588-0461
(402) 472-3350
FAX: (402) 472-0474
[email protected]

she's got a student lawyer :1orglaugh

yeah i know... it's a fucking joke.... and her boyfriend is the dj at a local radio station (As per my previous post on the subject)

Just remove the picture.. :)

She is fat anyways..

can someone hotlink the pic on here...i can't seem to find her or follow directions :1orglaugh

Did she sign a legitimate model release? Do you have correspondence with her, or does the content privider if someone else shot it? I'd say this should be easy to fight, unless you did something shady, in which case you should take the pics down.

<img src="http://www.nebraskacoeds.com/main_files/mardi7.jpg">

It's a screen capture..... of nightshot video that was shot in a bar on mardigras

hehe
yep a college law student

Hope that she dont chase the other girls to go after you.

just remove the fucking thing. unless you think the publicity will take your site to the next level or something.

Take her off your tour, but leave her in the members area. That's more than likley what a court case will decide anyway.

Good thing you found out what kind of balls your attorney has before you REALLY needed it.

I am going to fight this. I've made up my mind.

I've been catching alot of heat on this type of thing... and i'm just gonna fight it, and win.

I would just take it down because it's not worth the hassle if you have to hire a lawyer, she isn't anything special to look at in the first place.

On the flipside... the quality of the picture isn't that great due to the fact it was taken in the dark, etc..... She's bringing attention to herself and putting a name with that photo.

christ just remove her picture its nothing special. there is plenty of more pics for you to replace her with.

I wouldnt waste my time or money fighting this seems pointless for such a shotty picture.

Just my 2 cents:2 cents:

Just fight it, scare the shit out of this wannabe University Lawyer

It's all about the publicity and i want to discourage other chicks from trying to do the same thing to me......

I know that i would win in a court battle.

Fighting it would be an incredible waste of time and money. Surely, you have enough content to still have a decent site without one picture. You should be able to take down pictures every day if you had to. Don't be foolish.

:1orglaugh

http://www.civiced.org/archives/summ...c_wtpnews.html

Your screwed.

Regards,

Lee

It is possible and probable, he is not a student but a professor, imo. If that is the case and his pre-law class decides to make you their class project, it will be very costly for you.It is my advice, unless you want to spend thousands in legal fees to remove it.
:2 cents:

I figured as much, i was just searching it

Ahhh gotcha...

Which *IS* illegal if no model release was signed.

Your are in effect getting publicity, also known as advertising, from this chick being on your site.

Regards,

Lee

What's her case? "I was drunk in a bar and acting like a slut exposing my tits, he took a picture, put it on the internet, and now I look like a drunk slut in a bar showing her tits!" Tell her lawyer to go right the fuck ahead, file suit. Tell him you will hire a lawyer AND a publicist to make the most out of all the free publicity he and his client are about to provide for your site. It will only play to your advantage. You will get more traffic and your signups will increase as the case will make the surfer think he is getting "the forbidden goods you are not intended to see."

funny.

just take it down.

you dont even have a good lawyer, he backed down from publicity? No lawyers backs out of a cvase because it will become public.

youre not Girls Gone Wild

hahah

* Take it off the tour and either keep it in the member's area or don't... doesn't matter
* Use the lawyer's letter on the tour... something like "We've got the real shit! These girl's are even sending lawyers after us!"

No such thing as bad press, this mean huge traffic to yoursite
if you can handle the heat the returns will be well

I like this... good advice

My bank can handle the heat..... I just really need a lawyer to represent me....

Anyone.... ANyone....Anyone?

Agreed. Reference GGW again. Can't use pics without a model release in your advertising but you can leave them on the product.

So how about i blur out her face.... put a link to the letter from the lawyer.... and say something like.... "join to see the real shit" or something to that effect

LMAO...

Ok which one of you funny fuckers is it?

Regards,

Lee

Here is some free legal advice. Unless you have a release from her I would remove the picture. You may or may not win in a civil suit but either way you will be out big bucks in fees.

if you want a refferal to an attorney who can advise you email me

lee at dreamnet.com

:thumbsup Great advice! If you choose to take it down you at least gotta do this! It's marketing genius!

It's your gamble. I would make dam sure everyone is over 18, and you did not miss something. Could easily be the end of necoeds as well.

Not sure of Nebraska law but that page is definitely commercial, advertising both your Member's area and DVD's. You really have to be careful of how you use these images- membership areas, free sites and tours all fall under different classifications of use.

Also, I might point out that you really need to split your site into two, unconnected sites. You should completely divide the material into what is 2257 exempt and your hardcore offerings. Your DVD offerings that use models should have no association whatsoever with a site that is using candid street action. If your lawyer isn't aware of the danger, drop him- he's not aware of how the "whole of the body of work" can bite you on the tail in this.

Probono.... OK... so say i take down the pic....
CAN i use the letter in my tour.... and More importantly, can i include his contact info?

Nice assumption he's making... What are the requirments to be classified as a news agency?

and in regard to 'commercial purposes' & profit being the issue... Who's to say that the money you make for your site isn't just covering the 'costs' of maintaining it? Example: who's to say what your or your staff's salary is?


hmmm



Keep us posted, this could get interesting...




Personally I would remove it for the reasons that Probono mentioned.... Time, $$$, and disclosure of every tiny detail of your biz, etc....