I need a good lawyer!!!!
 

Heres the deal:


I have contacted said webmaster in the past about using my content on his sites, he is using graphics, movie clips, and pictures from my sites. I have contacted 2 billing companies that process for him and they have not been much help. The only thing they say is: Fax over a DCMA form and we will forward it to the webmaster. Which I did 7 months ago and he still is being processed by the billing company and he still has my content on his sites.

Buddy is making $$$ from my content and I want it to stop!


QUESTION: If a processing company was notified that they are collecting monies from a site with stolen content and they are not cooperative, are they partly to blame? They are collecting processing fees from the site's owner.

What should be my next move?



The Dawg

1.) Get the lawyer.
2.) Have him remind of the notices.
3.) Sue for all damages. (host, biller, person)

Go straight to the guy's host and tell them that if they don't shut the guy down they are also liable under the DMCA. Processor might be liable as well but I'm not 100% sure.

Thanks, any of you know any good Internet lawyers?

Lists of recommended lawyers:
http://www.gofuckyourself.com/showth...hreadid=102380
http://www.gofuckyourself.com/showth...threadid=63661
http://www.gofuckyourself.com/showth...threadid=92107
http://www.gofuckyourself.com/showth...hreadid=132426


Contact/fax the webmaster and billing companies again. If they don't respond, discuss your situation with a lawyer. The initial consultation should be free. The next steps should be to get your lawyer to call/write on your behalf to expedite matters.

If you don't want to be billed by the hour, you can usually get him to accept a flat fee for resolving the situation. Before the fees start piling up, determine how much money you're willing to spend on this problem. In some cases, a cost-benefit analysis may determine it's not worth it.

I agree. The suspected offender may also have supporting content licence documents he/she received from an unidentified third party. If he/she claims they purchased elsewhere, and/or have rights... your matter could get messy and expensive very quickly.

J.D. Obenberger

www.xxxlaw.net

A.J. Comparetto, Esq.
Website Law Newsletter
www.adultsitelaw.com


[email protected]


Tell him Kevin sent you, great guy, he will get that site killed within 24 hours I had a bunch shut down by him:thumbsup

No offense meant....I mean, this attorney may be the best in the world for all I know...BUT...WTF is up with somebody who is supposed to be representing themself as a professional in Internet law and they are using their standard ISP for their email addy?

Kinda makes you wonder about their level of knowledge.

Why don't you DMCA his host to start with?

I doubt he could go this route. He has graphics & pics as a introduction to one of the girls straight from my tour pages which we designed (in his members section). This site has plenty of other stolen content from other sites... He is just stealing.

The Dawg--
Make sure you get his records from his processor, and yeah the processor is liable once they know it is stolen content. (Check P10 v. Adult Check)

Also, run over your paper work, and try to sketch a rough timeline of events.

Take snap shots, of the whois info on all his domains as well as the host and the processor. Also, have your records, model ids etc, as well as processing info.

If he is in the same niche, I'm guessing, he is hurting your biz in terms of the money he is making per infringing piece, search engine traffic, affiliate traffic, etc... and the processor and host are making money off the infringement all the while.

Gather as much info as you can, plus if it is a major billing co, an attorney *might* do it for a % of the money.

:winkwink:

Collect all the evidence you can, screen shots, model releases, IDs of models, times, dates, and places.

Remind the processing company, hosts and sponsors of the RICO act. With the URL of the P10 v AC case.

Then get a lawyer to serve proper DMCA notices.

Problem should disappear in a few days, or you might find yourself in for a big fight.

Better still join APIC. A DMCA from them tends to get the right result.

Thanks for all the advice,

I took screen shots of the content and yes it is a major processor (Not Ibill or Epoch - which we use).

I have all model releases, sent emails and faxes of DMCA notices we sent them in Nov. '02 about these same sites to their processors and hosting companies.


Any lawyers who want to do this on a percentage feel free to contact me.

It really pisses me off to see people making $$$ off content I shot.

Heres a twist:

The processing company said I sent them a letter giving them the O.K. to process for these domains!


I asked them to send me the letter 'I SENT' and it was from a bogus email address. Say my name is Johnny Rocket, the email came from [email protected] - Who in their right mind would do such a thing? None of the correspondence with the processor came from this bogus email address, it came from my company email address. Isnt it the processors responsiblitity to follow up on issues as serious as this before they dismiss the issue?

I don't mean to discourage you, however this is the type of case which would require you to finance upfront. Depending on the attorney, the retainer would be between $3000 to $10,000.

I base my statement on the information you have previously shared. To date the operator(s) of site have not responded, and/or have demonstrated they are sharp enough to dispute your allegations. Your lawyer will be able to give you a better idea, and explain the uphill battle that may be right around the corner.

Maybe there is someone that will prove me wrong. Best of luck to you in this matter.

man it's gonna cost you some dough.....

I didn't have a content problem but I had someone who stole the layout, style, and theme of my website...He ran www.ebonystreethookers.com . He was being processed with CCbill, I called ccbill complaining about it and they said that I had to PROVE that I had the layout and idea before him!!

Now this dude's domain was bought a LONG time after my domain went active and I was processing with ccbill for a year and a half before the other dude even showed up on the scene...

It still meant NOTHING!!! The only thing that got the dude to stop was that he wasn't making any money and the 750 fee was looming...since he was new, he didn't have the money and had to shut down....

And you know how I"m still having problems with that "Trash Man" dude...He's been on my ass for years trying to shut me down by using bogus check information to sign up for my site, stealing my content, and then placing it for FREE on his shit!!!

I had to email the message board where he hangs to stop letting him post my shit to get it to stop....If I didn't contact them, they would have done nothing also....

1. Follow up everything communicated via email with snail mail, registered or certified.

2. Make a 2nd copy of the snail mail copy and send it Attention: Legal Department, and mail it a day earlier or a day later.

3. Sometimes companies will escalate how seriously they take an issue if the communication is from a lawyer.

If you want a good lawyer who knows Trademark and copyright law in the adult industry email me for a referral.

Lee at dreamnet.com

That is not his only e-mail address just the one that I use.

I had a problem with a certain host that this board all knows about, I will not go into to much detail but they refused to pull the site I called them, I sent them C&D letters the whole bit nothing. One call from my lawyer and 20 min later the site was all 404's

I found out later that the thief was also working at this host that is why they gave me such a hard time.

I have used him at a least dozen times with the same result, he gets the job done:thumbsup

Yea, thanks all -

The situation is being fixed and Im not going to rest til its done. The wheels are turning...