$900,000 for 20 pics ?
 

a friend of mine recently received a C&D for 20 pictures he had on his server. they were not licensed apparently. the pics were very old and not even being used. they werent even linked from any page, so we're not sure how the owners found them.

anyway... they sent a C&D saying to take them down, etc, etc. the odd thing is, the C&D also said that "this is not the end" .... making veiled threats.

now, the company wants $900,000 in damages for "ongoing copyright infringement" for 20 pictures that werent even being used.... even AFTER my bud complied with the C&D...

obviously he's calling a lawyer, but if he complied with a C&D, how can they sue him? also, $900k for 20 images? thats more than the whole site is worth.

as for who.. well... Titan Media... if anyone knows them, they used to be a big dog in the dvd/movie biz, but now they make their money suing people for bullshit like this...

anyone dealt with them?

give them $350,000 and your safe:thumbsup

Thats a lot of money, good that he is consulting a lawyer.

can be fined up to 100k per pic :2 cents:

Suing is the latest business model. Sometimes its a last resort for failing companies other times its just another revenue stream. Good thing your buddy has an attorney.

your buddy is so fucked try to settle for $500,000 or maybe offer them some reacharounds:Graucho

Until patent reform is introduced, I can see this business model lasting a little while.

WG

Holy shit...thats pretty harsh

damn he is fucked ... either pay them or pay the lawyers...

I wouldnt mortage the house yet. I used to get these C&D letters all the time (I got three in one day once, lol) and very few of them ever resulted in a lawsuit being filed. I wouldnt worry about it until the process server shows up.

Home Depot sent me one for a t-shirt I was selling. When I told them to fuck off, they sent me a second C&D a bit more threatening than the first. I told them to fuck off, eat shit and die. The next thing I heard from them was that thier client did not wish to pursue the matter and they were closing thier file.

Most of the threats you recive by mail are empty and should be ignored until you have a process server on your door. And unless they can prove actual damages, they arent gonna get $900K because Lanham limits puntive damages to $100K (I think thats the amount) when materials are removed voluntarily after being warned.

hey newbie, no green in your sig. got it?

Just remove the stuff and tell them to fuck off,I doubt they'll have any real proofs after that,that the images even were on your server. :2 cents:

If they found the images through google you would really be fucked because stuff is indexed there for a long time.

How did the photos end up on the server?

no shit !!! Damn !

honestly no one knows... the file dates were from 2001.... and the pics were never used on any html pages... so we have no idea how they found the pics... we tried google, wayback, etc... they just dont show up.... its a fucking mystery.

anyway the pics are gone, he complied with thier C&D.

Sad, but true.

Just a hint from an old-school backyard lawyer.

Don't shit yourself just yet.

Respond "Without Prejudice" to any shit like this you receive and make sure you respond IN DETAIL.

Being "Without Prejudice" they can NOT use what you reply against you. Having said that, NEVER admit any liability.

But here is the dig.....

Many (not all !!) companies who use this as a business model do so in the hope that they will scare someone into settling.

It is easy for them to have their lawyers run off a standard C&D letter for $100.

It is a BIG difference when they get the bill back from those same lawyers for $500 - $1000 for interpreting and sending on your DETAILED response.

That slows them down some :glugglug

They will be less liekly to follow a legal chain against someone who is prepared to fight them.

And there is NO need in the very first instance to pay good money to lawyers to do what I have suggested above.

If they do respond with more "tough talk", then get your lawyers involved.

:2 cents:

Technically, they can ask for $100,000 per image per infraction, so you're getting off easy, it looks like they took the middle road. :)

Titan Media, a producer of gay pornography, is well-known for its aggressive copyright infringement actions (Titan Media Pumped-Up over digital distribution). I'm sure that they would be more than happy to cooperate and coordinate with DOJ lawyers to stop piracy of their products. How proud Hatch will be when the first DOJ-acquired restitution checks are turned over to purveyors of smut.

Very established company here. Id certainly take the warnings serious.

http://www.corante.com/importance/archives/002700.html