Copyright Registration Question

[Matthew Chan]

I am not claiming that the Higbee operation is engaged in that kind of intentional, widespread copyright registration misrepresentations. Mistakes, intentional or not, do occur.  What I am saying is people need to be skeptical and scrutinize everything.

And if I were a pro se defendant, I would absolutely make certain written requests and demands from the other side. I am not going to just wait for a lawsuit to demand certain things.  And I can tell you from experience, there is oftentimes unseen impact when reasonable requests and demands are put in writing.  It shows responsible diligence even if the opposing side does not comply.  This bullshit line that "I will show you if it gets to lawsuit" is very much something that someone knowledgeable would throw back into their face in court.

Most people want "absolute" and "definite" results in their actions. If people need that, then the game is over for every extortion letter that comes through.

People better get smart or they will get walked on. Robo-lawyering is what this is all becoming and it is here to stay.

You are correct that you cannot view the deposit copy (i.e. the photos that were registered under that certificate number) without paying a fee. But with that said, it would be an exceedingly dangerous game for Higbee to be sending out registration certificates for photos not registered under that certificate number. All it would take would be one person to call his bluff and then he would likely be severely reprimanded or even disbarred for fraud. My guess is that his clients have enough stuff that is legitimately registered that it would be pointless for him to take such an incredible risk by putting it in writing and sending it out by the hundreds. My point is, there are a lot of ways to legitimately mitigate or even beat these guys in the negotiation phase. Best not to waste time on something that will likely bear no fruit like challenging the registration. Or I guess you can wait to find out if it's legit when they sue you.