Higbee & Assoc. Lists RM Media Ltd in Nick Youngson Template Lawsuit

[someco]

Hello, just wanted to post here that my corporation has received this template lawsuit with the $5k demand.
I have posted previously - been dealing with this since Dec 2016.
It progresses from emails and 1 letter to more emails and letters to this particular letter with copy of the lawsuit. Same situation where it is from RM Media Ltd but the copyright is in Nicholas Youngson's name.
Thanks Mathew for pointing out the discrepancy in copyright ownership - definitely an important point.
Matthew, Robert or anyone here - Any other updates here recently or anyone seen actual lawsuits filed for Youngson especially in California? Thanks.
This is getting a bit crazy. Looks like they have a well-oiled machine going.

FYI Higbee does have several more lawsuits in the last few months, most notably several for the photographer Wild. Latest PACER list as below. Some are being closed out, but I don't know how to tell if these are settled.
party_name   court_id   cs_date_filed   cs_date_term   case_title

HIGBEE, MATHEW K   cacdce   8/4/2017      Rose Guerra v. Verizon Wireless et al
HIGBEE, MATHEW K   cacdce   8/4/2017      David Behr v. Dataline Credit Corp. et al
HIGBEE, MATHEW K   cacdce   7/21/2017      Alicia Ho v. Halsted Financial Services, LLC et al
HIGBEE, MATHEW K   cacdce   7/14/2017      Jeffery R. Werner v. Zhenyu Song et al
HIGBEE, MATHEW K   cacdce   7/7/2017      Alexander Wild v. Nakia J. Isaac
HIGBEE, MATHEW K   cacdce   6/15/2017      Michael Grecco Productions, Inc. v. Wrapmarket, LLC.
HIGBEE, MATHEW KIDMAN   txwdce   5/25/2017      Wild v. Webtegrity, LLC.
HIGBEE, MATHEW KIDMAN   txsdce   5/22/2017      Sadowski v. BackChina, LLC.
HIGBEE, MATHEW K   cacdce   5/17/2017   8/17/2017   Jeremy Nicholl v. Here Media, Inc.
HIGBEE, MATHEW KIDMAN   txwdce   5/11/2017      Wild v. Advanced Termite Control, Inc.
HIGBEE, MATHEW KIDMAN   txsdce   5/5/2017   5/31/2017   Wild v. Cypress Creek Pest Control, Inc.
HIGBEE, MATHEW KIDMAN   txwdce   4/12/2017   8/2/2017   Wild v. JASCO, Inc.
HIGBEE, MATHEW K   cacdce   3/27/2017   8/1/2017   Alexander Wild v. Legacy Termite Control, Inc.
HIGBEE, MATHEW KIDMAN   txwdce   3/27/2017   5/15/2017   Wild v. Atlanta Environmental Pest Services, Inc.
HIGBEE, MATHEW KIDMAN   txwdce   3/27/2017   6/13/2017   Wild v. Allergy & Asthma Associates of Connecticut, LLC.
HIGBEE, MATHEW K   wawdce   3/24/2017      Keatley v. Los Angeles Review of Books et al
HIGBEE, MATHEW KIDMAN   txsdce   3/23/2017      Skoogfors v. Connie Barnaba & Associates, Inc.
HIGBEE, MATHEW KIDMAN   txwdce   3/8/2017   7/27/2017   Wild v. Evergreen Growers Supply, LLC.
HIGBEE, MATHEW KIDMAN   txwdce   3/7/2017   5/8/2017   Wild v. Florida Environmental Pest Management, Inc.

[kingkendall]

If you look at that listing of lawsuits most if not all the defendents are corperations or a busness entity of some sort.  They're not filing suits against Joe Blow website who runs a blog on classic cars.  They're going after money business who might look at the suit as a nusiance case and quickly settle.  That's exaxtly what Higbee is lookinmg for because he isn't a intellectual property lawyer.  Filing the suits against the money outfitsd serves another purpose of scarying the little guy into thinking they may be next.  It's all a coersion game and that the business Higbee is in, getting settlemets not filing a case in Fed court.  You're not the only one in this position.  You're one of hundreds if not thousands.  And if by a very small chance Higbee filed against you, the last thing he wants to see is a counter suit and you putting your case. 

[Matthew Chan]

Given that you are knowledgeable of Pacer, your information is going to be just as good as anything we have from a filing lawsuit standpoint.  Just continue to monitor RM Media Ltd and Nick Youngson's names.

The central issue is whether Youngson/RM Media will eventually file a lawsuit in the U.S. But because Higbee is based in California, I imagine that would be the first place to file. It would be the easiest. But I think Youngson's situation is fraught with problems that a judge would not like to see in a case. That is my non-lawyer opinion.

There is no question that anyone that is being accused of infringing a Wild image has a higher risk of being sued.

And regarding the cases that are being closed out?  I would bet a lot of money that they are being closed out because they are being settled.  Having a lawsuit being served tends to motivate most people into settling and that is probably what is happening.

Higbee is probably pretty happy that people are publishing all the lawsuits he has filed on behalf of Wild and his other clients. It is free PR that sends a general message to the world at large "settle or we will sue".

Only the intellectually curious will drill down and make better distinctions to what is going on. And many of us do exactly that. We don't accept things at face value.

It progresses from emails and 1 letter to more emails and letters to this particular letter with copy of the lawsuit. Same situation where it is from RM Media Ltd but the copyright is in Nicholas Youngson's name.
Thanks Mathew for pointing out the discrepancy in copyright ownership - definitely an important point.
Matthew, Robert or anyone here - Any other updates here recently or anyone seen actual lawsuits filed for Youngson especially in California? Thanks.
This is getting a bit crazy. Looks like they have a well-oiled machine going.

FYI Higbee does have several more lawsuits in the last few months, most notably several for the photographer Wild. Latest PACER list as below. Some are being closed out, but I don't know how to tell if these are settled.

[someco]

Thanks Matthew. Do you know if Oscar Michelen is still doing the Defense Letter program? I have sent an email and called but not heard back, so wondering if he is no longer (or not currently) offering the program. Perhaps he is just busy, which is understandable of course.
Thanks.

[rdreich]

Hi Matthew:

Thank you for doing this - the information is invaluable.

I just received a Higbee/RM Media form letter, requesting (extorting) a payment of $5,280 for use of 2 photos I used on my website.  A writer I contract to write content for my websites downloaded the photos from Creative Commons and placed them on our sites without following the attribution instructions (he claims he didn't see them as he typically only downloads free photos.

Upon receiving the letter, I immediately removed the offending photos and sent him an letter and email telling him we took them down and hope that settles it, as I don't have the money to pay (true).  As I am incorporated and in California, I guess he assumes I'm an easy mark, because an associate wrote me back and basically repeated what was in the original letter.

I was thinking of hiring an attorney but it pisses me off that I would have to spend a cent on this bottom-feeder.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  If you feel that Oscar Michelen’s letter campaign makes sense in my case, I would definitely consider that.

[kingkendall]

@ rdreich

Making contact with Higbee was a mistake because you're not dealing with honorable people.  But, that's water under the bridge now.  Hiring a lawyer to deal with it cost money.  Perhaps the cost can be written off as a busniss expense and that may be of benefit to you and your busness.  Or there's this option.  Do nothing, get educated on copyright trolls by reading this forum extensively.  In the meantime you're going to get more letters, emails, calls maybe to preasure you to pay up.  No one on this forum will tell you what to do.  But, there's a lot of good information to make an informed decision for yourself.  Here's the bottom lime: There's two types of people who deal with trolls.  Low hanging fruit- people who are quick to pay up.  Tough breeds-Those who don't pay despite all the letters, emails or phone calls.  Copyright trolls love low hanging fruit.  Which one do you want to be? 

[rdreich]

Thank you, KingKendall.  I regretted sending the email shortly after I sent it.  That was my attorney's free advice, but it's obvious he isn't familiar with these copyright trolls.  I choose to be one of the "tough-breeds," as I truly believe these guys have set it up to entrap people.  I am going to dig into this website and learn what I can about how best to handle these trolls.  I will look into Oscar Michelen’s Defense Letter Program, if that's still available. 

[Matthew Chan]

Oscar Michelen's Defense Letter Program is still very much available for those who prefer professional representation vs. handling it yourself.

It isn't a high-priority service. Sometimes there are delays in communications but Oscar still accepts clients.

Follow the instructions on this page:

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/2012-update-expansion-of-attorney-oscar-michelens-defense-letter-program/

[revo816]

I too have received a Higbee extortion letter just yesterday asking for $12,400 in damages for three free creative commons photos I used. I have a small business that has a blog that almost no one reads since it is so new. I pick up photos from a google search using creative commons. However, like others on here, I did not give attribution. When I got the letter I immediately took down the photos. I now am looking for ways to make sure all future photos are paid for since there are packages out there that are pretty cheap.

The letter was pretty detailed listing the statutes the power of attorney agreement and even copies of the copyrights.

I am appalled by the deceptive and coercive tactics of Higbee and Youngston. We need to let everyone we know via every channel of communication we have not to ever do business with these people and to not use Youngston's photos free or not.

You know image and content producers make their living by publicly putting their product in the market. If everyone knows to beware of RM Media and Youngston it should hurt his business significantly and he deserves to be hurt.

Is there a way to contact google so we can get him excluded from google image searches since he is running a honeypot scam using their service to do it? Seems like google would not want to be a part of this mess.

Anyway, my little company has no money and could not pay even the minimal damages. But I did think of another tactic that may work.

My business is an LLC in Florida, and Youngston is in England, and Higbee is in California. I wonder if it would be effective to file a small claims suit against both of them compelling them to come to Florida and defend against my small claims suit. Then sue them for the amount of wasted time of my work which is $250 per hour as a consultant. This could be a possible deterrent against further action against me. Since it would cost more than the $12,400 for them all to come here and defend against my small claims suit.

What do you think?

[sbausman]

REVO816, how about a class action suit (and anyone else that wants to join)?  We just received an extortion letter for $5280.  We are in PA.
We used one image, but our Creative Commons License was noted on the footer.

[revo816]

I would be happy to participate. We would need to find a good lawyer to represent us. Someone that has litigated these types of issues before, and has the power to see it through.

Unfortunatley I do not know much about the law and lawyers. But maybe someone else on here knows if it is a potential opportunity for a class action suit. There may not be enough here to warrant since all I have gotten so far is a threatening  letter. Some of the other folks  who have been vicimized the the extortion maybe have more of a case.

[kingkendall]

I don't see a bssis for a class action suit based on getting a demand letter.  What you have here is hundreds if not thousands of folks getting the same letter.  It's a volume scumbag business.  Some people freakout and run to pay cuz they're so afraid of being sued.  Others roll with the punches, get educated on what to do and deal.  How one handles it depends on the individual.  This forum is a place to get strong knowing others have gone through what you're going through. 

[sbausman]

I agree Kingkendall, he's a scumbag, but I want to see him go through the same suffering (time and money) that's he made everyone else indulge in. He's definitely an extortionist that needs to be stopped.  A class action suit might just be what we are looking for. 

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

"class actions" have been discussed many time here...not going to happen, one does not simply file a class action...one files the suit with many "does" or defendants and a judge decides if it is worthy of being a "class", which is not likely... what would be more "stinging" is if a bunch would band together and each file their own suit..imagine 50 people filing seperately, what a time suck that would be, Higbee would need to spend time/resources to answer and respond to each complaint.

[clist]

"class actions" have been discussed many time here...not going to happen..

If enough people ended up in court behind this charade I could see it happening in the form of counter-suits..