Messages

106

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: How can I verify a copyright Certificate of Registration number online?

« on: May 16, 2017, 10:06:44 AM »

@GWB1

I don't think it's a good idea to contact Higbee and plead your case.  Why offer them any information about yourself?  Save all that for a judge if it were able to get that far, and that's a huge if in your case. 

107

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: How can I verify a copyright Certificate of Registration number online?

« on: May 15, 2017, 03:30:47 PM »

@GWB1

Clist has given you very good advice.  I would suggest take a breath amd don't act to hastily.   

108

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: How can I verify a copyright Certificate of Registration number online?

« on: May 15, 2017, 10:12:34 AM »

@GWB1

Asking what is a successful negotiation is a relative question.  If they're asking you for $3,000 and you offer to $1,500 and they go for it, some may consider thatr successful for knocing the demand claim 50%.  But, that's still otragously higher than the market value of that image.  Even if you offer $800 and they go for that it's still a huge mark up.  What I'm saying to you is you're not dealing with a honarable lawyer.  The agist you going through is exactly what Higbee wants you to feel.  ELI is a resource of a lot of other people that have gone through the same thing. 

109

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: How can I verify a copyright Certificate of Registration number online?

« on: May 14, 2017, 07:45:08 PM »

@JuanSilva

You're situation sounds very unusual.  Can you give us more information?  You got a summons and complaint filed with a federal court with a docket number?  Just asking because copyright trolls like to send a template of a complaint that looks like the real thing but without a docket number.   

110

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: How can I verify a copyright Certificate of Registration number online?

« on: May 14, 2017, 12:43:43 AM »

@ GWB1

  Contacting Higbee will let them know they got you shook and will only lead to them harassing you more.  Do you really want that?  They're only interested in getting you you to shell out a lot of money.  Do you want to do that?  Just because an image appears on Google images does not mean it's free to use.  Virtually every image found on Google is copyright protected for the person who created whether it is registered or not.  There's an ignorance gap millions of people fall into and copyright trolls are taking advantage of this.   

111

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: School tutor

« on: May 13, 2017, 10:41:28 AM »

@Figaro14

You've done enough already by communicating with them thinking you can have a rational exchange.  But, in my opinion it doesn't work that way because copyright trolls only sing one tune--pay up or else we'll sue you.  So why bother?  You sound like you got your ducks line up in a row.  Getty is trying to shake you.  Don't let them do it and continue living your life.   

112

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Getty Demand Letter - Waited it out

« on: May 11, 2017, 11:42:39 AM »

@BearSkin

Congrats for refusing to be low hanging fruit.  I know it wasn't a walk in te park.  But, you beat the scam because you kept you wits about you.  Copyright trolls thrive on fear and terror and misuse an outdated law that hasn't kept up with the digital age and using it to make money and justify it by saying it's the law.  It's a disgrace but you didn;t buckle.  Congrats!

113

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Beware of Photographer Nicholas (Nick) Youngson of NYPhotographic.com

« on: April 14, 2017, 03:05:24 PM »

@ kingkendall

Thanks for the reply! Wish we had ignored them right away. Ah well.

The thing is, I HIGHLY doubt they will accept my third offer, as it will be quite low, yet extremely generous for the limited use of an image offered for free.

If their email is to be believed, they've spent $500 emailing with me since October.

I may just let it go.

Thanks again!

@ InWisconsin
I wasn’t knocking what you did as an error on your part.  In fact, you acted like a gentlemen seeking to resolve an issue in good faith.  But, that’s not the case with Higbee in the way he conducts business with threats and intimidation.  He wanted you to fold after the first communication.  But you didn’t.    A lot of others do and that’s where he makes his money.  By the way, that email I’m pretty sure didn’t come from Higbee himself.  It probably came from a case manager (non-lawyer) he’s paying $18-$23 dollors to run this extortion operation.  And if it did come from Higbee what does that say about his professionalism. 

114

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Beware of Photographer Nicholas (Nick) Youngson of NYPhotographic.com

« on: April 14, 2017, 02:12:13 PM »

@ InWisconsin

I would've ignored them from the beginning.  But, since you already made offers, I would go ahead with the third offer. I'm not keen on group resgistration being proof enough for a particular image.  Higbee saying it's been refered to their litigation dept is really the next cubicle over from the past person dealing with the case.  It's a tactic meant to shake you. 

115

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: New Pixsy letter

« on: April 14, 2017, 11:49:03 AM »

Hello,

Took that into consideration, without a doubt this picture is not copyrighted. The picture they are going after is a live shot of a certain artist, the image it shows copyrighted is for a cover album and in-studio session of two completely unrelated artists. Nothing else was copyrighted under that name or address.

Just to clarify a photo gets copyrighted as soon as it's created.  It doesn't have to have to be registered in order to have copyright protection.  But it doies have to be registered within 90 days if a rights holder wants to bring an action for statutory damages. 

116

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Beware of Photographer Nicholas (Nick) Youngson of NYPhotographic.com

« on: April 09, 2017, 10:07:05 AM »

It's another scare tactic CT use to induce a settlement.  Instead of a file number the put "pending" to make you think they're getting ready to file if you don't pay up.  And for a lot of people it works because they get scared.  Sanders Law uses the same tactic.  It's part of the game. 

117

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Beware of Photog Christopher Sadowski, Notorious Copyright Troll

« on: April 08, 2017, 03:27:05 PM »

I want to bring attention to this guy.  He's a photographer from New Jersey.  He licenses photos to the New York Post and news organizations in Northern New Jersey.  He's also a notorious copyright troll that has filed multiple lawsuits using different lawyers including Mathew Higbee.  Don't use this guy's stuff no matter what kind of photo it is.  Even if it's a picture of a car that is double parked, Sadowski will come after you for it with an outrageous amount.       

Can I get an assist? 

I been having trouble logging in Pacer.  If anyone can post the lawsuits filed by this guy I think the community would benefit? 

118

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: New Higbee & Associates Letter on Behalf of Adlife Marketing (food images)!

« on: April 07, 2017, 11:06:35 AM »

Sanders Law is well known here, as is Higbee, but they are completely different entities as far as we know.... Why Sanders would be sending letters from Cali is kinda strange, it's also strange that you got a letter from BOTH...are they in regards to the same image?

Different iamages and clients.  But 902704 and 92705 are adacent zip codes.  To me, that's too much of a coincidence to toss off as a coinciidence.  Maybe the same demand letter operation is operating from one location under different names? 

119

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: New Higbee & Associates Letter on Behalf of Adlife Marketing (food images)!

« on: April 07, 2017, 10:28:23 AM »

@Mathew Chan

Is this just a coincidence?

I got my first demand letter from Sander Law in 2015.  I freaked out at first but after speaking to my lawyer cousin, I was told it was only a letter.  To make a long story short, Sander Law as you probably know os a long Island law firm.  I get my first letter from Higbee last December.  So I review all my paperwork because I keep everything I get.  The first letter I got from Sanders came from a 92704 Zip code which is Santa Ana California.  Why would a Long Island law firm be sending me a letter from California.  The Higbee latter is from 92705 Sanat Ana California. 

Coincidence? 

120

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Nicholas Youngson Photographer (Rep. by Higbee Associates) Copyright Abuse

« on: April 05, 2017, 02:40:36 PM »

It isn't illegal to call someone. However, it becomes a grey area if you actually instruct someone in writing to cease-and-desist making phone calls to you.

Phone calls have been reported and written about. It doesn't come up often because most don't bother to go down that road.  Higbee is a growing operation and they are persistent but we have discovered glaring credibility issues. Higbee touts itself as a "national law firm" by renting or utilizing virtual addresses, for example.

I am not going to re-write it but there are a couple of posts somewhere where I wrote about how to deal with unwanted phone calls. Honestly, it is an epidemic beyond the whole extortion letter issue.  People spam all over.  Emails and phone calls. You might have to use the custom Google search bar above the forum.

Mathew Chan

 Thanks for answering my question.