Messages

46

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Got Higbee letter today

« on: September 08, 2018, 01:09:18 AM »

Whatever you think about Higbee, I doubt they are reckless enough to pursue a claim after they knew it had no merit. They have too much to lose. Did you tell them that the image you used was not the one belonging to their client?  Did they show you a screenshot or some evidence of your using their client’s image?
E
If they got it wrong, email them and let them know.  I would not tell them anything else, but that you think the image you used is not the one you used.  If they continue to pursue it, let me know.

Do not pay a thing or talk about anything else until they prove you used their image.

47

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Useful Info For Anyone Defending Sadowski & Higbee

« on: September 07, 2018, 01:30:00 AM »

That reply leaves me with the following options:

1.  You don’t know that the facts of that infamous case are in no way analogous to the topic of this thread
2.  You know the facts and you lack the analytical skills necessary to spot at least 10 reasons why the judge’s comments are not relevant to this thread.
3.   You know the facts of that case and think I or other readers do not know them.
4.  You know the facts of that case and think I or other readers cannot spot the obvious dissimilarities.
5. You just like posting crap to get a reaction (which I think is called trolling, ironically)

You don’t need to answer which it is.  This thread is a dead horse.

48

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Useful Info For Anyone Defending Sadowski & Higbee

« on: September 06, 2018, 01:35:39 PM »

Kendall, you are confusing two issues. 

I have no objection to complaining about the system or the over-reaching of copyright holders.  I will gladly join you when I see it happen. 

My problem is with your making statements like “judges frown on that” when you present no basis to support it other than you wish it were so.   It is a disservice to anyone who comes here looking for help or useful information.

49

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Useful Info For Anyone Defending Sadowski & Higbee

« on: September 06, 2018, 12:24:03 AM »

Ethan, don't worry, I haven't fallen sick.  I'll mention him again soon.  Gotta keep the shitty posts about him at the top of his search results so eventually the felon can't extort a piece of dog shit off the sidewalk, let alone sell a single legitimate photo, which I doubt he's ever actually done.

Your persistence is only exceeded by your abundant colorful expressions.  You are a good sport

50

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Useful Info For Anyone Defending Sadowski & Higbee

« on: September 06, 2018, 12:18:28 AM »

Sadowski is NOT a photographer for the NY Post.  Get your facts straight.  He's a freelance photographer that licenses his photos to news organizations.  And he doesn't make enough money doing just that.  He makes more money via extortion who are quick to pay up after getting a demand letter.

Whether the Post pays their photographers as employes or contractors is irrelevant.  A Google search shows about 500 photo credits on the NY Post.   If he shoots 500 plus photos for the Post, he is a photographer for the Post.   The larger point is that he is a credible photographer with an established market for his work.

There is nothing in the statute or case law that says a copyright holder’s right to protect their rights diminishs if their enforcement revenue exceeds licensing revenue.  Until you can show a single judge who shares your fantasy, your theory should be recognized it for what it is, wishful thinking.

There is no statute of limitations that limits the amount of money a person can accumulate from enforcement or the number of times a person can use the courts to protect their property.

As long as people are infringing on their work, you can count on him and his NY Post buddies to keep suing.  No judge is going to blow a whistle and penalize them for excessive enforcement, especially if they are making efforts to resolve claims outside of court.

You can argue the images are not worth his demand amounts, that is part of every copyright case.   But you cannot successfully argue a person has made too much money from enforcement.

51

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Useful Info For Anyone Defending Sadowski & Higbee

« on: September 05, 2018, 11:14:37 AM »

Or, the fact that there are 70 cases means this guy is another POS image seeder.

Let me start my saying congratulations to UnfairlyTargeted for not mentioning Tom Schwabel in a post.  Huge step.   

Now if we can just disabuse you of the silly notion that everyone who enforces their copyrights is seeding images.  For the love of God, get over it.    Sadowski is photographer for the New York Post, it should be quite obvious that he does not need to seed his images.  They probably go viral every day. 

52

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Useful Info For Anyone Defending Sadowski & Higbee

« on: September 05, 2018, 11:03:51 AM »

@king Kendall.  While you think a judge may share your point of view, it is highly unlikely/ wishful thinking.      It is easy to see why “A Lawyer” is correct.    Judges and the clerks, who do the research for judges, know how many times a person litigates and they don’t care.   He has gone against opposing attorneys who know way more about this stuff than you or I and none have pursuaded a judge that the number of cases he files is noteworthy.

He is a photo journalist for a established and credible publication.  He not only has a right to use the federal courts to protect his work, it is his only available judicial forum.   

53

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Photogr-Copyright Troll Christopher Sadowaki using Robert Miller to file suits

« on: September 05, 2018, 10:47:37 AM »

I noticed that pattern on another case a few months ago, though it may not have been a case involving Miller.   I am not sure what the relevance is. So one NY Post photographer helps other NY Post photographers register their works.     

54

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Useful Info For Anyone Defending Sadowski & Higbee

« on: August 27, 2018, 02:59:40 PM »

I guess it is possible that they are using a friend/family member as a pro bono attorney for this case, but that would be surprising for a site of this size.

There are a lot of subjective components of these cases.  My guess is that a judge would think $2,500 is a reasonable eoffer on timely registered image used by a serial infringer.   But this can go either wat.     At the end of the day, as long as the plaintiff’s conduct is not unreasonable, the law instructs the court to award the copyright holder attorneys fees and costs. 

If judges have been awarding Sadowski default judgments for $50,000 and $30,000, those judges are seeing value there.

I will enjoy following this.

55

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Useful Info For Anyone Defending Sadowski & Higbee

« on: August 25, 2018, 01:35:52 AM »

How do you figure that.  You can either sue for actual damages or statutory damages, not both.

Judges have wide discretion on statutory damages.  Judges frequently use a multiplier based on the licensing history and the intent level (Willful or unintentional).   So, they can say 3 times the license history if it is unintentional infringement or 10 times if willful infringement, plus attorneys fees and costs.  There is no set formula.

My guess is that there is more to the Saowski licensing history.   Judges have awarded him judgments of $50,000 and $30,000.  See
https://www.higbeeassociates.com/practices/copyright-law/    While these are default judgments, it shows what numbers judges can come up with.   

I am guessing Back China’s attorney did not understand fair use and gave them really bad legal advice.   Who knows.  Maybe they made the mistake of thinking Higbee would not sue.  Either way, Back China will probably end up spending 10 times the $2,500 offer that they rejected, not to mention the distraction and stress. 

56

Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Useful Info For Anyone Defending Sadowski & Higbee

« on: August 24, 2018, 01:52:34 PM »

Not knowing what the initial demand was, this looks like a pretty good win for Higbee.   He gets a win on the fair use issue, which looks good, and he beat back what was the defendant’s best argument in defense of the use (which is a safe assumption seeing that the defendant filed a motion for summary judgment on fair use).

The defendant has probably paid $10,000 in legal bills to answer,  file the motion  and the reply.   Now the defendant will likely have to pay a multiplier of Sadowksi’s licensing fees, plus Higbee’s attorneys fees and court costs, which is probably another $10,000.

If Back China is the serial infringer that DavidVGoliath says, it is very odd that they did not settle this claim fast.  Either plaintiff was asking for big money or their attorney was giving them bad advice. 

I logged into PACER, the last entry is scheduling related. 

57

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Pixsy Letter (photographer has history of suing)

« on: August 23, 2018, 01:13:01 PM »

There are lots of reasons that these court cases never go through a complete trial.   

First, the outcomes are predictable.  This predictability comes from the fact that 99% of photo infringement cases are straight forward.   Typically, the only real question is the award amount.    This predicabiliy greatly increases the chance for settlement as there is very little reason for one party to think the outcome will be wildly different than the other party.   As long as one party is not drastically over reaching, they settle. 

Second and equally important is the fact that almost all copyright cases involving photos can be resolved with a good motion for summary judgment.   It is very rare that there are issues of fact that need to be determined at trial by a judge or jury in a photo copyright case.

Third, many judges require that the parties go to court sponsored mediation before trial.  The mediators, who are either retired judges or experienced litigators, are very good at getting parties to settle the claims.

58

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: PicRights.com

« on: August 17, 2018, 07:36:29 PM »

DvG nailed it.  That is a good textbook answer on fair use.  Fair use is much narrower than what most people think.  Kingkendall is right that it is easy to misinterpret the language, but ignorance of the law is seldom a defense to any violation.

59

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: another copytrack letter

« on: August 17, 2018, 07:34:47 PM »

Copytrack calling it a debt is flat out wrong.  I think Robert is correct, it probably does implicate the FDCPA and whatever state law equivalent exists in your state. 

They cannot touch your credit. 

They are based in Germany and I have not seen any posts about them actually working with a US based law firm, so you probably do not have to worry about being sued, especially since it sounds like they blew the statute of limitations.

60

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: PicRights.com

« on: August 17, 2018, 02:11:19 AM »

If the article or web page is not about the particular photo or the photographer, it is probably not fair use under the news reporting, commentary or education prongs of fair use.   Don’t confuse the subject matter of the photo with the actual photo.