Messages

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Announcements / All Forums on Indefinite Hiatus status.

« on: March 14, 2019, 01:31:47 AM »

All discussion forums on the ELI Forums are on hiatus for an indefinite period of time. Because I (along with other ELI admins/moderators) are unable to sufficiently moderate, monitor, and participate in the forums due to our "real lives", I have decided to suspend the forums.

The forums will still be available as an information resource for new readers and victims. There may be periodic updates as warranted. If there are any changes to the hiatus status, we will post them here.

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Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / This Forum is on Indefinite Hiatus

« on: March 12, 2019, 01:33:26 AM »

Because I cannot be here to moderate the forums as much as I used to, I am forced to place this forum on hiatus (read-only mode). I am not sure how long the hiatus will last. It may be temporary or it may be permanent.  I simply cannot be here to respond to every question, comment, issue, complaint, criticism, or outlandish statement that is posted. I cannot catch every spam-bot that invades this forum with adware. Unfortunately, all discussion forums need a moderator/moderation team or it loses direction and goes off in weird, inexplicable directions. Or it gets overrun by spambots or trolls.

I have been doing a terrible job moderating lately simply because I have been absent for days and sometimes weeks at a time. I simply cannot be here to monitor, moderate, or participate. My closest and trusted ELI friends are also busy with their own lives and businesses to monitor, moderate, or participate. Given this, it is best to put this forum on hiatus.

Over the years, we have tried to help thousands of copyright extortion victims by encouraging information exchange, debate, unconventional ideas, and openly sharing our information and thoughts on these forums. Some of it was conventional wisdom, some of it was unconventional and unorthodox.  There seems to be a faction that believe that the only suggestions we should give out is "settle or go hire a lawyer".  If that was the case, there would be no need for a forum that contain thousands of messages discussing and debating the subject on different cases and people's situations. Last time I checked, lawyers charge hundreds of dollars per hour. Hence, for years ELI ha been at the forefront of seeking out unconventional ideas, tactics, and strategies for the "little guy".

Copyright trolling and copyright extortion is still alive and well. The names and players have changed over the years but many of the underlying tactics are still the same. Unfortunately, most victims will have to learn how to fend for themselves or find alternative resources.  I still believe people need to get educated because there are few places to get "affordable help". Given this, I believe new victims are well-served by delving into the forum archives.

For now, every forum has either been "retired" or placed on indefinite hiatus. If anything changes, we will let you know here.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / This Forum is on Indefinite Hiatus

« on: March 12, 2019, 01:25:26 AM »

Because I cannot be here to moderate the forums as much as I used to, I am forced to place this forum on hiatus (read-only mode). I am not sure how long the hiatus will last. It may be temporary or it may be permanent.  I simply cannot be here to respond to every question, comment, issue, complaint, criticism, or outlandish statement that is posted. I cannot catch every spam-bot that invades this forum with adware. Unfortunately, all discussion forums need a moderator/moderation team or it loses direction and goes off in weird, inexplicable directions. Or it gets overrun by spambots or trolls.

I have been doing a terrible job moderating lately simply because I have been absent for days and sometimes weeks at a time. I simply cannot be here to monitor, moderate, or participate. My closest and trusted ELI friends are also busy with their own lives and businesses to monitor, moderate, or participate. Given this, it is best to put this forum on hiatus.

Over the years, we have tried to help thousands of copyright extortion victims by encouraging information exchange, debate, unconventional ideas, and openly sharing our information and thoughts on these forums. Some of it was conventional wisdom, some of it was unconventional and unorthodox.  There seems to be a faction that believe that the only suggestions we should give out is "settle or go hire a lawyer".  If that was the case, there would be no need for a forum that contain thousands of messages discussing and debating the subject on different cases and people's situations. Last time I checked, lawyers charge hundreds of dollars per hour. Hence, for years ELI has been at the forefront of seeking out unconventional ideas, tactics, and strategies for the "little guy".

Copyright trolling and copyright extortion is still alive and well. The names and players have changed over the years but many of the underlying tactics are still the same. Unfortunately, most victims will have to learn how to fend for themselves or find alternative resources.  I still believe people need to get educated because there are few places to get "affordable help". Given this, I believe new victims are well-served by delving into the forum archives.

For now, every forum has either been "retired" or placed on indefinite hiatus. If anything changes, we will let you know here.

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Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Meyer, Suozzi, English, Klein v. Mathew Higbee, Youngson, RM Media, Higbee Assoc

« on: March 07, 2019, 01:56:21 PM »

Here is a better link with some documents to download read.  PacerMonitor is a terrible resource.

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7088874/meyer-suozzi-english-klein-pc-v-higbee/

It is interesting. Apparently, Nick Youngson felt the need to hire a sole practitioner lawyer to enter the case to fight the default judgment. I guess he doesn't want himself or RM Media to get hit with a default judgment despite the fact he is in the UK.

This is what happens when Youngson authorizes Higbee to file dumb lawsuits.  Some defendants do bite back in very unexpected ways. I have been saying that for years. Better be careful or else.

I cannot imagine that Youngson's new lawyer is working for free. So, SOMEONE is paying for this. My guess is that Youngson/RM Media did not count on having to spend money defending a countersuit and trying to untangle this mess they started.

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Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Recent articke- Investigating the Higbee & Associates Copyright Trolling Operati

« on: March 05, 2019, 02:10:44 PM »

More information has come out (independent of ELI's efforts) that "playing it loose" could be an understatement. Not sure what is going on lately but there does seem to be a LOT of reporting about Higbee operations happening lately.

DC lawyer Paul Alan Levy of Public Citizen with his detailed, well-written piece calling them a copyright troll.  And of course, our friends at Techdirt who has published no less than 3 recent articles themselves relating to the Higbee operation.

So, it appears Higbee operations has grown enough or triggered enough people to get on some people's radar.  It ain't just ELI watching or following them anymore.  There are influencers and observers much larger and effective than ELI now watching the Higbee operation.

That could be.  It would not surprise me in light of their volume.    They might be playing a little loose in their prelitigation work, but they appear to be very buttoned-up once they head to court.  I do see them prevailing on their motion practice against some big firms.   

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Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: UrbanLip.com v. Lereve Skin Institute (Higbee Client v. Pro Se Defendant)

« on: February 22, 2019, 07:54:19 AM »

Read Document #37 "Declaration" that was filed by defendant.

https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cacd.723273/gov.uscourts.cacd.723273.37.0.pdf

It explains some of what has transpired. It does not paint Higbee lawyer, Ryan Carreon, in a positive light. I think Document #37 is required reading for people who suspect they may get a lawsuit against them. It provides insight to what happens behind the scenes.

There is some questionable behavior. I am not a lawyer and don't know all the professional rules of conduct. But if everything written is true, Ryan could have a problem even if this case settles out.

It looks like Lereve lawyered up on this.  Smart move.   Does anyone have insight on what happened?

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Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Settled with PicRights, now getting harassed by Higbee for the same image

« on: February 22, 2019, 07:44:50 AM »

There is always a some level of risk when you file a written complaint about someone or business. People don't like it, get defensive, and you draw attention to yourself.  As such, your complaint should be grounded and credible, or you come off looking badly. In the case of Higbee's operations, they likely deal with hundreds of cases at any given time.  But if you were to file a complaint, you would certainly draw attention to your case.

And if they attempted to retaliate in an unfounded or inappropriate way, they would subject themselves to yet another potential complaint.

Essentially, I come from the school of thought that file a complaint if you think the situation is valid.  But if you are doing it "just because" or for weak reasons, it might not be a "net positive" result.

The whole class action thing is still unlikely for a variety of reasons. But who knows? There might be some brilliant lawyer that could surprise us one day and take it on.

I absolutely believe a class action is one way to potentially bring awareness and put a stop to Higbee.  Also, Matthew Chan, are there any risks to filing a complaint against Higbee with the California Bar Association?

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Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Meyer, Suozzi, English, Klein v. Mathew Higbee, Youngson, RM Media, Higbee Assoc

« on: February 21, 2019, 10:54:19 PM »

Without actually seeing the court documents, if what you say is correct in the firm filing for default judgment, it occurs to me that RM Media is executing an ELI strategy move I have discussed.  The default judgment will not likely touch RM Media because the schmuck is located in the UK and out of reach rendering the default judgment largely worthless.

See how that works? RM Media, through Higbee, can touch US Citizens but the reverse is not true. It is very hard to touch RM Media because Youngson is sitting comfortably out of reach.

Interesting new development in the case. Yesterday Meyer firm filed for default judgement. It appears the court issued summons to Youngson and RM Media, and both defendants have failed to respond to either the summons or the complaint. Curious to see what's going on at the house of cards over at Higbee, and why their clients haven't responded?

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Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Techdirt: Stupid Law Firm Threatens Something Awful Over Hot-Linked Hitler Pic

« on: February 15, 2019, 03:41:00 AM »

I stumbled across this Techdirt article from October 2018. It is about the Higbee law firm issuing a letter to Something Awful owner, Rich Kyanka, over a hot-linked Christopher Sadowski image that was uploaded by another party, not the letter recipient. What is included are the colorful responses of Mr. Kyanka.

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20181008/22025640795/stupid-law-firm-decides-to-threaten-something-awful-over-hot-linked-hitler-picture.shtml

The way the guy responded to Higbee law firm is funny and eye-popping. People know I can be outspoken and I have used my share of 4-letter words as I deemed fit but I don't hold a candle to Mr. Kyanka. 

The source article is here:
https://www.somethingawful.com/news/higbee-hitler/1/

A big takeaway is not to fall for the BS argument that you infringed if you hot-linked an image. You can. However, I don't recommend it simply because of the time-suck involved in an altercation like this. But that doesn't mean you cannot do an image-hotlink if you really want to.

However, if you read Higbee's employee's response, it is clear some of them are really clueless. If they even had paralegal training, I would be shocked. To her credit, she was pretty calm overall if terribly offbase.

The owner of Something Awful stood his ground and played other cards (albeit in a more flamboyant way than I would advise) in his responses.  There is something to be said for the "little guy" telling a misinformed person to piss off. It just so happens, he knew his shit too. He was on solid ground. Good on him, I say.

On a side note, according to LinkedIn, the Higbee employee named by Mr. Kyanka left the Higbee law firm in Dec. 2018, less than 2 months later after that incident. Probably a coincidence. She lasted barely a year at the Higbee Law firm.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Creative Commons Photos on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

« on: February 15, 2019, 01:56:02 AM »

Gollum,

Unfortunately, most of the ELI participants and knowledgebase are based in the U.S. Most of us have little specifics in the legal procedures of UK or other international cases. However, the general advice of removing the photo, checking into the copyright registration, and strategies for negotiating a settlement is largely the same.

Hello all,

My wife owns a tiny commerce site. She used one of Marco Verch photos for a newsletter (50 subscribers). A relative that manages our social media shared a snapshot of the newsletter in Facebook and Twitter where the Marco's photo can be seen (he didn't share the photo itself but a snapshot with the photo embedded). Pixsy is using that tweet to claim £450 to my wife. How likely is Pixsy brings her to court in the UK. They have 27 followers in Twitter.
It's pretty easy to go to Intellectual Property Court in the UK and also cheap (£50 if you claim less then £500 I think) so we are a bit scared.

What is your advise?

@aot Happy to collaborate with you in the documentary you are planning to make.

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Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Consumer Warning: Copyright Trolling by Higbee & Associates

« on: February 15, 2019, 01:45:53 AM »

Everyone needs to make sure they click through the embedded links and read the actual letters and emails being shared.  They are very insightful and can give you ideas of how to respond and defend yourself.

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Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Photo not registered with Copyright division

« on: February 15, 2019, 01:43:44 AM »

They dropped it $50 from what number?  If the settlement offer was in the low hundreds, it is more significant than if it was a multi-thousand dollar number.

I used the URL Higbee provided and found the alleged photo would cost less than $200 to purchase through Getty. Higbee used the same tool to provide produce an estimated license fee of around 10 times that. They chose the large photo format and all digital media option to inflate the price rather than the small photo and commercial blog use they are alleging.

They did, however, drop their demand amount by about $50.

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Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Settled with PicRights, now getting harassed by Higbee for the same image

« on: February 15, 2019, 01:40:58 AM »

Up until yesterday for the last 10 years, our general stance is that class action discussions are a non-starter. A few lawyers have come and gone looking to the matter which resulted in crickets. However, respected DC lawyer Paul Alan Levy wrote this yesterday:

As I see it, Higbee is skating at the ethical edge here. If he does this on a regular basis, as it appears he does, he may will be leaving himself vulnerable to a class action claim from victims to his bullying who have paid him based on such misleading representations.

https://pubcit.typepad.com/clpblog/2019/02/consumer-warning-copyright-trolling-by-higbee-and-associates.html

Mr. Levy seems to be indicating there might be a class action claim possibility from those victims who have actually paid him, not those just being threatened and have not paid. That is the most I have heard from any lawyer.

The same thing happened to our company recently and a few others identified online. Has anyone else been asked to participate in a class action on this?

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Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: VFW local site

« on: February 15, 2019, 01:32:37 AM »

It certainly doesn't hurt that both the image and website is down. It does mitigate the issue.

Regarding your letter, it is unclear to me whether this is an early letter or a followup letter.  Most early letters threatening a lawsuit is a scare tactic.  However, later letters with these threats may hold more water depending on the overall situation and circumstances.  You have not provided enough info.

Looking at all this, I'm pretty confused about my next step.  I am a amateur web designer and I help local clubs, churches, etc.   One of the groups, a local VFW, received the dreaded Higbee letter.  It appears as though there was a photo I used from another veteran publication that I assumed was in public use (bad assumption).  The website has been defunct and not available for months now and I had hoped that would remove the violation concern.  The letter states that they will have to pay $2130 within 14 days or go to court.

Any advice?

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Higbee Associates Letter & Lawsuits Forum / Re: Email from Matthew Higbee himself

« on: February 15, 2019, 01:28:12 AM »

Yes, it seems unusual that Mr. Higbee himself would email anyone directly on a lower level matter. I have not heard that. I mostly hear it is his subordinate clerks/paralegals or perhaps one of his associate lawyers that contact people.  What did he email you?

Just received an email from Matthew Higbee. Is this normal for them? I haven’t read anywhere that Matthew Higbee takes the time to email people. Not sure what to think of it. Thoughts anyone?