ipprotection.net letter

[BackOffPro]

Has anyone else had one of these.

I had one some months ago and I am still playing "letter tennis" with them.

Initially I received a standard fishing trip letter:

---screenshot evidence of the photo and my site incorporating the image in a montage
---a demand for £400 for the image based on the National Union of Journalists standard day rate
---plus £400 for willful infringement (note: the photo appears on many sites with no copyright notice).

Failure to pay within 14 days meant court action with no further notice from them.

They operate no-win no-fee revenue sharing arrangement with the photographer, according to their website.

They have not responded to my proof and clarification letters, and just send a standard mail-merge back threatening me with court action again. There are no responses to my questions, no reasons for not answering, no official decline of my offer (market rate calculation from stock photo sites) and no attempt to show what the real value of the image is, just the "estimate". I think this goes against pre-action protocol.

I don't want to say much more publicly right now. It's been a very trying time.

I have reported them to the SRA pointing out they are using a "pay up or else" strategy to frighten people, significantly inflated prices, very much like ACS Law (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16616803 )

[BackOffPro]

I have had a PM about these people, so if you have been affected, let's stick together. Thanks for the message.

I have not had a letter for 3 weeks now after my last letter asking why my questions from my previous letter had not been answered or my offer of £10 declined. I quoted time and date delivered and the signatory - the guy who owns this outfit in my last letter - which I am sure would not look good in court. They are not following the "Protol" for this, and using generic repeated bullying letters really isn't good for their case.

It's very easy for me to say they are attempting to scare money out of people, not claim any reasonable royalties that may be due.

The only unique thing about the last letter was my name and address - everything else was completely generic - even the Dear Sir (which is wrong). That says to me "numbers game".

Please do mention if you have been affected.

Stay strong. Asking for a settlement before court action does not mean anything, they have to prove the reasonable royalty.

[justme123]

Hi, We are currently experiencing the same as you with regards to this company. I have done some research on the 2 owners which brings up some interesting reading regarding another company they run SCD Consultants with Company House status on them reading as ' Proposal to Strike off '. Also I noticed on their letters the address they give as their Registered Business address seems to be a Mail Forwarding Service Address. After doing more research this address seems to be just a place where you pick up your mail from as 1000's of companies use it. We are fighting this company & would be very interested what your PM message said. PM me yourself if you know anymore on this 'company'!!. Thanks.

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

and you folks are keeping names and whatnot hidden why??? The 2 main purposes of ELI are to "share" information to better inform those that get letters, and to also expose these sleezebags... Not naming and shaming them, just allows them to continue with no ill effects... It's completely your choice to continue to stand in the shadows, but ELI as a whole will only be able to help so much with limited info and resources.

[justme123]

I have named them!? - ipprotection.net

[Couch_Potato]

Seems they are connected with Picscout

http://www.picscout.com/press-releases/picscout-enlarges-legal-partner-program-to-support-image-revenue-recovery-throughout-the-united-kingdom-for-photographer-and-stock-agency-clients.html

[Dynazzy]

They have not responded to my proof and clarification letters, and just send a standard mail-merge back threatening me with court action again. There are no responses to my questions, no reasons for not answering, no official decline of my offer (market rate calculation from stock photo sites) and no attempt to show what the real value of the image is, just the "estimate". I think this goes against pre-action protocol.

Why did you even acknowledge receipt of the letter, let alone reply?

[justme123]

Yes that's a very interesting article. So are they legit then? I've been ignoring them so far but not sure what to do next. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

I have named them!? - ipprotection.net

Perhaps I was not being clear in my communication...naming, shaming and sharing information, meaning, name the a-hole who signed the letter, name the law firm, consider sharing the actual letter(s) with us to post to our scribd library...drag them into the public eye for who they are and what they do.. with all of this info we can "report" on them..they don't like this exposure, and ultimately it helps others...help us to help you... I'll se what other dirt i can dig up on these guys first chance I get..

[justme123]

Oh right sorry my mistake. Well the 'manager' of the company is David Tyler or as he likes to sign his name 'Dave' - very professional. His partner is Scott Christian Davis who seems to be the Solicitor/Lawyer in the Dynamic Duo. Scott also runs a company called SCD Consultants Limited which has the same registered address as IPProtection. According to Company House website the Status for SCD Consultants is 'Active-Proposal to Strike off' which isn't good of course. Also the registered address of these 2 companies seems to be just a forwarding address where you can go & collect your mail as 1000's of companies use the same address. One last thing, all our letters have come via 2nd Class Mail. Surely if you were a serious company you would send the letters via a Recorded Service as proof of receipt? My advice in these situations is to just ignore them which is what I've been doing.

Finally I have found this link on another post which I urge EVERYONE to sign - http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/35814

[justme123]

I will try & upload a copy of our letters tomorrow too.

[Flinky]

Hi folks 
This is my first post... Delighted to have finally found this site and forum!

I just wanted to chime in here and mention that PicScout and the new Service based on it, ImageExchange... Is owned by guess who...? Getty Images!

So this may just be another avenue for their extortion racket...

SS&S - Stay Strong and Stubborn 

[Oscar Michelen]

Yes Getty Images paid over $US 20 Million for PicScout in April 2012.   

[RedBaron123]

Hi all, first post her, found the site after searching on ipprotection.net

I received a letter recently from IPProtection.net (as an attachment via email) demanding £2800 for use of a thumbnail image in a forum post.  I'm very cautious with use of images but the post in question was 5 years ago and I honestly can't recall where the image was obtained from or if it had been sent to me.

The letter isn't signed, it ends:

"Yours faithfully
IP Protection Limited
Email: [email protected]"

The calculation of £2800 has been arrived at as follows: 5 years @ £280 = £1400 plus a "100% uplift for flagrancy" which seems completely bizarre. Either an image breaches a claimed copyright or it doesn't surely?  How can it's use be flagrant in this respect?

It has not been delivered to our registered company address and I have made no acknowledgement of receipt.   I have now received a further email 'chaser' as follows:

"Unless I receive your response within 7 days from the date of this letter, I am instructed to take further action against you, which may include legal action, without further notice.  I trust that this will not be necessary and look forward to receiving your response no later than 7 days from the date of this letter. 

My client reserves his right to bring this letter and previous correspondence to the attention of the Court on the question of my client’s costs"

Grateful for any advice here. Should I respond or is this speculative and best ignored? I can't imagine they would proceed to legal action for a thumbnail image which is a small part of an original image.  They have also screen grabbed the forum post with other artwork in it, so is there a counter claim I can throw back at them there?

[justme123]

RedBaron123 - Just read your post, IGNORE THEM. I had the same letter last year sometime. You will get another couple from them most likely getting a little more threatening but they cannot take you to court as far as I know. Either way I ignored all their letters & they went away so suggest you do too. They are simply con artists.  Hope this helps.