landoralpha
New Member
I accidentally posted this originally in Civil Courts, Lawsuits & the Legal System. So now it's here in Intellectual Property & Internet Law.
I received this email yesterday from a photographer named Aaron Reed. I'm going to paste the email he sent me shortly. The email demands that I take down an image and pay $500 that was used by one of my authors on a small tech blog site I run (The site is called Techtronica.) The story is that my author was doing an original story about Windows 8 features. He was taking a screenshot of his desktop area where he was using a flickr app that was randomly rotating through images from the site. The image PARTIALLY seen in the screenshot. Here is the threatening email that was sent to me.
April 31, 2012
VIA E-Mail (xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (at) gmail (dot) com)
Re: Aaron Reed's Copyright Infringement Claim
Dear Landor Industries, TechTronica (dot) net & possible others as discovered,
If you are represented by an attorney, please forward this letter immediately to your attorney and provide the attorney's name and contact information to me.
Aaron Reed will be seeking representation in the matter of ("you" or "your") infringement of copyrights as you used our client's photograph shown below ("Photograph") without permission.
techtronica (dot) net/2012/02/06/windows-8-screenshots-for-a-glimpse-of-whats-to-come/
This image is not only being used as some kind of a screenshot of a new Software program without permission but it appears the image is even shown to be "by Dene' Miles on flickr (dot) com". Dene Miles does not own this photograph and is actually a known person to Mr. Reed. There has been no monitary compensation given to Mr. Reed for his work.
Aaron Reed's review of prior licenses does not include your use of the Photograph. Therefore, your use of the Photograph without authorization of Aaron Reed or the law constitutes copyright infringement. The infringement is clear; the only question is the extent of damages to be paid.
Aaron Reed Photography Rights Pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law
United States Copyright Law grants exclusive rights to the copyright owner of an image for use of that image, including the rights to:
- reproduce the copyrighted work;
- prepare derivative works based on the copyrighted work;
- distribute copies of the copyrighted work to the public; and/or
- display the image.
See 17 USC §§ 106 and 501. When those rights are infringed, the copyright owner is entitled to recover damages caused by and the profits earned from the infringement, regardless of whether you acted knowingly or intentionally. See 17 USC §504.
In this case the actual damages are calculated by the license fees lost by your use of the Photograph without authorization. Note that our client would also be entitled to any profits attributable to the infringing use.
You remain liable for this infringement until it is resolved.
Summary of Aaron Reed Photography's Claims and Demands
Thus, Aaron Reed (owner) demands that you:
1. Cease any further use of the Photograph;
2. Pay a licensing & settlement fee of $500.00 USD
Copyright infringement is a strict liability offense: you are responsible for any infringing act regardless of your intent. While you stopped using the Photograph, you remain liable for your past infringement.
Notice to Preserve Documents and Data
You are on notice that litigation is likely regarding your actions concerning the Photograph. You are now obligated and have a duty to preserve all evidence that may be relevant to the dispute discussed above and that may be the subject of pending litigation. This duty of preservation extends to, but is not limited to, data files, e‑mails, calendars, telephone logs, access lists, and logs that are located on your computer networks, e-mail servers, mainframes, individual computer workstations, and external drives, or are located on any of those devices within your control but not owned by you, such as your web host. Specifically, but not exclusively, you are on notice that you must preserve all evidence of all of your uses of the Photograph.
Sanctions for violating any of the foregoing duties can be severe and include substantial monetary sanctions, adverse inferences in evidentiary rulings, and the entry of judgments by default. We remain hopeful that we can resolve this dispute short of litigation. The above duties, however, must be satisfied during any settlement or other discussions that we may have.
Offer to Settle Aaron Reed Photography's Claims
Aaron Reed is willing to provide you an opportunity to settle claims against you and end this matter immediately if you send certified funds in the amount of $500.00USD within three (3) days of your receipt of this letter. Please note that this amount represents an offer of settlement but does not reflect the damages that Aaron Reed can and will seek in a court proceeding, including attorneys' fees pursuant to 17 USC 1203. Rather, this settlement offer reflects what our client will accept if no further actions against you are necessary. If you do not accept this offer, our client reserves the right to seek the maximum available damages under the law, which far exceed this amount.
Be advised that if you are unwilling to resolve this matter as noted above, our client may initiate formal litigation at any time without further notice to you. If you carry business insurance, now may be an appropriate time to contact your carrier to determine whether my client's claims are covered under your policy. This letter is without prejudice to our client's rights and claims, which are expressly reserved. We look forward to receiving your timely response.
Sincerely,
Aaron Reed
Phone: xxx-xxx-xxxx
Email: xxxxxxxxxx@comcast (dot) net
The email was obviously drafted by Mr. Reed. And I thought official legal documents were physically sent to people. Mr. Reed is not very pleasant to deal with through email as he only sees things his way. I've seen several other posts on this site concerning him and have read that he is a scammer according to those posts.
I received this email yesterday from a photographer named Aaron Reed. I'm going to paste the email he sent me shortly. The email demands that I take down an image and pay $500 that was used by one of my authors on a small tech blog site I run (The site is called Techtronica.) The story is that my author was doing an original story about Windows 8 features. He was taking a screenshot of his desktop area where he was using a flickr app that was randomly rotating through images from the site. The image PARTIALLY seen in the screenshot. Here is the threatening email that was sent to me.
April 31, 2012
VIA E-Mail (xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (at) gmail (dot) com)
Re: Aaron Reed's Copyright Infringement Claim
Dear Landor Industries, TechTronica (dot) net & possible others as discovered,
If you are represented by an attorney, please forward this letter immediately to your attorney and provide the attorney's name and contact information to me.
Aaron Reed will be seeking representation in the matter of ("you" or "your") infringement of copyrights as you used our client's photograph shown below ("Photograph") without permission.
techtronica (dot) net/2012/02/06/windows-8-screenshots-for-a-glimpse-of-whats-to-come/
This image is not only being used as some kind of a screenshot of a new Software program without permission but it appears the image is even shown to be "by Dene' Miles on flickr (dot) com". Dene Miles does not own this photograph and is actually a known person to Mr. Reed. There has been no monitary compensation given to Mr. Reed for his work.
Aaron Reed's review of prior licenses does not include your use of the Photograph. Therefore, your use of the Photograph without authorization of Aaron Reed or the law constitutes copyright infringement. The infringement is clear; the only question is the extent of damages to be paid.
Aaron Reed Photography Rights Pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law
United States Copyright Law grants exclusive rights to the copyright owner of an image for use of that image, including the rights to:
- reproduce the copyrighted work;
- prepare derivative works based on the copyrighted work;
- distribute copies of the copyrighted work to the public; and/or
- display the image.
See 17 USC §§ 106 and 501. When those rights are infringed, the copyright owner is entitled to recover damages caused by and the profits earned from the infringement, regardless of whether you acted knowingly or intentionally. See 17 USC §504.
In this case the actual damages are calculated by the license fees lost by your use of the Photograph without authorization. Note that our client would also be entitled to any profits attributable to the infringing use.
You remain liable for this infringement until it is resolved.
Summary of Aaron Reed Photography's Claims and Demands
Thus, Aaron Reed (owner) demands that you:
1. Cease any further use of the Photograph;
2. Pay a licensing & settlement fee of $500.00 USD
Copyright infringement is a strict liability offense: you are responsible for any infringing act regardless of your intent. While you stopped using the Photograph, you remain liable for your past infringement.
Notice to Preserve Documents and Data
You are on notice that litigation is likely regarding your actions concerning the Photograph. You are now obligated and have a duty to preserve all evidence that may be relevant to the dispute discussed above and that may be the subject of pending litigation. This duty of preservation extends to, but is not limited to, data files, e‑mails, calendars, telephone logs, access lists, and logs that are located on your computer networks, e-mail servers, mainframes, individual computer workstations, and external drives, or are located on any of those devices within your control but not owned by you, such as your web host. Specifically, but not exclusively, you are on notice that you must preserve all evidence of all of your uses of the Photograph.
Sanctions for violating any of the foregoing duties can be severe and include substantial monetary sanctions, adverse inferences in evidentiary rulings, and the entry of judgments by default. We remain hopeful that we can resolve this dispute short of litigation. The above duties, however, must be satisfied during any settlement or other discussions that we may have.
Offer to Settle Aaron Reed Photography's Claims
Aaron Reed is willing to provide you an opportunity to settle claims against you and end this matter immediately if you send certified funds in the amount of $500.00USD within three (3) days of your receipt of this letter. Please note that this amount represents an offer of settlement but does not reflect the damages that Aaron Reed can and will seek in a court proceeding, including attorneys' fees pursuant to 17 USC 1203. Rather, this settlement offer reflects what our client will accept if no further actions against you are necessary. If you do not accept this offer, our client reserves the right to seek the maximum available damages under the law, which far exceed this amount.
Be advised that if you are unwilling to resolve this matter as noted above, our client may initiate formal litigation at any time without further notice to you. If you carry business insurance, now may be an appropriate time to contact your carrier to determine whether my client's claims are covered under your policy. This letter is without prejudice to our client's rights and claims, which are expressly reserved. We look forward to receiving your timely response.
Sincerely,
Aaron Reed
Phone: xxx-xxx-xxxx
Email: xxxxxxxxxx@comcast (dot) net
The email was obviously drafted by Mr. Reed. And I thought official legal documents were physically sent to people. Mr. Reed is not very pleasant to deal with through email as he only sees things his way. I've seen several other posts on this site concerning him and have read that he is a scammer according to those posts.
