Help with Copyright infringment.

[Dabasir]

Hi There,

We are mac lovers and have been busily learning to build Web sites w/ RW etc. I have recently decided to promote a home business using creative videos from which I use keynote, imovie and garageband to create. The pictures I use, I purchase the right to use. Obviously, I enjoy doing this and love seeing the final results. Needless to say, I spend "hours" doing this.

Well, this is my issue and my son thought I should inquire as to what I should do - here on this forum.

A group of individuals, from which I have corresponded with only one via email, claim my work as their own. Of course, it's hard to see someone else benefit from my work in a way that I had wished for myself to benefit. So far, I have found 3 of 4 videos, totally altered with their own titles etc. I video had 1600 and some views even!

I was instructed to email the situation to someone that "knew" this individual to have them take these down, stop etc. I then received an unbelievable response from the individual responsible. He stated that he did not have to "ask my permission to use it" "quit writing this Bu..Sh.. and to get tough or get out!"

He boldly signed his name.

Sadly to say, I stooped low and responded to this and his next emails were even MORE unbelievable. He even mentioned his "pitbull attorney" and tried to intimidate me etc. Since this ... he and others in his organization have "continued" to claim work as their own.

My question to anyone out there is "What would you suggest doing?"

Thanks for any input!

 

[Doctor Q]

How frustrating. You have my sympathy.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Contact other parties who can help, such as the stock photo company that you paid for photos, since you can point out the use of their material by someone who did not pay for it. Also, the company that hosts the material copied from yours.

2. If their infringement is costing you enough money to make it worth the expense, consult an attorney.

3. If their infringement is not costing you money, try to shrug it off. There will always be thieves of intellectual property, and in that way you are like a musical artist whose songs have been posted on file-sharing sites without permission.

4. Include your site or business name, maybe a copyright notice, in an overlay on any further videos you create, e.g., in the bottom right corner, so this will be much less likely to happen in the future.

 

[Gray-Wolf]

Other than Steve Jobs, those who steal info from other web sites and don't give credit, usually have no talent of their own. They are lazy people who have no integrity.

Sorry to hear about the troubles. The only recourse I could see, is if your site predated theirs and had copyright listings on the site. Then a deep pocket to take them to court. Other than that, not much you can ethically do about it.