Month: September 2020

Teil mit mir Deine Routinen. Alexa kann das jetzt. Aber will ich das wirklich? Doch, das will ich

Ein E-Bike mit Dach und Lenkrad samt Platz für drei Personen soll in der Stadt als Konkurrent zum Auto und Fahrrad auftreten, was nicht problemfrei ist. (E-Bike, Technologie)

Es sind nicht nur Ultrarechte, sondern auch die sogenannte Mitte, die sich daran beteiligt. Die EU-Staaten profitieren davon

Ein dem Einsatzzweck anpassbares Fahrzeug mit autonomen Fahreigenschaften soll wie ein Miniatur-Sattelschlepper durch die Stadt fahren. (DLR, Technologie)

Die nachhaltige Heimat der Zukunft? Ein EU-Projekt forscht an modularen schwimmenden Inseln, die ihre Energie selbst erzeugen. Ein Bericht von Monika Rößiger (Klimakrise, Erneuerbare Energien)

Desinformation gibt es auf allen Seiten. Die Frage bleibt, warum die Bundesregierung von der OPCW nur technische Hilfe angefordert, aber kein Ersuchen zur Klarstellung beantragt hat

Im Untersuchungsausschuss des Bundestags finden die Ungereimtheiten zum Anschlag vom Breitscheidplatz kein Ende

Over the past years, dozens of independent photographers have taken their copyright disputes to court, accusing companies of using their work without permission.

While many of them have a legitimate claim, these ‘photo’ lawsuits generally have a bad reputation. This is in part due to the tactics employed both in and outside of court.

One of the most active attorneys, Richard Liebowitz, made a name for himself through such controversial practices. Courts have repeatedly reprimanded the attorney for various types of misconduct, including a $100,000 sanction a few weeks ago.

Another common name in federal courts is Richard Bell, who’s both a photographer and attorney. Over the years he filed more than 100 lawsuits for the unauthorized use of an Indianapolis skyline photo he claims to own the rights to.

To outsiders, these cases may appear to be regular copyright claims, but they also show the hallmarks of “copyright trolling.” The attorneys use the pressure of federal lawsuits and potential statutory damages of $150,000 to extract high settlement fees from defendants, without fighting a case on its merits.

While it’s unclear what the success rate of this practice is, most cases are indeed settled outside of court, suggesting that the strategy pays off. However, that’s not always the case. For Richard Bell it recently backfired.

Bell Sues Carmen Commercial over Skyline Photo

In 2016 Bell filed one of his many lawsuits. The target, in this case, was Carmen Commercial Real Estate Services who used the contested skyline photo in a blog post.

When Bell contacted Carmen Commercial he was offered a $1,000 settlement. However, the attorney wanted more and requested $5,000. He threatened a lawsuit if the real estate company failed to pay up.

This type of settlement pressure is not new. However, Carmen Commercial chose not to pay up and opted for a court battle instead. There, the company argued that Bell couldn’t prove that he owns the rights to the photo. And if he took it, it was made under the “work for hire” doctrine.

Bell Can’t Prove he Owns the Copyright

The case eventually went to trial where the jury sided with the real estate company. Bell obviously wasn’t happy with the outcome and demanded a new trial.

This request was recently denied by a federal court in Indianapolis. Not only that, the court also awarded $172,173 in attorneys’ fees and costs to the real estate company. This is justified, the court argued, in part due to the pressure tactics that were used.

“Defendant here offered to settle the matter for $1,000 before suit was filed. Yet Bell proceeded to trial seeking $150,000 in statutory damages on scant evidence of willful infringement,” Judge James Sweeney writes.

‘Improper’ Motive

The court correctly mentions that Bell has filed many lawsuits over the ‘skyline’ photograph. It also notes that other judges have mentioned that his motive appears to be to extract quick and easy settlements instead of protecting his copyrights.

“Here, the record similarly reflects that Bell used the threat of litigation costs to extract quick settlements,” Judge Sweeney writes, highlighting two letters where Bell threatened legal action and even higher costs if Carmen Commercial didn’t pay up.

These settlement demands can be quite lucrative. They can reach 1,000 times the market value of an actual license, the court mentioned. The defendant, however, will always have costs, whether they choose to pay up or if the matter ends up in court.

$172,173 to Deter and Compensate

This means that defendants in these cases are at a disadvantage, so compensation for their costs, which are way higher than the initial settlement offer, is appropriate. Otherwise, it would be a hollow victory. At the same time, it should deter the attorney from filing similar lawsuits in the future.

In this case, Carmen Commercial calculated its costs to be $172,173, which the court deemed to be reasonable. While it wasn’t a quick and easy win for the real estate company, it’s certainly a big one.

As for that skyline photo which started this four-year legal battle, Carmen Commercial still uses that in its blog posts. With proper permission from the rightsholder, we presume.

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A copy of Judge Sweeney’s order, denying a new trial and granting the motion for fees and costs, is available here (pdf)

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Spain is an interesting country when it comes to piracy. On the one hand, it has one of the highest piracy rates worldwide, but there is no shortage of enforcement actions either.

In recent years there have been several criminal investigations into unauthorized IPTV streaming, torrent and streaming portals have been taken to court, and ISPs have been ordered to block pirate sites as well.

It appears that, despite all the legal pressure and threats, new pirate sites and services continue to appear online. Unlike in some other countries, these are often localized as well.

Names such as “Don Torrent,” “DivxTotaL,” and “Megadede” are relatively unknown in most parts of the world. However, in Spain, they are listed among the 100 most visited sites in the country, mixed in with major brands such as Google, Wikipedia, Amazon, Facebook, and Netflix.

Local Piracy Giant Megadede Shuts Down

This week one of these giants announced its demise. In a message posted on the site, Megadede.com’s operators write that they are “forced” to announce that the site shuts down within a week.

“The members of the team are forced to announce that in less than a week megadede will come to an end. We hope you have enjoyed this time with us and take the opportunity to download your lists. Thanks for everything #megabye.”

It’s not clear who forced the operators to take action, but it is possible that legal pressure played a role. Unlike many other streaming sites, Megadede required an account to view all content. It didn’t rely on search traffic but had a dedicated user base.

Megadede is one of the largest sites in Spain but has only been around for two years. It took over from Plusdede in 2018 after that site was ordered to shut down by the authorities. Plusdede, wasn’t unique either, as it was reportedly built based on the database of Pordede, which shut down after being hacked.

Takeover is an Option

While Megadede will soon be gone, there is room for a takeover of the domain name or even the entire project. In the site’s help and support section the operators write that they are willing to sell to a good bidder.

“If someone wants to buy the domain or the project, you can send an offer through the contact page. We will only answer offers that may interest us,” they write.

This means that Megadede may possibly continue under new ownership. However, there is no shortage of alternatives either. After the site announced its shutdown decision several competitors said they were ready to take over the traffic.

Some, including DivMax.com, even offered to enable support for Megadede user ‘playlists’ to enable a smooth transition.

“The DixMax administration welcomes you. Due to the recent closure of Megadede we invite you to meet and discover DixMax.com and all its applications available for free. Downloaded Megadede playlists will soon be added,” the site writes on Twitter.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

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