How Not to Write a Cease-and-Desist Letter 235
In our overly litigious society it seems that many companies are all too happy to fire off a cease-and-desist letter if they see something they don't like. Many times these letters end up online just causing further embarrassment for the company. One such company has decided to try scaring their targets out of this response by including a copyright notice for their cease-and-desist letter. Public Citizen has fielded one of these dumb letters and has invited them to try to assert their cease-and-desist copyright (which isn't even registered).
Good idea / bad idea (Score:5, Informative)
How to get *good* press: http://farmersreallysucks.com/editorialgetafirstlife.shtml [farmersreallysucks.com]
-nB
Copyright registration (Score:5, Informative)
Copyright (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Copyright (Score:5, Informative)
Note: I am not an attorney. I used http://www.publaw.com/advantage.html [publaw.com] as my source.
Weasel worlds (Score:3, Informative)
The two in question here are "significantly" and "vitually". Watch the best tv series ever, Yes Minister, episode The Right to Know, for an excellent explenation of how these words can be used.
Sometimes I think all people should be forced to watch that series at least once in their lives, and if possible before election time.
Re:Good idea / bad idea (Score:5, Informative)
(A) Fair use of a famous mark by another person in comparative
commercial advertising or promotion to identify the competing goods
or services of the owner of the famous mark.
(B) Noncommercial use of a mark.
(C) All forms of news reporting and news commentary.
-nB
Re:Copyright registration (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Copyright registration (Score:5, Informative)
The proper method to deal with publication is to go ahead and press the case, and ask the judge to issue an order prohibiting both sides from discussing the case in public forums as a pre-trial motion. There is no real venue to stop publication of the legal notice short of actually taking the case to court, and there are some powerful SCOTUS decisions on the first amendment issues involved that say any such method would be prior restraint.
(please note my Sig. Any actual lawyers please feel free to correct me if I have got anything wrong here.)
Re:Copyright registration (Score:5, Informative)
When is my work protected?
Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.
Do I have to register with your office to be protected?
No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section "Copyright Registration."
Why should I register my work if copyright protection is automatic?
Registration is recommended for a number of reasons. Many choose to register their works because they wish to have the facts of their copyright on the public record and have a certificate of registration. Registered works may be eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees in successful litigation. Finally, if registration occurs within 5 years of publication, it is considered prima facie evidence in a court of law. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section "Copyright Registration" and Circular 38b, Highlights of Copyright Amendments Contained in the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), on non-U.S. works.
I've heard about a "poor man's copyright." What is it?
The practice of sending a copy of your own work to yourself is sometimes called a "poor man's copyright." There is no provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is not a substitute for registration [ephasis added by me].
so the mailing it to yourself adds no special protection.
Re:Copyright registration (Score:5, Informative)
Sorry, this is wrong. Registration of the copyright provides a number of advantages, which are summarized here [copyright.gov] by the Copyright Office. Among them is that, if the copyright is registered within three months of publication or prior to infringement, statutory damages and attorney's fees may be obtained. If not, only actual damages may be recovered by the copyright owner. In the case of a letter such as this, which has no commercial value, actual damages would be zero, so the failure to register the letter effectively eliminates any financial recovery. (Of course, the author of the letter is unlikely to succeed in the threatened suit since this is an absolutely classic case of Fair use.)
MOD PARENT down (Score:2, Informative)
If they thought there was no copyright at all, they wouldn't have needed to mention that their publshing of it was fair use.
Winning a suit for an un-registered copyright can only get you actual damages, which would be approximately $0.00 in this case.
Re:Copyright registration (Score:5, Informative)
I was about to correct you, but I went to the US Code to find a relevant quote, and holy crap, it looks like you're right! Title 17, Chapter 4, 411:
"Except for an action brought for a violation of the rights of the author under section 106A (a), and subject to the provisions of subsection (b), no action for infringement of the copyright in any United States work shall be instituted until preregistration or registration of the copyright claim has been made in accordance with this title."
The exceptions in 106A appear to be about plagiarism/misrepresentation cases, not about simple "making unlicensed copies".
I thought you registered your copyrights so you'd be eligible for statutory damages and attorneys' fees in a lawsuit. That's in the law, but it's just a reason to register copyright before any infringement begins rather than right before you sue. You learn something new every day. This must be why lawyers charge the big bucks.
Re:Copyright registration (Score:4, Informative)
Thats just false. If you do NOT register a valid work, you must prove it is yours. By providing a federal datestamp, it does provide some basic claim that it was created by X date.
You still cannot sue for violating copyright if you didnt register it. The mail trick only works in preventing others from suing YOU.
Re:Copyright registration (Score:3, Informative)
Soooooooo, I cited an authoritative source. Where is yours proving or even intimating otherwise?
In the UK... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Copyright registration (Score:3, Informative)
See http://pe.usps.gov/text/dmm300/503.htm#2_4_6 [usps.gov]
Re:*READ BEFORE POSTING PLEASE* (Score:3, Informative)
I didn't want to take credit away from those who posted proper links and deserve the karma, simply by reposting them as a reply at the top.
I did want to end any other wasted discussion on this, as it threatened to destroy a good discussion.
Re:'Dozy', or what? (Score:3, Informative)
And I love this ringing endorsement that appears on every single sub-page that he has linked at the top of the main page:
Re:*READ BEFORE POSTING PLEASE* (Score:2, Informative)
Good enough?
Re:*READ BEFORE POSTING PLEASE* (Score:3, Informative)
You do [need to register it before pursuing legal action in the US]? News to me. Could you cite a reference?
17 USC 411 prevents the action (only applies to "United States works", which includes works first published in the United States) and 17 USC 412 prevents access to particular remedies (affects works first published anywhere).
Despite what has been said elsewhere, there is an option for statutory damages (17 USC 504(a)(2) and 17 USC 504(c)), which is one of the remedies subject to 17 USC 412.
Interestingly even without statutory damages US copyright law allows for double-recovery of some amounts since the copyright holder can claim both their actual damages and the infringer's profits without either being set-off against the other (17 USC 504(b)). In the case where the copyright holder claims their own lost profits from the infringement and the infringer's profits from the infringement there is double recovery.
Re:Funny Stuff (Score:3, Informative)
After purchasing this membership you're then able to shop from a somewhat random collection of goods. You won't be able to return them, or cancel your membership if the whole thing pans out poorly, though.
Also, you can't take their price list to other retailers to shop around. It's confidential.
And if you're thinking 'wow, what a great scam', then you're in luck, you can become a franchisee, and work on conning people into using your mediocre company.
Re:*READ BEFORE POSTING PLEASE* (Score:3, Informative)