Threatening letter from lawyer about copyright

[janna]

What is the name of your state? Virginia.

I am the editor of an online newsletter for a very small local horse association. Our association president found an inspiring poem on her Parkinson's list, author unknown and not listed. She wanted to share the poem in one of our newsletters, which we did in March. Now she has received a rude letter from the poem's author's lawyer wanting money.
Is there any reason to be concerned? On the author's website, the poem can be bought for $9.99 laminated.
Is this some sort of new scam? To get something copied and pasted all over the internet, then do a very specialized search to find who has unwittingly used it and make money for copyright infringement?
I cannot even begin to imagine how they could have found this poem in our very obscure and small reading pool without using search robots just for this purpose of finding the poem and trying to scare up money.

 

[Veronica01]

If the copyright is registered with Library of Congress, then they can collect money, either amicably or by an order of the court. If they don't have a registred copyright, they still own the copyright but cannot recover any money. They can prevent you from using the poem, or if you wish to use it with their permission in exhange for some compensation.

 

[divgradcurl]

Not a scam. They are protecting their copyright.

Veronica01 is right, in that if they have a registered copyright, they can sue for statutory damages, which can be a lot. However, if they do not have a registered copyright, they can still sue for actual damages. In both cases they would have to file a lawsuit.

 

[turnipsun685]

Sorry to butt in, Im just curious, what could they claim as damages? If they cant prove loss of income then what else can they claim?

 

[divgradcurl]

Actual damages usually include lost sales and things of that nature. There could also be reliance, lost contracts, changes in demand, etc., but lost sales is the usual metric. They would have to show that they lost "x" amount of sales due to the infringing activity.

Not only that, but they have to prove that they own the copyright as well. That's why registration is valuable -- not only can you sue for statutory damages (which give you a certain $ value without having to show actual damages), you can also sue for equitable relief (injunctions), and a registered copyright presumtively belongs to the person who registered it, so that the burden of showing that they DON'T own the copyright shifts to the defendant.

Never said it was likely, just possible...

 

[janna]

Thanks for all the info.
Here is the website where they sell the poem. And there is copyright info at the bottom, but I can't tell of it is registered or not.

http://www.lindaslyrics.com/

They allow for free download of the poem made into song version on their website. Isn't that like giving it away?

Okay we removed the poem immediately upon notification, and will put a notice that the lawyer demanded in the next newsletter. The president of the association has the website and thread where she found the poem to prove where she came across it.
Is it likely they WOULD sue? For a cheesy 9.99 poem?

 

[turnipsun685]

Actual damages usually include lost sales and things of that nature. There could also be reliance, lost contracts, changes in demand, etc., but lost sales is the usual metric. They would have to show that they lost "x" amount of sales due to the infringing activity.

Not only that, but they have to prove that they own the copyright as well. That's why registration is valuable -- not only can you sue for statutory damages (which give you a certain $ value without having to show actual damages), you can also sue for equitable relief (injunctions), and a registered copyright presumtively belongs to the person who registered it, so that the burden of showing that they DON'T own the copyright shifts to the defendant.

Never said it was likely, just possible...

Ahh I understand more now, thank you for your reply