Sued for copyright law

[jpang]

I'm asking for a friend here who recently got sued for copyright infringement for putting a couple of copyrighted images on his personal blog. The amount being sued for is over $200,000 in damages.

The blog makes no money, and he has no money.

What's the best recourse here? He has an LLC, but the plaintiff sued him personally. He can't afford a lawyer, he has essentially no money and no assets at all.

Couple of points:

He also has a co-partner in the blog as well, who wasn't named in the suit.

He lives in CA, but he has an LLC in Texas. The LLC was not incorporated for the blog, although he's technically doing "blog activities" under the LLC. It's made only a few hundred dollars in ad revenue.

QUESTION: Can he bankrupt his LLC to avoid paying any settlement?

 

[quincy]

I'm asking for a friend here who recently got sued for copyright infringement for putting a couple of copyrighted images on his personal blog. The amount being sued for is over $200,000 in damages.

The blog makes no money, and he has no money.

What's the best recourse here? He has an LLC, but the plaintiff sued him personally. He can't afford a lawyer, he has essentially no money and no assets at all.

Couple of points:

He also has a co-partner in the blog as well, who wasn't named in the suit.

He lives in CA, but he has an LLC in Texas. The LLC was not incorporated for the blog, although he's technically doing "blog activities" under the LLC. It's made only a few hundred dollars in ad revenue.

QUESTION: Can he bankrupt his LLC to avoid paying any settlement?

Can he bankrupt his LLC to avoid paying any settlement? He can GO bankrupt paying the settlement but he was named in the legal action, not his LLC, so he is being held personally liable for the infringement.

Has he been sued already or has he received a settlement notice that is in advance of a lawsuit?

The $200,000 seems a hefty amount for the infringement of only "a couple of copyrighted images." Statutory damages when copyrighted material is registered prior to infringement (or within 3 months of first publication) CAN be up to $150,000 per item infringed but that amount is only awarded when the infringement is of an especially egregious nature. Statutory damages generally fall between $750 to $30,000 per item infringed - with damages awarded in a court action potentially as low as $200 if the infringement can be seen as "innocent."

I suggest you have your friend consult with an IP attorney. The $200,000, as I said, seems an unrealistic amount and can probably be negotiated downward substantially.

 

[justalayman]

$200,000 may be unrealistic or maybe even impossible but it sure got the op's attention.
While clarification is always good, op did say friend "got sued" and "the plaintiff sued him personally"

Sure sounds like op's friend got served, in more ways than one.

 

[quincy]

$200,000 may be unrealistic or maybe even impossible but it sure got the op's attention.
While clarification is always good, op did say friend "got sued" and "the plaintiff sued him personally"

Sure sounds like op's friend got served, in more ways than one.

A lot of people say they are being sued when they have only received a notice of infringement and/or a settlement demand letter.

The only way I can explain the $200,000 amount (if it is not, as you suggest, a way to get attention) is that the copyright holder has actual damages from the infringement that can be shown. If the copyright holder can show a demonstrable loss supporting a $200,000 figure (from lost sales or lost licensing or any other economic loss), or can show jpang's friend profited in some way from the infringement and the profits support the $200,000 figure (which, from what jpang says, seems unlikely), then it would make sense for the copyright holder to forego any statutory damages to seek actual damages.

The friend really needs to have what he received (notice or complaint) personally reviewed by an IP attorney in his area. The attorney will investigate the claimant (i.e., if the infringement damages are being sought by the owner of the rights), and will review the blog that published the copyrighted material, and will go over with jpang's friend any other potentially relevant facts of the publication of the images, and advise the friend accordingly.

I do not see the friend being able to handle this on his own easily. Perhaps a law school clinic can be of assistance with, if nothing else, a direction to attorneys in the friend's area that might help for low cost.

 

[jpang]

Okay sorry it was actually $150,000 with the $750-$30,000 amount that someone previously mentioned. He told me to say $200,000 to anonymize the lawsuit, but I guess it's common knowledge so there's no need to do that.

He has no money to pay for a lawyer, so is there a place he can look for cheap or free counsel?

Also to clarify, they didn't sue the LLC, but they sued the name of his blog which isn't a legal entity and didn't include his name either.

 

[justalayman]

Finding a free attorney for such an issue will be very tough if not impossible. He can look but given his time to respond is limited, he needs to find a for hire attorney for the moment to at least help him deal with the answer to the suit.

 

[jpang]

Finding a free attorney for such an issue will be very tough if not impossible. He can look but given his time to respond is limited, he needs to find a for hire attorney for the moment to at least help him deal with the answer to the suit.

How do you approach lawyers? Is there a consult beforehand before you determine pay and things of that nature?

 

[quincy]

Okay sorry it was actually $150,000 with the $750-$30,000 amount that someone previously mentioned. He told me to say $200,000 to anonymize the lawsuit, but I guess it's common knowledge so there's no need to do that.

He has no money to pay for a lawyer, so is there a place he can look for cheap counsel?

Also to clarify, they didn't sue the LLC, but they sued the name of his blog.

How did your friend receive notice of this lawsuit? Was he personally served with a summons and complaint (to "Name of Blog, John Doe owner)? Did he receive a letter? An email? A posting on his blog?

What I am trying to find out is if your friend is actually being sued or if he has just being notified that an infringement lawsuit is being considered should he not meet the copyright holder's demands.

The $150,000 still seems too high for the infringement of two copyrighted images.

Although calls would need to be made and fees discussed, a place to look for an attorney in your friend's area would be the California Bar Association: http://www.calbar.ca.gov/

Again, as mentioned earlier, help might be found through a law school, if there is one in your friend's area.

It is important that your friend have whatever it is he received personally reviewed by an attorney in his area. Something sounds very off with what you are saying. This could be because the information is coming from you, a third party, and not your friend - or it could be because something is very off, period.

 

[justalayman]

How do you approach lawyers? ?

I always approach them from the front. They are edgy by nature so if you approach from behind they may not notice you and when startled they are known to be dangerous. If you have access to a tranquilizer gun it's even better but it's better to shoot them from a hidden vantage point. If they see you first they may start to react and when they come out of the tranq's effect, they act like they were never tranquilized and are flighty so they could attempt to escape and either injure you or themselves.


Just having fun. Quincy gave you the best advice you'll get here already.

 

[quincy]

I always approach them from the front ...

I find it is best to approach attorneys with a handful of cash, a credit card or an open checkbook.

 

[justalayman]

I find it is best to approach attorneys with a handful of cash, a credit card or an open checkbook.

Yes, I have heard that kind of causes them to go into a trance like state.

But be cautious; if the offering is withdrawn without leaving some there they can become very aggressive. It's always a good idea to leave a fair amount with the attorney to placate them until you are out of the immediate area.

 

[quincy]

Yes, I have heard that kind of causes them to go into a trance like state.

But be cautious; if the offering is withdrawn without leaving some there they can become very aggressive. It's always a good idea to leave a fair amount with the attorney to placate them until you are out of the immediate area.

Haha. Cash, credit card or checkbook in one hand, a tranquilizer gun in the other. That should cover it.

Of course, if you intend to take any sort of gun into a copyright attorney's office, you will likely need to have a criminal defense attorney on speed dial. So pretty much whatever you do is going to result in you helping to pay for an attorney's Porsche or his trip to the Bahamas.

With some luck, though, jpang's friend might find an attorney in his area who will review whatever it is he received for low or no cost.