Copyright theft & religious hatred association

[MAP]

What is the name of your state? Georgia

(My apologies for the double post, have tried to delete one of them, to no avail)

Hello. My name is Mark from the United Kingdom - here is one of my photography websites:
removed at request of Senior Member

Now on this censorship free forum which I do not post at:
ditto - a user from Macon, Georgia, USA is using my copyrighted photographs and using them to spread religious and racial hatred and quite perverted material and/or messages. I personally find that the way that this individual is using my copyrighted material, extremely offensive and potentially, greatly damaging to my business and personal life.

I do not want to see my photographic material used in this way, or in any way associated with offensive material such as this.

The poster in question has even altered my copyright on the photographs, and circumvented the software on the website to stop image theft from happening.

Now, even though I live in the UK, and belong to the Federation of Small Businesses, which gives me legal costs up to £50,000 ($100,000), is it possible to sue this person for using my copyrighted photographs in this manner, when I live in the UK and this poster lives in the USA?

Although I do not know his surname, I do know for certain his first name, that he lives in Macon, Georgia, USA and also the company that he works for, a tyre fitting outfit, having traced his previous posting history.

Is the considered opinion that I would have a case against this individual?

I ought to point out, that the link above demonstrates extremely offensive material, please understand you were warned before viewing.

Any assistance on my legal standpoint would be greatly appreciated and the wisdom of pursuing this case.

Essentially, the question is I guess, do I have a case here?

Many thanks for your help.

Yours Sincerely

MAP
Inlunarsun-Photography

 

[quincy]

You can sue him for copyright infringement.

Copyright protection rules are pretty similar in many countries around the world, thanks to international copyright treaties. Contact a U.K. lawyer versed in U.K. copyright law to proceed.

 

[MAP]

Many thanks, appreciate that. Any other thoughts from legal experts here too, are obviously more than welcome.

 

[quincy]

MAP, since you posted your question under Libel/Slander/Defamation and not under Copyrights & Trademarks, I am going to take a wild guess here and assume that the information I gave you about copyright infringement was not the information you were seeking.

If you are wondering if there is a defamation suit you could possibly bring against this "jehovahswitnessonline" website, that is a possibility, as well. Defamation is the damaging of a person's reputation by publishing, generally a statement, that is knowingly false. However, it is possible for a photograph or a drawing to be defamatory, too. The normal case is that the photograph is OF someone and this photograph places this person in a false light. The photographer is the one guilty of defamation.

In your situation, however, it is not as clearly defined. YOU are the one being defamed, by your own photographs, photographs whose copyrights have been infringed and photographs that have been altered.

Image editing has created a whole new potential for creating false and defamatory photographs. This places the original photographer in the uncomfortable position of having to defend photographs he took from potential defamation suits based on the altering of these photos by others.

You, then, have a couple of legitimate causes of action against this website. Because I am not knowledgeable about the laws of defamation in the U.K., you really would need to contact a lawyer in the U.K. to handle both the copyright infringement suit and the defamation suit. So, again, in answer to your original posted question, yes. You have the grounds for one or more lawsuits here.

And you can wait for others to post.

 

[MAP]

Many thanks, appreciate your insight.

Same guy has just posted it up on another forum:
removed at request of Senior Member

Hmmmmmmmm, ok. Let's think about this. What would be the prudent step, is the question?

One part of me says to blast this guy out of the water, the other, to just let it go.

Ok. Since this the former is the case, if I was to proceed on a couple or more fronts, against him, if I won the case, how much might it possibly be worth, minimally, assuming of course that the lawsuit would take place upon US and not UK soil? Any ideas?

Your assistance, kindly appreciated.

 

[quincy]

Your first step could be to file, or have your attorney file, either a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) notice with the OSP (which includes the ISP) or a EUCD (the European version of the DMCA, which is similar but still different). This is the reason for your having to contact a U.K. attorney - I can't help you with this. The DMCA is basically a "take-down" notification claiming copyright infringement. The ISP, once notified, will block access to the allegedly infringing material (or remove it from their system). The Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (OCILLA) can provide for subpoenas to OSPs to provide the users' identity (ie. your Macon, Georgia guy).

The amounts recovered in damages from an infringement or defamation lawsuit often do not justify the expense in bringing a lawsuit. An attorney in the U.K. can best give you an estimate of the costs involved and the amounts you can hope to recover if you win such a suit. There is never a guarantee of winning a suit, either, so you must balance that with everything else in making a decision that is right for you.

Having the material deleted from the websites, however, is a good first step.

Again, you can wait for others to post.

 

[fairisfair]

remove the links from your postings. they are not materially necessary to answer your questions and are a violation of the TOS.

 

[MAP]

remove the links from your postings. they are not materially necessary to answer your questions and are a violation of the TOS.

It would be appreciated if you at least said, 'Please!' As it is, I have removed the links as you told me in no uncertain terms.

Lets at least see some manners when replying to a post, members here are not dogs on some leash that you can command at will.

 

[quincy]

Hey, MAP! SIT!!!

 

[fairisfair]

It would be appreciated if you at least said, 'Please!' As it is, I have removed the links as you told me in no uncertain terms.

Lets at least see some manners when replying to a post, members here are not dogs on some leash that you can command at will.

A lack of manners would have included removing your posts myself, without asking you.
It would also include failure to read the TOS that you agreed to in coming to this site.

 

[SHORTY LONG]

It would be appreciated if you at least said, 'Please!' As it is, I have removed the links as you told me in no uncertain terms.

Lets at least see some manners when replying to a post, members here are not dogs on some leash that you can command at will.

Sure we are!

 

[MAP]

A lack of manners would have included removing your posts myself, without asking you.
It would also include failure to read the TOS that you agreed to in coming to this site.

My my my, oh dear, oh dear, one does sound rather angry.

It really does you no justice at all answering with such abruptness, it is perfectly reasonable to expect some polite manners around here. Such crassness is totally unbecoming.

Please be a jolly good fellow and allow your words to be graced with a finer understanding of our Queen's english.

Many thanks.

 

[fairisfair]

My my my, oh dear, oh dear, one does sound rather angry.

It really does you no justice at all answering with such abruptness, it is perfectly reasonable to expect some polite manners around here. Such crassness is totally unbecoming.

Please be a jolly good fellow and allow your words to be graced with a finer understanding of our Queen's english.

Many thanks.

not angry at all. no need to waste words, you agreed to the TOS, you are expected to obey it, regardless of whether or not the word please is used to your satisfaction.

welcome to America. US Law only. No queens here. Well, not THAT kind anyway.

 

[Bendrr]

Mark you are such a crybaby!

Maybe I should post up the links to threads where you made physical threats against someone.

Or maybe I should post up the links to where you asked people to chip in to hire a detective to track down one of your online enemies. The same enemy you made the physical threats against.

Ooh! I know! I need to go find the thread you posted at JWO where you posted up a marriage license that contained the full names of two innocent people.

Tell you what. I believe I will. These nice people need to know exactly who is asking them about in international copyright lawsuit over a few stupid pictures.

 

[quincy]

Bendrr - Keep the links to yourself. MAP is gone and none of us here have any interest in your dispute with him. If you have a legal question (perhaps about how to defend yourself against a copyright infringement and/or defamation suit?), fine, post it. Otherwise, ciao.