Embroidery Designs

[Comanderbob]

Tennessee:
Any advice would be appreciated.
I purchased a CD on Ebay of some Embriodery Designs. I am unable to use it because of compatability with MS XP. However severl months later I received a letter from some coalition of lawers (ESPC) threatening to include my name in a lawsuit for copyright infringement since I (according to them) purchased illegal software. They offer to drop my name from the list for $300.00 fee. It sounds like extortion to me. I can't even confirm what the software is that I bought. Should I pay the $300. to avoid costs of a lawsuit?
Do I need a lawyer?

 

[degilchr]

Copyright Lawsuit

State AZ.

Did they sue you?

 

[degilchr]

Espc

State AZ.

Did you sign agreement with ESPC?

 

[PAresident]

Same Situation

PA resident
I have had the same situation happen to me. I have not been sued yet, but have been threatened with finacial wipe-out suit. I still don't know what the offending software is that I purchased from and individual on eBay, let alone remember (or maintain) a record. I am ready to sign the agreement and have 20 days from receipt (to do so). Should I sign?

 

[giggles69]

letter from ESPC

State-IN

Please DO NOT SIGN! I repeat DO NOT SIGN anything with these people! I'm sorry, am I yelling? I saw a copyright attorney yesterday. He agrees with some of the other posts here-the letter was not written by an attorney! Yes, they are a real organization, but basically these are cease & desist letters. They are putting us on notice that they are watching us. If you buy something else now-they can sue you. My attorney is 99.9% sure they will not go through with this-as they would have to hold court in the Dallas Cowboys stadium! This is a copycat of how the music industry went after the people using Napster. Whoever wrote the letter is quoting non-existent laws, no such thing as Federal Copyright Law, it's just Copyright Law. Also, the sections of the law they are quoting are incorrect. The ESPC has no right to enforce "fines." Until you receive something with court documents attached-it means nothing. And-they would have to send it certified mail. Now, one other thing-how did they get our addresses? I know it says from eBay & the sellers. If eBay turned over our info, we could file suit against eBay. Wouldn't that be great! My attorney also believes the statute of limitations on this is 2 years, from the time you bought the designs!

So, if like me, all you did was buy the designs, did not sell them, copy them, share them, will them away after you die-bought them only for your own use-and bought them in good faith that they were legal-you are probably ok. Even if they haul us all into court, ESPC has to prove WE DID SOMETHING WRONG! Oh yea-innocent until proven guilty. The burden rests on them.

Hope this helps. I know I felt a lot better after I left his office. It was the best $75 I have ever spent!

 

[bjb22]

Espc Letter

Oregon.
I found this forum when I googled the phone number I was called from and discovered it was a personal residence. I have communicated with my state's attorney general's office and filed a complaint. They have told me to contact ESPC and let them know a formal complaint has been filed and to hold off on anything until I hear back from them. I cannot believe the audacity of this organization. They will do more harm than good with this sort of approach. Go after the piraters, not the victims.

 

[scamscout]

Anyone who got an ESPC Letter please read**************.

Everyone who received a letter or letters from the ESPC please read the following as I do believe it will be of interest to you:

Have you received a letter from the ESPC (Embroidery Software Protection Coalition)? Did you pay them money? Did you unknowingly purchase a cd that "alledgedly" contains pirated material? Please email me, I am very interested in speaking with anyone who has received the original 'notification' letter, the affidavit of guilt, any subsequent demand for action letters, and any other correspondence you may have received via United States Postal Service, electronic mail, or by fax. Additionally I would also like to get in contact with any person who may have spoken with one or more individuals at or regarding the ESPC. I will be happy to explain further my reasons for this request when you email me at [email protected]. I understand that many if not all of you may be reluctant to provide any personal contact information, and as well you should be......I am seeking to maintain as much discretion as possible in this matter as well. Upon emailing me I will provide you with a brief explination for my request as well as the number you can reach me at with instructions on how to block your caller ID information so that you may call me anonymously if you wish. Any questions, other then those seeking very broad/general information, posted in a public forum will unfortunately not be answered at this time as a measure to help maintain said discretion. Thank you in advance to everyone who decides to contact me.

Scam Scout
****Please be aware that I am not an attorney, nor do I claim to be a legal professional of any kind. I am not with any financial entity, information survey/pooling company, consumer awareness/advocacy group, or a member of the ESPC. I guarentee your privacy will be protected at all costs.

 

[Dusty1]

Don't send money!!!!

This is a SCAM!!!! HOW did they get yer info??
From the crooks on EBay that sold you the CD. The Florida State Attorney has investigated this same "ESPC/Embroidery Software Protection Coalition group." These letters are NOT LEGAL DOCUMENTS. The only people responsible for a crime are the people on EBay that sold that CD to so many victims. I tried and tried and tried to work with EBay to no avail. Even though I told EBay that the sale was a scam they continued to let these crooks sell. EBay people could have cared less that I had backtracked the phone # EBay had as part of the sellers contact info and found it to be computer generated phone # that had been flagged on "Who Owns This.com" in a group of known scam phone numbers and false domain names. I was lucky and had put the purchase on a credit card and called my credit card (American Express) and they took the money back from EBay even thought it had been a 3 months. Boy did EBay have a fit. So DON"T SEND THEM ANY MONEY!!!! You didn't do anything wrong you just got scamed.
Dusty

 

[quincy]

While I appreciate the fact that this may be a continuing scam, Dusty, the original post by Comanderbob was written in 2004.

Comanderbob either paid the $300 or consulted with an attorney or ignored the matter until ESPC went away. But whatever he chose to do, I am pretty sure it is no longer a concern to him.

In other words, you have resurrected a very very old thread to direct a question and offer advice to someone who hasn't posted to this forum in six years. Don't expect him to answer your question.

 

[Dusty1]

Thank you.

Thank you very much.
I didn't think to realize what the posting date was.