Please ADVISE: Buying/Selling illegal CDs on ebay

[Cappy2000]

What is the name of your state? New York (ebay transaction occured in FL)

PLEASE ADVICE. URGENT ANSWER NEEDED-response needed soon.
I had bought a bootlegged version of an instructional CD thru ebay. The one i bought was in MP3 format. It then was sold thru ebay. 2 more unauthorized copies were sold thru my ebay account.

Ebay removed the listing when another set was to be sold, saying it violated copyright law of their Vero member. A few months after that, copyright owner emailed me saying i have violated 2 laws: buy/sell illegal disk and also if i mailed it, breaks federal law. They want to settle b/c i's expensive to sue me, i guess- i have to pay hundreds of dollars per set bought *and* sold. I also have to say who i bought from and sold to. (i don't remember who sold it, i can only take a good guess at who sold it by my feedback).

Will ebay let them know how many transactions there were? These were old transactions that no longer appear as links (non-clicakable) on my profile. I guess ebay has them on record though. (Shoudl i even call ebay?) Also, how tight is Paypal and ebay? I think one transacion was outside of ebay auction, but was paid thru paypal with a note that it was for that item. Shoudl i pay for all items or only thru ebay?

Shoudl i just pay (esimate close to $1000)? Or negotiate, askign if payment for others could be the amount that was received for them, and not the price per set that they asked for? Or get a lawyer and fight this, or stall this? I think lawyers will cost more, and unfortunately, i won't be able to afford defending myself and the online activities.

A recent graduated lawyer friend advised to just pay it all b/c it could have a big impact on my career if they file suit and i am convicted of this felony. I don't want he posibility of getting charged. Please advise soon. THANK YOU!

 

[divgradcurl]

Will ebay let them know how many transactions there were?

They might. If the copyright owner files a lawsuit, they can then compel eBay to hand over the records, even if eBay won't do it voluntarily.

guess ebay has them on record though.

Almost certainly.

(Shoudl i even call ebay?)

For what? The issue is between you and the copyright owner.

Also, how tight is Paypal and ebay?

Paypal is part of eBay, so they are one in the same.

Shoudl i just pay (esimate close to $1000)? Or negotiate, askign if payment for others could be the amount that was received for them, and not the price per set that they asked for? Or get a lawyer and fight this, or stall this? I think lawyers will cost more, and unfortunately, i won't be able to afford defending myself and the online activities.

Whether or not to settle is always based on deciding whether the settlement amount is less than the cost to fight the case. In this case, since you basically admit wrongdoing, it doesn't sound like you would really have a chance of winnning anyway. Of course, it will cost them a lot of money as well to pursue a case, and if you don't have any assets, that's just money out of their pockets, so it might now be worth it to them to sue you even if you refuse to settle. But maybe they have money and would sue you anyway, who knows.

You can, of course, seek the advice of a lawyer, but as you note, it would cost money. You could also try and negotiate a lower settlement amount yourself. Or you could pay the settlement, and be done with it (make sure you get something in writing, signed by them, saying they won't sue you if you do settle). Or you could just ignore them, and hope things go away (not recommended, but an option nonetheless). It's up to you.

A recent graduated lawyer friend advised to just pay it all b/c it could have a big impact on my career if they file suit and i am convicted of this felony.

That's not really correct -- if they sue you for copyright infringement, it's just a civil matter, there's no felony or other criminal conviction involved. The only way you could be charged with a felony, and potentially be tried, is if the copyright holder could convince a U.S. Attorney to bring charges for criminal copyright infringement against you, which is pretty unlikely unless you were moving a lot of counterfeit goods -- if I remember correctly, it has to be a minimum of $5000 in goods for the criminal statutes to even apply.

In any even, the only people who can bring criminal charges are the government, so unless you've been contacted by the U.S. attorney's office or another governmental agency, you don't have to worry about a felony or other criminal record.

 

[Cappy2000]

That's not really correct -- if they sue you for copyright infringement, it's just a civil matter, there's no felony or other criminal conviction involved.

They said that infringement on copyright material is felony. Also, if goods were moved by mail, it's a felony.

(make sure you get something in writing, signed by them, saying they won't sue you if you do settle). Or you could just ignore them, and hope things go away (not recommended, but an option nonetheless). It's up to you

In terms of writing, isn't the initial offer email that they sent to me admissible as a contract shoudl it arise later? I of course want that, but i think the next step is to email them back that i agree to settle, make a short note that they would no longer be able to pursue this again, then ask where i can mail payment. What if they just send the address and not write anything? I'll insist? They gave me a specific window before they will start legal action...

Another question...
in my letter to them, i want to make sure my own wishes are on paper. I want to say:
--no further legal action against me.
--no other claims can be made against me (like, if they sue ebay and present my info, my info shouldn't be there, since i settled, right?)
--my privacy must be maintained (that is, my name should not be posted on websites, or no rating shoudl be put in my ebay). How shoudl i best phrase this?
--no other reports can be made about the issue. How best to write this?

**Is there anything else i should include in the letter to protect myself? Maybe ask them for a letter of acknowledgement before I mail payment, right?

Thanks for your reply! Are you a lawyer, or do you know if practicing lawyers (or law students) visit this site to offer advice? That woudl save me the extra cost ;-)