Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/08/25

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Subject: [Leica] RE: Web Pub Baloney (no leica)
From: Jay Coleman <jcoleman@interport.net>
Date: Wed, 25 Aug 1999 16:21:23 -0400

"Paul Schiemer" <schiemer@magicnet.net> wrote:

>>Copyright theft and plaintiffs case to recover loss:
It's NOT about what is right or wrong, it's about the MONEY.

If you, as artists, believe you can obtain ANYTHING from mounting a case

after having your work stolen- you are making an egregious error in
judgement. The naiveté compounds damages, you are then stupid AND poor!

While it may be unlawful to steal your work, only someone who stands to
make
money from bringing the issue before the Court will tell you there is
some
benefit in doing so. [Of course he'd say that, you have to PAY him to do
the
job! DUH!]  If you settle out of Court, he takes a piece of your pie. If
the
case actually goes to Court, even MORE of the pie is on his plate!

NO, you don't have to hide your work from public view as the unwashed
advised- but you better damn well CONTROL IT at each and every juncture.

Hang on to every image, in every form it can take, and chronicle every
use
and permutation it has had. If you've got 'em in digital form, MARK 'EM!

The LAST thing you want is an attorney on your side (is that an
oxymoron?)
Remember, somebody just like him will be arguing the case for the thief,
and
another guy worse than two attorneys combined will be the trier of fact!

The only righteous person in the room will be you, and chances are just
as
good you can lose as win. It's even more likely the judge will find you
culpably negligent for having done the work in the first place!! HA!

[the following words or phrases were automatically deleted from the
first
permutation of this message for the sake of brevity; (sloven pig), lose
the
piety, get respect, (gluttonous sloth), woefully inept, (throwbacks to
the
Dark Ages), at least a real whore makes somebody smile in the end].<<

Paul:

I am an attorney.  I find your comments regarding my profession to be
insulting.  I do not know where you gained such an animosity towards
attorneys.  If you have had a bad experience with a particular attorney,
and would like to share it with the LUG, please do so.

As to the legal issues you discuss, I hope that no reader of your post
will take your diatribe as legal advice or be discouraged from seeking
legal counsel if necessary.  The decision whether to bring a case is
dependent on many factors including the potential defendant's ability to
pay, the circumstances of the copying and others.  Personal gain to the
attorney should not be a factor.  There are also alternative ways to
collect damages short of a lawsuit.

I am sorry if you have not had good experience with our justice system,
but you do a disservice to all on this list by discouraging others from
asserting their legal rights.

Jay Coleman