How to deal with copyright violations?

[Taxxodium]

Hey,

Today I wrote my first email to somebody who was hosting one of my apps (actually it was a widget). He did this without asking my permission, without even writing the url of my website and without provinding a link from the file on my website.

Obviously, I had to take steps and so I wrote an angry email saying that he was violating copyright and that the item in question should be removed from his website, or else I would take legal actions.

Now, I'm well aware that doing a lawsuit costs money, so I'm not gonna do that. But are there other ways to take "legal actions"? Other than sending an email ofcourse.

Perhaps contact the company hosting the website?

[Duane]

if the site has a forum, post like hell on it. find out where he goes, i.e. another forum, and post like hell there complaining about how he stole your widget. find his parents and tell them. If your widget is downloadable @ apple or any other place, then (with your widget), put a text file with a license (I suggest libpng/zlib, my favorite).

[igame3d]

Contacting the ISP is your best bet, let them know you have informed the site owner of his violation.

Posting on forums on the website or where the guy goes is only going to make you look like a five year old.

Also you might want to consider, that his hosting the file may be saving you bandwidth charges. Ask that information X Y and Z also accompany any download might be a peacefule option.

[Carlos Camacho]

igame3D's post contains helpful info, and I think this subject is worthy of further discussion for shareware developers, artists, and everyone else in our community

* All email you send to the party in question (person/site who has infringed on your trademark/copyright/I.P.) should be safely stored. Ditto for all email you receive from them/him/her and their representatives.

* Many times, people don't know they are doing something wrong -- especially since to many people, Internet == free. So I would recommend a pleasant tone in your first contact with the party. Such a tone will usually do the trick. (As opposed to a typical letter that lawyers love to send.)

* Even though you have certain rights to your work, without doing anything more (so I am told), it is worth remembering to always include various copyright statements, and textfiles for re-distribution guidance. As iGame3D pointed out, in some cases, the party, by hosting your file/work, might be actually healping you (i.e. a Japanese magazine puts your game on their monthly CD-ROM.) Of course, this can work the other way -- a US magazine puts your game on their CD-ROM, and when the issue hits, your server goes over its bandwidth, and you incur unexpected costs. Anyhow, you get the idea, it is always prudent to include those textfiles for editors/staff/etc to follow concerning how they can or can't re-destribute your work.

* Since going through the legal system is costly, it is in your interest to conclude the issue without resorting to a lawyer (i.e. even if you win, you sometimes "lose.") On the otherhand, anyone who is marketing games (or whatever) should take the time to locate a good lawyer (and start building a repore with them.) You never know when you might need one, so if you already have done your homework, you won't be left scrambling should some event occur.

* Many hosting companies have a SLA (Service Level Agreement), which spells out what the client can host and what they can't. They often mention the hosting of items which are illegal/under copyright etc. So as iGame3D pointed out, your next step after a "friendly" letter is to contact their hosting company. To do this, use WHOIS and search for their domain name. The information that WHOIS supplies will often contain the technical contact person, and how to contact them. Use this information as a starting point. If the technical person is the "rascal" in question, then look at their DNS server address. Often their DNS will be handled by their hosting company. Once you know their hosting company, visit their domain and search for their "abuse" email address, and report the information. Sometimes, you will find a situation like those Russian dolls -- where you open one up, and find another one inside... which can go on for many steps. For example, you WHOIS a domain, and find the "host." But that gets you know where (perhaps they are simply a hosting "reseller." You should keep doing WHOIS on the next bit of info you find. Eventually, you will get to the source, or the actually owner of the server where the site lives. You might also want to PING the server/IP/domain and make note of the info that comes up. That can provide you with the trail you need as well. (Note: Mac OS X has all these tools ready for you to use.) In some rare cases, you might need to contact the data center where the server in question is. This all applies to sites which are being served via a user's Internet account (on their ISP's server.)

* Now, what does a cease and desist (C & D) letter look like? An example:

The firm of ABC & DEF
1234 Any Street
Any Town, USA 12345
Fan of a Television Show
1234 Any Street Lane
Makebelievetown, USA 56789
Dear Sir or Madam,

My name is Mr. Attorney. I am a managing partner with the firm of ABC & DEF. It has come to our attention that material (the likeness of characters, video and graphics) posted on AnyWebsite.com are the sole property of our client Mr. Plaintiff, who created and copyrighted said material.

The unauthorized copying and distribution via the internet of the aforementioned material, without the expressed permission of Mr. Plaintiff's constitutes copyright infringement in violation of Title 17 U.S. Code, Section 106(a) of the Copyright Act of 1976, and several recognized international copyright laws.

You are hereby to immediately CEASE AND DESIST the posting of our client's characters, likenesses and any other material copyrighted by Mr. Plaintiff. You are to immediately inform myself once you have complied with the aforementioned request.

If you do not comply, I am authorized by my client to prosecute you to the furthest extent of the law. The consequences of your lack of cooperation in this matter may result in civil fines, including but not limited to attorney fees, penalties and prosecution by the U.S. Attorney's office for willful violation of Copyright Laws.

Sincerely,

Mr. Attorney, managing partner
Copyright Protection Department
I recommend you never "pretend" to be a law firm! You can adjust the above letter to suit your situation.

Further tidbits...

* "But the U.S. Copyright Office says that as soon as I publish my work on the Internet it is copyrighted. I don't have "traditional" proof."
You are correct, under normal circumstances, there is no need to copyright your work with the U.S. Copyright Office. The act of publishing the material online automatically copyrights it. On the other hand, this alone does not guarantee that someone may not falsely, or "in good faith" claim that they in fact are the true copyright holder(s) of the material in question. For purposes of defending your copyright ownership in court, filing with the U.S. Copyright Office is the way to go.

* Another C&D letter:
Your Letterhead

Dear [name of infringer]

It has come to my attention that you have made an unauthorized use of my copyrighted work entitled [name of work] (the "Work") in the preparation of a work derived therefrom. I have reserved all rights in the Work, which was first published in 1999 on http://www.mycompany'swebsite.com, and I have registered the copyright.

Your work entitled [name of infringing work] and which appears on your web site at http://www.yourinfringing.com, is essentially identical to the Work and clearly used the Work as its basis. [Give few examples that illustrate direct copying and/or unfair use.]

You neither asked for nor received permission to use the Work as the basis for [name of infringing work] nor to make or distribute copies of it. Therefore, I believe you have willfully infringed my rights under 17 USC Section 101, et seq. and could be liable for statutory damages as high as $100,000.

I demand that you immediately cease the use and distribution of all infringing works derived from the Work, and all copies of it, and that you deliver to me all unused, undistributed copies of it, or destroy such copies immediately, and that you desist from this or any other infringement of my rights in the future. If I have not received an affirmative response from you by [date] indicating that you have fully complied with these requirements, I shall consider taking the full legal remedies available to rectify this situation.

Sincerely,

(Your Name)

* Yet another C&D example:

Dear [name]:

It has come to my attention that you have made an unauthorized use of my copyrighted work entitled [name of work] (the "Work") in the preparation of a work derived therefrom. I have reserved all rights in the Work, first published in [date], [and have registered copyright therein]. Your work entitled [name of infringing work] is essentially identical to the Work and clearly used the Work as its basis. [Give a few examples that illustrate direct copying.]

As you neither asked for nor received permission to use the Work as the basis for [name of infringing work] nor to make or distribute copies, including electronic copies, of same, I believe you have willfully infringed my rights under 17 U.S.C. Section 101 et seq. and could be liable for statutory damages as high as $150,000 as set forth in Section 504(c)(2) therein.

I demand that you immediately cease the use and distribution of all infringing works derived from the Work, and all copies, including electronic copies, of same, that you deliver to me, if applicable, all unused, undistributed copies of same, or destroy such copies immediately and that you desist from this or any other infringement of my rights in the future. If I have not received an affirmative response from you by [date give them about 2 weeks] indicating that you have fully complied with these requirements, I shall take further action against you.

Very truly yours

* Letter to a Site Host: If the site owner that is infringing on your copyright does not comply with your initial contact, your next option is to contact the site host (the server which holds the directory that all the files are stored and made available online). The letter to the ISP or site host is called a Notice of Claimed Infringement. The ISP or site host may have a Interim Designation of Agent who accepts the Notice of Claimed Infringement. Most domain hosts will act upon a Notice of Claimed Infringement in a timely manner because they want to honor copyright law in addition to protecting themselves from possible litigation. For an ISP or host to qualify for safe harbor from litigation, they must "expeditiously" remove the infringing copyrighted material (per the Digital Millennium Copyright Act). Hosts offering free web space are slower to act and have very specific requirements regarding proof of original copyright; please consult each host's own "terms of service" for their specific requirements to prove copyright ownership. Be advised that hosts may require you to fax a statement of ownership (subject to perjury) bearing your signature in an effort to protect themselves from legal recourse resulting from the erroneous removal graphics or websites that may not be in copyright breach.

* One more C&D letter:

[ INSERT YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS HERE ]

URGENT

Dear Sirs,

Re: [ INSERT TOPIC HERE - A WEBSITE NAME FOR EXAMPLE ]

It has come to our attention that you are [ ENTER THE COMPLAINT HERE - AN EXAMPLE WOULD BE "copying entire pages from our website at www.???.com and publishing them on your own website, www.!!!.com in direct breach of our rights under International Copyright Law" ].

You have [ INSERT TIME LIMIT HERE - EG "10 Days" ] to [ INSERT THE ACTION THEY MUST TAKE HERE - EG "Remove the offending pages, listed below, and confirm in writing to the address at the head of the letter that you will not repeat this infringement" ]

Failing this, we will apply for an injunction, and will also seek to recover costs and damages (plus interest) for your tortious acts and conduct.

This is our final communication to you on this matter, and we look forward to hearing from you as a matter of urgency.

Yours faithfully

A good site for I.P. and C&D Letters can be found at:
http://www.baypatents.com/ip_litigation.asp

More info on I.P.:
http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/ippol.htm

And copyight:
http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/CPRTPOL.HTM

Hope this helps,

[Dan Potter]

* "But the U.S. Copyright Office says that as soon as I publish my work on the Internet it is copyrighted. I don't have "traditional" proof."
You are correct, under normal circumstances, there is no need to copyright your work with the U.S. Copyright Office. The act of publishing the material online automatically copyrights it. On the other hand, this alone does not guarantee that someone may not falsely, or "in good faith" claim that they in fact are the true copyright holder(s) of the material in question. For purposes of defending your copyright ownership in court, filing with the U.S. Copyright Office is the way to go.

Also the only way you can ever sue someone for real damages is if you've filed the copyright. I read up on all this stuff a while back but my memory is fading now, and IANAL... so take this all with a grain of salt :)

I believe the difference (IIRC) was if you don't file you can only sue for the value of the item (which, if you're giving it away, is zero), where if you do file you get to sue for opportunity loss and such. Well, you can sue for anything in the U.S. of course, but you're a lot more likely to win such a case with a filed copyright.

I also remember there being some pretty surprisingly strict specifications for what counts as a copyright notice. For example using (C) isn't valid. You are supposed to use the word "Copyright" (spelled out) and ideally the C with a circle symbol. Also the thing a lot of people do where they say "(C)2000-2005" is apparently frowned upon too... listing out the years one by one is preferred. You can see this in the BSD copyright license, for example.

Go read up on it personally if you want to know for sure though. Takes a while to wade through it all but it's really good knowledge to have. Good luck!

[Taxxodium]

Very helpful info, thanks a lot.

Well, the guy replied to my mail and he removed it. So I don't have to take any other steps. It seems however that his site is a community site, so every member can add widgets to the site. So it isn't necessarily the webmasters fault.

Oh well, .. thanks again.