Geek Wins Copyright Lawsuit Against Corporation

Chris Gregerson writes "I work as a stock photographer/web developer. I saw a photo of mine used in Vilana Financial's full-page phone book ad. They wouldn't pay the licensing fee, and I wrote about it online (mirror). They sued me for defamation, producing a sales agreement signed by one ' Michael Zubitskiy' (who they said took the photo and sold the rights to them). I sued them for copyright infringement, and they added claims against me for trademark infringement, deceptive trade practices, and tortuous interference. There was a trial I'll long remember on the 5th of November, and the judge recently issued her verdict (PDF; mirror). She ruled Vilana Financial forged the sales agreement and willfully infringed my photos, and awarded me $19,462. All claims against me were denied. I represented myself during the litigation."

Comments

No you didn't.

[davidwr]

The story's author did, for having the balls to stand up to a thief by himself.

If I told you what I think you were, this post would be modded down as flamebait.

Re:No you didn't.

[Courageous]

...it is actually piracy...

Arrrr. Shiver me timbers, and walk the plank, matey.

Re:No you didn't.

[Kreigaffe]

You should probably amend that to five digits, I've got six and I'm just a huge nerd that likes to yell loudly at people and be generally argumentative.

For example.. perhaps this WAS a case of theft. We're short of details -- it's entirely possible that the picture used was never placed anywhere publicly, and the company may have sent in ninjas in the night to steal it.. and stealing's theft. Yes it is.

Re:No you didn't.

[RazzleDazzle]

Who do I trust? A typical Slashdot user (even one modded up for some reason) or dictionary.com?

The below is taken from dictionary.com

piracy /parsi/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[pahy-ruh-see] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
-noun, plural -cies.
1. practice of a pirate; robbery or illegal violence at sea.
2. the unauthorized reproduction or use of a copyrighted book, recording, television program, patented invention, trademarked product, etc.: The record industry is beset with piracy.
3. Also called stream capture. Geology. diversion of the upper part of one stream by the headward growth of another.

I guess I will go with FSM. So far he has not let me down on the topic of pirates and global warming.

Picture

[cdrdude]

Could you post which picture it was? Preferably with any watermarks removed, and in the highest resolution you have, just for...informational purposes ;-)

Re:Picture

[palegray.net]

Here's the photo, in full resolution. Thanks for asking!

Re:Picture

[PMBjornerud]

Even though you were modded funny, I resized my browser window to 3x3 pixels and donned safety goggles before clicking.

Re:Grab their profits too?

[Dachannien]

After reading your disclaimer, I think I may be experiencing severe side effects such as headache, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and death. Must be reacting with my MAOI inhibitors or something.

Re:Good!

[thatskinnyguy]

My mother was a Philistine you insensitive clod!

Sorry for the misspelling. I don't get to see the name written very often (never) in the United States.

Re:THis is Good, but file sharing is Good too?

[moderatorrater]

There is more than one person posting here. I don't know about you, but I'm just a CmdrTaco shell account that posts random shit from Wikipedia. I thought everyone else was, too, and we were all just trying to make it look like we're on a successful site so that CmdrTaco can earn lots and lots of money from an evil corporate overlord while being able to DOS people and not get blamed/prosecuted.

Re:Grab their profits too?

[B3ryllium]

Now that you've won spectacularly, is it possible to pursue those damages?

A victory is a victory. No need to be extreme.

(If only corporations and governments would follow that mentality ...)

Re:$19,462

[The Analog Kid]

b) Stuck the defendants with attorney's fees

He tried sticking the defendant with attorney fees, but it was denied on the bases that he was representing himself.

What?????

[www.sorehands.com]

You mean that the science on Knight Rider isn't all true? You mean I can build wings like on Gilligan's Island and fly? What is this world coming too when you can't get all your science lessons from Hollywood?

Re:THis is Good, but file sharing is Good too?

[_Sprocket_]

The First Law of 'Bots: "do not talk about being a bot."

(the other two laws shouldn't even be referred to much less talked about)

Re:THis is Good, but file sharing is Good too?

[ortholattice]

I fail to see the difference. What's so special about the money part? Isn't personal enjoyment a sort of profit? What if I take the picture, turn it into desktop wallpaper, and post it on my web site to drive up hits?
--
This sentence is false.

I had a perfect rebuttal of your point, but your sig overflowed my logic buffer. Congrats, you win by default.

Re:Well done!

[Wuhao]

I don't really watch Numb3rs, but I remember catching an episode where they had a suspect who was fleeing down the crowded interstate, and the detective guy was really frustrated because he thought he lost him, but thankfully Math-man was there and he happened to have a bunch of data on traffic patterns on-hand and right there, then used equations from fluid dynamics (which he cranked out in his head on the fly) to draw a little circle on the map to predict where the guy would wind up, and the detective guy was like "HOLY SHIT THERE'S A PARKING GARAGE THERE" and that's exactly where they found him.

I don't know if that's representative of the series or not, but I have to say that I find "enhance" much more believable.

Re:Well done!

[jotok]

Repeat to yourself "It's just a show."
You should really just relax.