Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

Re: Taped phone call w/no consent now being sold

California civil and criminal code makes it blatantly illegal for a person to record a private conversation without the express or implied consent of the other party (a two party consent state).

Therefore, under your circumstances, this fraudulent individually may be sued and prosecuted criminally for such illegal conduct, not to mention for impersonating an attorney if he/she is indeed not one.

Your best option is to speak with an attorney ASAP to expedite your private investigation of this individual, and immediately thereafter, bring him/her to swift justice!

If you would like further assistance in doing so, contact us directly today.

Re: Taped phone call w/no consent now being sold

In California, it is unlawful to tape record a conversation unless you have prior permission. Therefore, you should immediately retain an attorney to write a VERY STRONG "cease and desist" letter to stop him from selling the tapes.

Re: Taped phone call w/no consent now being sold

There are a number of things that you could do but I would need to know specifics to come up with the best approach. By taping your conversation he has violated state and federal law. I believe that this could be a criminal act as well.

I deal with this routinely in my practice as an entertainment lawyer because people put out my client's unauthorized music all the time.

With that say, the quickest approach would take some research to find the source of distribution (i.e., check ebay and other auction sites first, do searches on your name, etc.)

No third party wants to be involved in distributing unauthorized material. Contact me if you want to involve me in the process. Companies and people always take things more seriously when it comes from an attorney.

Re: Taped phone call w/no consent now being sold

It is illegal in California to tape any conversationw without that person's permission. If you are looking for an attorney to sue and stop the tape, you may contact me.

Re: Taped phone call w/no consent now being sold

The California statute primarily covering this matter is Penal Code section 632, reading in part "Any person who, intentionally and without the consent of all parties to a confidential communication....eavesdrops upon or records the conversation...shall be punished by a fine not exceeding [$2,500] ..... or [jail or prison time, or both fine plus time]." See also Penal Code section 631 on wiretapping.

Case law interpreting PC 632 requires that the victim have had "a reasonable expectation of privacy (or confidentiality)" with respect to the conversation. That's why announcing "this call may be monitored or recorded for training or quality-control purposes" is an adequate substitute for your actual permission. In an occasional case, juries or courts have found that the alleged victim didn't really have an expectation of privacy. You probably did.

Instead of or in addition to the criminal penalties, a civil action could be brought for one or more invasion-of-privacy torts. If the person is a lawyer, this is unethical conduct which would probably result in suspension, if not disbarment.

If I were handling this case, after a quick investigation of the facts I would decide whether the extent and viciousness of the conduct warranted a cease-and-desist letter, an immediate trip to court with a lawsuit and request for a temporary restraining order, or something in between.

I note that I'm right across the county line from you in "94971" and I could conveniently meet with you (at no charge) if you wish.