Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Florida

Copyright infringement, demand in settlement

I recently sold a few cd sets on ebay of pornographic videos. I was contacted by email, ordering me to ''Cease and desist''. They wanted me to give them a detailed accounting of how much money was made,($75.00) a list of names/addys of whom i sold them to, and to mail any remaining cds i had left to them. I emailed them back and provided them with everything they asked for, as well as profusely apologize.(They said that i copied and distributed their works, but i really didn't, i bought a few sets at a flea market, and re-sold them) I recieved another email from them the next day, saying that i admitted to infringing their works,(because i said ''i'm sorry''?) and they threatened to sue me if i did not send them a settlement of $1,000. Is it copyright infringement if i did not actually copy these cd's? I did everything they asked for, now they want me to pay. Is this a form of entrapment and/or blackmail?

They say i can be sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars. I have nothing. If they sued me and won, how would they get $100,000+, when i make less than $30,000 a year? Is the settlement they offer negotible? Could this land me in jail? They are giving me 8 days (dec.9,03)to inform them of my decision. Thank you in advance.


Asked on 12/02/03, 7:25 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Lawrence Graves Coolidge & Graves PLLC

Re: Copyright infringement, demand in settlement

Obviously the copyright owner did not believe that you bought these CDs at a flea market -- did you keep any kind of receipt? Can you provide any information on the flea market vendor? Likely the copyright owner would be far more interested in the upstream vendor than in you.

Best wishes,

LDWG

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Answered on 12/03/03, 9:56 am
Kenneth Nunnenkamp Kenneth J. Nunnenkamp, Esq.

Re: Copyright infringement, demand in settlement

If you did, in fact, buy these cd's, you need to ask two preliminary questions. First, were they the original producers' product. That is, were they legal (in the copyright sense, not the criminal/pornographic sense) product or illegal copies? If they were legal cd's, then your resale is not an infringement. The "first sale" doctrine, embodied in the copyright statute ate section 109, allows you to resell a lawfully obtained copy. If, on the other hand, the copy you obtained was an unlawful copy, you are in a different, and more complicated situation. You might have infringed. If they have registered their copyrights, then statutory damages of anywhere from $750 - $30,000 per infringement could be obtained.

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Answered on 12/10/03, 12:32 pm


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