Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Illinois

What can I do if they refuse all my DMCA takedown efforts and sent me these eMails. Note these are just two(2) of the many eMails documenting the infringement and plagiarism. Note; the infringer states he understands copyright law and yet.......

This is just the "tip-of-the-iceberg"

Letter #1:

Hi, Xxx,

The image of the Ridge Firehouse in the "online" Fall xxxx tour booklet was scanned from the "printed" Fall xxxx tour booklet (see below) and is, therefore, copyright EHS. That is why the image is greyscale (it is also halftone).

You and Sandee are both listed on the xxxx Fall Home Tour Committee, so I must assume you knew the firehouse photo had been printed in the booklet.

All images in the "online" tour booklets for 2003 and earlier were scanned from the corresponding "printed" tour booklets. I would never post any of your photos on the EHS website without permission. If you know of any, please tell me.

Letter #2:

Hi again, Xxx,

It does not matter whether you were the original photographer of the Ridge Firehouse image in the "online" xxxx Fall Home Tour booklet, since I personally scanned that specific b/w image from the "printed" xxxx Fall Home Tour booklet, which is clearly marked "�xxxx Exxxxxxxx Hxxxxxxxxx Sxxxxxx".

In other words, you may own the original color photo, but you do not own that specific b/w image of the Ridge Firehouse and, therefore, you may not request its removal from the website.

Since you and Sandee are both listed on the xxxx Fall Home Tour Committee (in the printed booklet), it will be very difficult to convince anyone (especially 11 years later) that you never knew the Ridge Firehouse image would be published in the EHS xxxx Fall Home Tour booklet and/or that the booklet would be marked "�xxxx Exxxxxxxx Hxxxxxxxxx Sxxxxxx".

As evidence that the Ridge Firehouse image was printed in the xxxx Fall Home Tour booklet, and that the booklet is clearly marked "�xxxx Exxxxxxxx Hxxxxxxxxx Sxxxxxx", and that you and Sandee were both listed as being on the xxxx Fall Home Tour Committee, I attached a PDF of the scan of the front part of the xxxx Fall Home Tour booklet.

I do understand copyright law and I do respect the intellectual property rights of other people. I also expect other people to respect my intellectual property rights (and those of my clients). I do not know of any photo images on the current EHS website that infringe your (or anyone's) copyright. If you know of any, please tell me.

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