Legal Question in Intellectual Property in New York

Hello,

A friend was offering copies of a particular tv show on a selling website. He was sent an email by someone claiming to be a lawyer that has the authority to act on the behalf of the company that owns the copyright to this show. There is also some debate as to whether the show or parts of it are in public domain. The lawyer is demanding all sorts of paperwork on sales records and wants to know how much he made from selling the show. The lawyer already demonstrated she has some idea of how many and how much but she wants detailed records. She says she could sue for $150,000 each sale. From research is seems she is doing this systematically to everyone that sells or sold this show. One of the emails shows them going back and forth and ultimatly the lawyer seems to be willing to settle for a few hundred dollars when all is said and done. How should my friend proceed in responding to this "lawyer"? Should he provide the paperwork and hope for a low settlement? Or is this blackmail


Asked on 6/14/10, 6:05 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Kevin B. Murphy Franchise Foundations, APC

Any attorney will say this is not a simple question that can be answered on a bulletin board. Your friend needs to show all correspondence to an attorney. Consult with an attorney in your area for specifics.

Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D. - Mr. Franchise

Franchise Attorney

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Answered on 6/15/10, 6:38 am


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