My friend just sold a celebrity fansite to some member here in dp and after all site files and domain were transferred to the buyer's name, after a few days this buyer send an email to my friend saying that some lawyers send him a letter for copyright infringement of the site for that certain celebrity and that they need to take the site and this buyer was asking for a refund since those lawyers will have to take the site anyway. Is there any way we can confirm if the letter from those "lawyers" were true?
Ask for a copy of the letter, check the web to make sure it is a legitimate law firm, make a call to confirm they represent that celebrity.
it may be right because i have read few days back one celebrity fansite blocked because of copyright issues..
maybe he sold it knowing that he had already rec'd that letter...displaying anyone image, no matter who it is without their permission can be a violation of copyright. just because sites have famous images of celebs does not give them the permission to use them. I could sue you for using my picture on the internet without my permission, so it is no surprise that a site like this has gotten a letter from an attorney. people try to earn $$ from celebs, I can see why celebs would take offense to this...I would...
You can't sue someone for using a picture of you on the internet that was taken in a public domain. Now, if you took the picture that is a whole different story. Otherwise, things like those tabloid magazines, the news, etc. would not be able to use any pictures of the celebrity's. I would also not give a refund. That person purchased that stuff knowing there could be a disute of some sort. If they did not know it, then they did not do their own due dilligence before purchasing it. It's just like before you register a domain, godaddy isn't going ot give you a refund just because you registered a domain that was trademarked and got it taken away.
I would not give a refund. The buyer should have done his homework before buying the site. 5 minutes of research would have told him to make sure that your friend had permission to use the photos on it and squashed the deal. Your friend, of course, is an unscrupulous webmaster, stealing images and using them without permission, and then selling the site knowing that, but I think "buyer beware" applies here. Now if the guy can prove that the letter was sent to your friend before he purchased the site, then he will have to return the money because he committed outright fraud.
The letter from the lawyers was sent to the buyer as the buyer informed us after I think 5-10 days the site was sold to him and all files/domains were already transferred. I and my friend have been making fansites, lots of it on specific celebrity for like 8-10 years and those sites have gain popularity all over but we didn't receive any complaints/issues with any of our contents until just this time from just this buyer. There are contact numbers posted on the letter so I guess we'll try to reach that and confirm.
You can certainly sue if you were sold content that the seller didn't own (celebrity images) or have rights to use and transfer. If you sold me a store with inventory that you didn't own, it's fraud. While the buyer should have done due diligence before the purchase, someone who has been selling these types of sites for "8-10" years certainly knows it isn't legal to sell images they don't own. I would think about refunding the purchase. If you don't, the buyer could sue (probably won't, unless he is sued for damages) but you know the buyer is going to give the sellers contact information to the law firm and that is likely going to cause your friend a lot more problems than a single refund.
Yeah....if he has been doing it that long that fraud is evident. there is now way that he can claim ignorance. Celebrities normally like fan sites, but a fan site that attempts to make money on the likeness of someone who gets paid for their likeness...is bad news. I think your friend should find another way to make money online because these unauthorized uses are bound to get him in trouble, and once they start, they go after all counts of infringements...8-10 years worth, not just one. That's a lot of concurrent sentences.
Yeah, I know. It sucks, but sometimes web scammers are weak, and a letter from a lawyer in strong language will make them fold like a cheap polyester suit. Usually you just have to move on.
If the buyer wants a refund, tell him to transfer the domains/site/etc back to your friend IMO. Did the new buyer just send the domain over to the lawyer email person like some very gullible people do?
Sounds like BS. Even if that did happen to the buyer (which I don't believe), it's too bad. A sale is a sale, no refunds.