So I just got the most interesting DMCA request ever. Long story made short: I own an Autism News Blog. Recently a doctor that works with people that have Autism was busted looking at pictures and videos of children in sexual situations on his computer for over two years by the FBI. I covered the story - and obtained the complaint through a FOIA request. Well some advocates for people with Autism started defending this guy online saying he was downloading child porn for research - and i started publishing their names and what they were saying to defend him (in public quotes) as well as pictures of these guys. Now I'm getting a DMCA about the picture. Its fair use... blah blah blah. But whats interesting is in the DMCA he also said I sleep with my step sister.... but I don't have a step sister. I want to publish it to show how far these advocates for disabled people go to screw up peoples lives... what are the legal ramifications of this?
Did you take the photo? You need more information. Was he ever charged with his crimes? Can you be 100% positive? You might get into trouble for "hearsay" I think. Even news agencies have the disclaimer of "Innocent until proven guilty in the court of law." - I don't think they just say that for fun. Why would you download child porn for research? This story is just weird.
Yes he was charged, and admitted guilt to the FBI. The photo was from the personal website of the individual defending the admitted child porn lover and is properly attributed.
Well I went ahead and published it... if you want a good read http://www.aspieweb.net/joe-mele-child-autism-nick-dubin-arrest/ How do you think I should handle this?
The copyrighted work at issue is the image that appears on http://www.aspieweb.net/joe-mele-child-autism-nick-dubin-arrest/ and http://www.aspieweb.net/autism-advocate-defends-dr-dubin-joe-mele-andrew-ackner/ The URLs where our copyrighted material is located include www.joemele.info You can reach me at [redacted]for further information or clarification. My ]phone number is[redacted] and my mailing address is [redacted] The email address of the website owner, who has reprinted our content illegally, is [redacted]. I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials described above as allegedly infringing is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law. I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed. I OWN THOSE PICTURES and he is cyber bullying me. All I said on a listserv was that innocent until proven guilty and participate in a discussion how nudity and pronography is not the same thing.
I got an idea, if you can't find a non-issue photo of this guy maybe you can run a contest to draw one. Maybe even one with devil horns and a bag of candy.
I would much rather stick with the real thing. I don't want to slander Joe at all like he is doing to me. Two wrongs don't make a right... plus right now I can get bank from him for his accusations.
Nice of you to follow me around Joe... atlest you can now see how people who work with this stuff everyday think your "petty" and are encouraging me to have a photoshop contest because of your stupidity. I'm talking to a lawyer monday... how much should I sue you for Joe? Whats a good number do you think?
If its actually copyrighted at the blank site joemele.info then just give credit to the original site; reference joemele.info. The media always says what they want, get used to it joe mele...
First of all, get yourself a good lawyer, one that has experience in the field of online publishing / copyright AND online journalism in general. Second, fair use (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use) Does not mean you can take an image to illustrate a story just like this. Your case might be fair use or not, but one thing that could speak against you is that you have ads on your site. Somebody could say that the site is commercial (i.e. makes money) and that the image you took, at least indirectly, helps you with this. As nice as it is to vent on a forum, you really need to speak to an experienced lawyer about this one, SY