FReepout! JimRob gets letter from Corbis about bogus Kerry/Jane pic

[johnfunk]

Yuppers, JimRob fans, it's time to sit back with a fresh -- and big -- batch of popcorn, because the FReep is hitting the fan big time!

Subject: Kerry/Fonda image

February 23, 2004

VIA EMAIL AND U.S. MAIL

Jim Robinson www.freerepublic.com P.O. Box 9771 Fresno, CA 93794 USA

RE: www.freerepublic.com

Matter ID: 14-0486/John Kerry/Jane Fonda Image

Dear Jim Robinson:

Corbis is one of the largest digital image licensing companies in the world. All of the images in Corbis’ collection are subject to federal and international copyright protection. Indeed, all of the works found on the www.corbis.com web site bear appropriate copyright notices. Furthermore, we have a responsibility to our photographers to protect their intellectual property and pursue any possible cases of improper use.

It has recently come to Corbis’ attention that your company’s web site, www.freerepublic.com, through the web pages:

http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1080321/posts, http://www.berkeleydaily.org/photos/02-17-04/DoctoredKerry03%2Ejpg, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1074196/posts, http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1080321/posts, , directly reproduces, adapts, displays, and distributes an unauthorized and altered version of Corbis images

#DWF15-563704 and #OF016339. This directly violates Corbis’ and the photographers’ exclusive rights to reproduce, adapt, display, distribute, and create derivative works.

Given the nature of the apparent copying and altering of this image, such infringements would be subject to statutory damages of $150,000 per infringement, in addition to costs and attorney’s fees.

And there's more... oh, so much more here!


Background: the altered photo was cooked up by Rick "Registered" Taylor and posted to FR -- apparently without warning it wasn't genuine. That's not parody. That's FRAUD. Will Rick get nailed by Corbis too? I'm sure they know by now that he raked it in on "Sore Loserman" merchandise, and can certainly afford to pay civil penalties.


Oh, yes -- scroll down to the poster who tells that dumbass JimRobber not to send STUPID e-mails to Corbis' lawyer the way he did! That's just the beginning of the laffs and fun...

[Fridays Child]

1. All of those pages are gone, now.

Even Snopes, where the photo was debunked, has removed the image.

[johnfunk]

2. I bet they turn up in Google caches, though...

n/t

[Ohio Dem]

6. It seems like it's still there.

I just went to Snopes, and the picture came up as one of those red X's in a box . . . you know what I mean. But if you right click, go to "Properties," and cut and paste the URL, the picture is still there. I'm thinking that the site is very busy and the picture transfer timed out or something. The picture, though, is very much still on their server.

[Bake]

3. "It's political retaliation!"

Yeah, fer shure ...

I love this one:

To: Jim Robinson
What if the picture came from a site, that got it from a site, that took it from a site, that took it from Corbis?

What happens then Hmmmmm???

43 posted on 02/23/2004 7:01:05 PM PST by ThreePuttinDude (-)(-)

Hey Three Putt: If you buy stolen property from somebody who bought it from somebody who bought it from somebody else who originally stole it, what happens then? I'll tell you: The rightful owner gets it back, you don't get your money back, and you very likely go to jail! Chew on that for a while!

Bake

[asthmaticeog]

4. Typical R/W disingenuousness...

When that doctored photo started circulating, it was misrepresented, on FR and elsewhere, as being real - a fake AP credit was attached to it. Now that there's trouble, notice how everyone (from RimJob on down) is suddenly crying "parody?" Trying to cadge fair-use credibility for art stolen with the intention to defraud - shameful.

[GregW]

5. I hate doctored photos!

[Catherine Vincent]

7. That's good for those no good sorry asses at Freakrepublic!

What a bunch of idiots.

[Jade Fox]

8. Yes!!

:bounce:

[Cat Atomic]

9. lmao- I love this comment:

"I guess we should have expected this when Corbis and the photographer threatened to sue the maker of the parody."

Parody? I think that's a bit of a stretch.

You know, I could swear there was a group of people in this country just a few short years ago that really despised word games and legalistic parsing of phrases. They loved to say that "words mean things", and talked alot about "personal responsiblity".

What was that group called, again? Oh, nevermind- I can't remember.