Hypocrisy Or What?

[JMM]

Originally posted by chAos-mAtrix@Dec 10 2002, 05:19 PM
Well Mutt the reason why we were so cracked on you posting out pics is because you are advertising your content company with it. We have special arrangements with any content company that wants to use our content to promote their content products. You do not have any agreement with us. Since you are so apt to keep making this an issue.

Fact 1: You are pissy cause we had your hosting cut off those pics on GFY.
Fact 2: You have no right using our pics to promote your content company.

With that in mind who give a shit if i have a celeb site and who says that we do not have agreements to run a site like that. So with your implication CEN and Cybererotica are in the same boat as us cause they have a celeb site. I think not.

We have done the background on this legally. As well as have looked at the market of celeb sites and decided to open one up.

That is all i need to say.

Leave it alone man ... I don't go around knocking your shit and am not talking shit about you at all. You do what you do and stay out of our business. We have been around for a long time and are very professional and responsible as to what we do and what we will handle.

If you feel the need to carry it on Norman will be at our booth and would love to talk to you about it if not then go away run your business to the best of your ability and quit trying to drag our hard earned name in the mud.

What kind of horseshit response is this?

You have done background on this legally and you think that it is ok? Do you honestly think people are this stupid? I KNOW your lawyer, and I have had discussion with YOUR lawyer about this topic, and I can tell you right now that YOUR lawyer DOES NOT think this is ok, and DID NOT advise you that it was OK. If, by some odd freak event, your lawyer did tell you this was ok, then good for you, you have a huge malpractice case against your lawyer.

How can a content company the size of Matrix be so utterly and completely clueless?

There are two issues involving celebrity sites. The first issue is commercial misappropriation of likeness. In California, it is California Civil Code 3344. Under this statute, it MAY be possible to use images of celebrities without a signed release. After all, that is what a release is for. A release is signed by a model to release their likeness to the copyright holder for the purpose of those images and videos only. A case MAY be made that because of the celebrity status of celebs, a release is not needed. It is a weak argument and depending on the judge, you could either win or lose.

BUT, and this is a big BUT:

The above DOES NOT release you from copyright issues that can be made by the photographers or copyright holders of the images. Just because a photographer takes a picture of someone famous, that does not give you, or any other scumbag the right to use that image without the consent of the copyright holder. It is STILL the copyright holders property and only he can decide how, when, and where those images are used. Any use of those images without the consent of the copyright holder is a violation of their rights under federal law.

Well JMM, king of kings, how then can the national enquirer for example post pictures of Brad Pitt's penis??? The answer is simple, because they bought the rights to the image from the guy who owned it, the photographer and copyright holder. Had they not, they would not have legal rights to publish it.

Now, if I was a photographer and I saw that Matrix, a content company, was using my pictures of Jennifer Love Hewitt sucking my cock (they do not exist unfortunately except in my very vivid imagination, but this is a hypothetical case) I would certainly sue Matrix. I would sue them for copyright violations in federal court. I would also make issue that since they are in the content business their infringement is certainly willful since they should know the law and they should know better. Willful infringement carries stiffer penalties, AND, can be a criminal act. A federal felony.

Matrix, there is no way that you can justify owning a celeb site. None. Zero. Zip. Nada. If you continue on this path, I hope you get sued out of business. Their is still time for you to leave your flirtation with the dark side and come over to the side of good and righteousness. Will you do the right thing? Lets hope so. Would hate it if word spread of your activities and that hurt your business.

No pun intended, but I think I will make this my cause celeb until the right thing is done.