Kasia

I was selling DVD on Ebay in U.S . My auction was removed without any reason and one month later I got the following letter from VERO PERSON (That's how they call it on ebay )


Question: Has anybody heard about similar case before? Should I take this letter seriously? I haven't even sold that DVD eventually!How could they know I was selling sth unathorized? I was trying to get any answer from Ebay and got 2 different opinions: 1) Do whatever the letter says 2) Ignore it completely, the auction was removed. They do not have any proof that the dvd is illegal.

I'm just wondering how they will file a lawsuit against me?

Any comment appreciated!

RE: UNAUTHORIZED SALE OF "THE HOURS" MOTION PICTURE

Dear Mr. XXX:

This letter is being written to you on behalf of Paramount Pictures
Corporation (hereinafter "Paramount"). Paramount is the owner of rights in
and to the "The Hours" motion picture.

Paramount has recently learned that you have offered for sale an
unauthorized DVD copy of the
"The Hours" motion picture on eBay's web site located at
"http://www.ebay.com," auction item # 3344978158. You are hereby put on
notice that the reproduction, transmission and/or distribution by you of
unauthorized copies of the "The Hours" motion picture constitutes copyright
infringement.

Paramount hereby demands that you and all those who have acted in concert
with you immediately cease any unauthorized copying, transmission,
distribution and/or other utilization of any of its protected intellectual
property, including any use of the "The Hours" motion picture.

In addition to the foregoing, we request that you:

(1) voluntarily relinquish your unauthorized copy of the "The Hours" motion
picture to the undersigned at the address listed at the top of this letter;

(2) provide all information pertaining to the source from which you obtained
your unauthorized copy of the "The Hours" motion picture, including the
source's name, address, phone number, web site address and e-mail address;
and

(3) provide all information pertaining to any purchaser of your unauthorized
copy of the "The Hours" motion picture, including the purchaser's name,
address, phone number and e-mail address.

Should you not immediately do so, Paramount expressly reserves all of its
rights to file a lawsuit against you to obtain damages for all past acts of
infringement and an injunction to prevent any future infringement.

Please sign this letter in the space provided below, and return it with the
above-requested materials to the undersigned before the close of business on
October 2, 2003. If we do not receive your written confirmation before that
date, we will be forced to recommend that Paramount immediately take further
legal action.

This letter is not a complete statement of Paramount's rights in connection
with this matter, and nothing contained herein constitutes an express or
implied waiver of any rights, remedies, or defenses of Paramount in
connection with this matter, all of which are expressly reserved.

Very truly yours,

/s/

Dennis L. Wilson
Keats McFarland & Wilson LLP

cc: Paramount Pictures Corporation


I, ___________________________, hereby acknowledge that I have ceased
offering for sale and/or distributing unauthorized copies of the "The Hours"
motion picture and any other goods which infringe Paramount's rights in any
of its motion picture properties; and have complied with (1)-(3) above.

_____________________________
Signature

_____________________________
Print Name

_____________________________
Date

Webbie

All I can imagine judging by the wording of the letter, that you were selling a bootleg or homemade copy of the DVD, this is the only thing I can think of.

Was it an original ?
Do you have the text you put on the auction or a scan of the DVD that you can post here ?

ladyofthelake

Did a google search and found this web site http://www.kmwlaw.com/ have you seen it? Can I assume the DVD was illegal? If it was then maybe you should take the letter seriously.

Kasia

No, the dvd is not bootleg or hommade copy. I didn't put text like that. that's why I'm wondering how they can tell.

robclews

Well if it's an original you have no problems. Write to them and tell them so, ask why the letter was sent, demand an apology, and ask for reimbursement of your time and postage costs.

Rob

robclews

Or better still let them take you to court and demand costs.

lol

Rob

Kasia

Also I'm not American citizen. Just wondering what they can do to me? I'll finish study here next May. Only 7 monthes left. How long does it usually take them to file a lawsuit?

tks all the id.

Webbie

Unless you can post your original ebay advert text or the scan here I can't help you.

- I'm not a lawyer, but an experienced ebay seller (over 1000 sales) and need more info.

We've seen the accusation, so lets see your defence.
Can you remember the what you wrote ?
Do you have a picture ?

Webbie.

Kasia

That was one month ago. I remember that I copied a photo from some other webiste for the dvd and used it for the auction. But other than that, i don't see any problem.

Kasia

or maybe I put "all region ", but I have seen people do this all over on ebay.

ladyofthelake

I, like afosuk, interpreted that statement as saying it was unauthorised.
If you haven't done anything wrong, then you have nothing to worry about.

nathan barley

Well, that or the picture you took from another site could be the cause of the problem. Perhaps the picture you copied was of a bootleg edition, for example. Secondly, saying "All region" would to me imply that it's a bootleg which has been burned to VCD or DVDR. A legit copy of a movie from a motion picture studio would be specific to one region only, unless it's region 0, which really nothing but porn is It's the DVD players that are multiregion.

I'd call up the lawyer, and speak to him first hand, and try and straighten it out.

tony_2003

Is there a link to the item? I think Nathan is probably right. They could have at least given you a clue as to why they think it's an illegal copy though.

Kasia

I copied the photo from another auction site. But it didn't look like a bootleg copy.

Also I'm not American. Can they still do something to me?

tks for all the advice.

nathan barley

I can't see how it'd matter a damn what nationality you are, unless you are sued in a US court and convicted (because that's where you reside to study, and you posted on eBay's US site), in which case, you'll have a criminal record with probably predicable bad results concerning the BCIS.
They can't just throw you out of the country though. If you've done nothing wrong, don't worry. If you have, consult with a lawyer and follow the instructions on the letter.