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Copyright Extortion

EFF Copyright Troll

Whatever Happened with the Vincent K. Tylor v. Vermont Woods Case?

EFF Copyright Troll
EFF Copyright Troll

NOTE: I would normally post this on the Hawaiian Letters & Lawsuit Forum of ExtortionLetterInfo.com. However, I want to make sure there is no confusion that I have written this entirely on my own accord without any involvement of my business associate, Oscar Michelen.

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This question has come up a few times but I have intentionally been quiet on this matter out of respect to Vermont Woods. However, a reporter from the Vermont newspaper, Brattleboro Reformer, contacted me for information to write a follow-up article on the resolution of the Vermont Woods case and it made me reflect on whether I should stay silent or share what the portions of the case/situation that I know.

Part of me wants to provide a short, uninformative answer.  I could say the case has been settled and the terms of settlement are confidential. I was informed of this but I was not party or witness to the final settlement agreement/arrangement.

Given that a reporter from the Brattleboro Reformer is interested in writing a follow-up article, I feel compelled to share a few pieces of information of what I do know about the case PRIOR to the settlement. As a matter of disclosure, I do not work for Vermont Woods and I am not associated with that business. They are people who have solicited my opinions in the past, contributed to ELI, and I have been an outspoken supporter of their position. But we are entirely separate parties and entities. I have no say in how they do business, they have no say in how I do mine. Most people know that I am not a lawyer, nor have I ever attempted to legally represent them or anyone. Given that Vermont Woods may not be able or willing to say anything about their current situation, I am under no such restrictions.

I also do not have any legal agreements with Vincent K. Tylor or his lawyer, James Stephen Street, that forbids me from revealing or discussing information I have prior to whatever settlement Vermont Woods signed with Vincent Tylor. I was not party or witness to the final settlement agreement/arrangement but I do have some relevant information because I occasionally communicated with Vermont Woods to share my thoughts and opinions on the case and their situation.

The truth of the matter is that the Vincent K. Tylor vs. Vermont Woods case was a protracted legal dispute with twists and turns. My reporting last year on the lawsuit Adam Gafni filed on behalf of Vincent Tylor was dropped when I publicly reported that Adam reportedly worked for a California law firm that I could not find registered anywhere in California. But I did find it registered in Texas and that was also reported. The lawsuit was quickly dropped after that report.

Vermont Woods was rightfully outspoken and unhappy about Vincent’s and Adam Gafni’s legal threats, tactics, and the extortionate amount being demanded. After some time passed, Vincent Tylor, through his Hawaiian so-called lawyer, James Stephen Street, filed another lawsuit against Vermont Woods. Vermont Woods, once again, became vocal and outspoken about Vincent’s and James Stephen Street’s legal threats and aggressive tactics asking for extortionate amounts of money to settle.

James Stephen Street, in particular, became unhappy at my critical comments about his extortionate ways against Vermont Woods as well as my comments about his not-so-illustrious, late-in-life career choices.

Because the 2nd lawsuit by Vincent Tylor wasn’t going away, Vermont Woods, at my recommendation, hired Oscar Michelen. He had the unpleasant task of handling the lawsuit and negotiate a settlement with James Stephen Street.

I unhappily removed one of my critical comments about James Stephen Street and his age as a favor to the process. Peggy was instructed to remove every critical, unflattering remarks she ever wrote about Vincent Tylor and James Stephen Street to help ease tensions to facilitate a settlement. It didn’t appear to be sufficient for them to negotiate some cash settlement amount. James Stephen Street “motivated” Vermont Woods to remove every remark and commentary that was intended for the general public.

In my opinion, James Stephen Street, in particular, tried to control/restrict/eliminate critical comments made about him online (presumably to try to keep his online reputation clean and untarnished) and punishing Vermont Woods for having supporters like me that were highly critical of him and his aggressive tactics. It would be unfair for me to blame Vincent Tylor because we have written about him for years and never once has he tried to restrain ELI’s or its users ability to speak out freely. And while I do not have definitive proof, it was only when highly-critical and insulting remarks were made about James Stephen Street did this notion/insistence to have HIS name removed come about and work its way into the negotiation conversations.

Vermont Woods was conflicted about how to handle the legal dispute. They asked me for my non-lawyer opinion. They also consulted Oscar for legal advice. Because of the protracted public battle where many people were following the case, James Stephen Street and Vincent K. Tylor seemed to be open to a settlement while still suing Vermont Woods in a Hawaiian federal court. Vermont Woods understandably wanted closure on the matter. Ultimately, I believe everyone was motivated to settle.

During the negotiations stage, Vermont Woods asked my opinion regarding the terms of a proposed settlement and whether or not they should agree to them. While I was supportive for them to financially settle the matter and put it behind them, I strongly disapproved of some “draconian terms” being proposed. I was very outspoken that they should not agree to such draconian terms and have them removed.

While I won’t get into the specifics of what I consider “draconian terms”, I believe Vermont Woods was “motivated” into an excessively speech-restrictive agreement masterminded by James Stephen Street, not just a standard confidentiality of financial terms agreement. It appears Vermont Woods is now unwilling to publicly speak, write, or otherwise express any opinions whatsoever about Vincent Tylor and his lawyers. This is what I consider a serious and excessive restriction of speech. When a party is unwilling and fearful to express a simple opinion about the other party and their lawyers, it has gone too far. As I said, this situation appears to be way more than a simple confidentiality agreement of financial settlement terms.

Vermont Woods did not want to incur more legal expenses for an extended legal battle and understandably wanted closure even if that likely meant agreeing to draconian terms in restricting speech.

Lawyers typically take a conservative approach and instruct their clients to take the safest road. It is the path of least resistance. I, on the other hand when it comes to matters of speech, do not roll over quite so easily. Hence, I offer my commentary and insights now. Vermont Woods is unable/unwilling to say anything publicly and their lawyer is ethically and professionally-bound to not discuss it. That leaves only me with these morsels of information. I could say and share a lot more but I am choosing not to. It isn’t my fight and no matter what my personal feelings might be, I cannot care more than the party I am trying to help. I have learned this lesson the hard way. Taking on other people’s fights is largely a thankless endeavor. I know what I have done if I were in their shoes. I would not accept any draconian terms regarding my ability to speak publicly even if it meant a higher risk to me. Vincent Tylor was in Hawaii and Vermont Woods was in Vermont. As far as I am concerned, it was never going to be as easy for Vincent Tylor as some believed.

It is acceptable for Vincent Tylor and James Stephen Street to demand Vermont Woods NOT disclose the terms of financial settlement. However, it is not acceptable to absolutely forbid Vermont Woods from ever writing or uttering a word about Vincent Tylor or James Stephen Street which appears to be the case based on the deafening silence.

But given Vermont Woods desire for closure and avoid any more legal entanglements, Vincent Tylor and Hawaiian lawyer, James Stephen Street successfully bullied Vermont Woods into a lifetime of silence. That is something everyone gets to think about.

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EFF Copyright Troll

Negative “Triggers” Caused By Linda Ellis and the Dash Poem Extortion Letter

Copyright Extortionist
Copyright Extortionist

I sometimes get motivated to write commentary for the strangest of reasons. I know I occasionally go dark online. I do so because I have aspects of my personal and business life to tend to. Contrary to what some might think, I don’t live entirely online. Yes, I do have a life outside the Internet.

But I am back again with this unusual commentary because of I was unhappily “triggered” today by an uninvited email from someone I don’t know who innocently wanted help from me regarding a Dash Poem extortion letter.

For over two years, I have not received an “out of the blue” help request regarding Linda Ellis’ / Linda Lyric’s Dash Poem extortion letter. My friend, April Brown, author of “Poetic Justice” generally gets the brunt of such requests. How she handles it all, I will never know. And I have often told her, better her than me! She is a soldier.

As I said, I received an uninvited email today from someone asking for advice and help. When I get these types of emails, I get mixed reactions. On one hand, I want to help. But on the other hand, I have helped PLENTY of people in the last seven years regarding copyright extortion letters without charge and it has taken its toll on me. That is why I now charge people for my time. I have been overloaded with such requests over the years which is why I push people to reading the ELI Forums, blog posts, and other free online resources.

Every time I try to help someone by email in these matters, it doesn’t end well. It always takes a bite out of me in terms of my time, energy, and frustration. I get little in return and oftentimes my answer is never good enough because bullet-point information is simply insufficient for people.

Because of the emotional upset and stress that copyright extortion letters cause in letter recipients, those people frequently want reassurance, counseling, coaching, explanations, a legal and copyright primer, and basically a crash course to overcome the foreign and shocking experience of receiving a $5,000 extortion letter for the innocent sharing of the Dash Poem. It doesn’t help that the letter recipients of Dash Poem extortion letters are especially susceptible to the emotions of shame, guilt, embarrassment, fear, and ignorance of basic copyright law and legal procedure. This is much moreso here than letter recipients of Getty Images, Masterfile, and stock photo extortion letters.

With some notable exceptions (who tend to be entrepreneurial / business types), nearly all the Dash Poem extortion letter recipients are easy marks and easy prey. They are less knowledgeable, less sophisticated, easier to intimidate, and have a weaker psychological makeup.

Given this loaded scenario when people are frantic for help, how does one help another via email if they have gotten a Dash Poem extortion letter?  My personal answer is, I can’t do it and I won’t attempt it. My personal experience tells me no one is ever satisfied with a one sentence or one paragraph answer and no one is ever satisfied with a five-minute conversation or chat.

My basic free answer to anyone getting a Dash Poem Extortion Letter is “Ignore the Letter. Don’t Pay. Problem Solved.” I know that answer is insufficient for most people because they want a lot more explanation but that is all I have to give for free. I am not going to reiterate basic advice that has been published repeatedly online. The Dash Poem extortion letter has been discussed ad nauseum. Google it or visit The “Linda Ellis / Linda’s Lyrics / Dash Poem Copyright Infringement Letter” Resource Page. It will take readers where they need to go for free answers but they have to do the work, grow a spine along the way (this is very important), and make a smart decision for themselves.  I make no bones about it that I do not welcome unsolicited emails or phone calls on any copyright extortion letter matter. The only way I will discuss it with anyone is through an ELI Support Call, period, end of story. However, April Brown might help for free if you are nice and respectful to her. As I said, she is a soldier.

I have a huge aversion to anything related to Linda Ellis, the Dash Poem, the Dash Poem extortion letters, and her lawyers Elizabeth (Betsy) McBride and Tim B. McCormack (who has since gone on to become a legalized marijuana grower/farmer). You can thank them for causing me to engage in an unnecessary two-year legal entanglement where my team and I ultimately fought back and we trounced them embarrassingly into the ground. That has left a great deal of negative energy within me towards them as far as I am concerned. It will be there for a long time to come. They are huge negative triggers to me and bring out unhappy and unpleasant sides of me. I stuck my neck out in 2012-2013 on behalf of largely spineless Dash Poem letter recipients and got very little in return except frustration and aggravation. The only good news of all this negative energy I have is that I plan on channeling that into creative, constructive, and beneficial ways. I didn’t start this but I do intend to see my plans through.

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EFF Copyright Troll

The “Linda Ellis / Linda’s Lyrics / Dash Poem Copyright Infringement Letter” Resource Page

Troll
Copyright Troll / Copyright Extortionist

Last Updated: September 10, 2015

In March 2013, the Linda Ellis / Linda’s Lyrics / Dash Poem Letters Forum with 2,000 information and discussion posts concerning Linda Ellis’ / Linda’s Lyrics’ / Dash Poem copyright infringement and copyright enforcement letter program was ordered taken down due to an overreaching court order. (In April 2015 following my GA Supreme Court victory, that forum was fully restored as a read-only resource). That court order specifically forbade me (thereby violating my First Amendment, free speech, freedom of press rights) from writing anything about her, her business operations, her copyright infringement settlement demand letter, and her copyright enforcement program within the ELI Forums on the ExtortionLetterInfo.com website. However, that court order does not forbid me from writing about and sharing information about her, her business model, her poem, and the copyright infringement settlement demand letters on this website.

At this time, the quickest way for victims to learn about this copyright infringement settlement demand letter and copyright enforcement letter program is to read these websites below.

Once you read these websites, you may need Premium Support to help deal with this overbearing, obnoxious letter demanding money from you or your organization.

If you need affordable phone support or affordable expert (non-lawyer) consultation regarding the Linda’s Lyrics / Dash Poem Copyright Infringement Settlement Demand Letters, I provide expert knowledge and information through the ELI Phone Support Call program.

If you need affordable legal representation from a lawyer who is very knowledgeable of the Linda’s Lyrics / Dash Poem Copyright Infringement Settlement Demand Letters, I highly recommend Attorney Oscar Michelen’s Defense Letter Program.

 

April Brown's Poetic Justice

Reflecting Upon April Brown’s Release of Her New Book “Poetic Justice”

April Brown's Poetic JusticeFor the last several weeks, I’ve largely stayed offline because contrary to some of critics’ belief, I actually do have a business and personal life offline. For those I criticize and write about, they got a small reprieve. However, April Brown’s book release of “Poetic Justice” on Amazon revived many old memories of the untold, behind-the-scenes stupidity we dealt with the last two years.

For example, some people cannot leave things well enough alone as in the example of Seattle Bozo / Clown Attorney Timothy B. McCormack who had the bright idea of sending me his so-called copyright infringement / harassment / defamation letter last year (January 2014). I went into an indefinite self-imposed exile from ExtortionLetterInfo.com (ELI) in March 2013. Essentially, I was waiting for the Chan v. Ellis appeal process to run its course and had no foreseeable plan to coming back to ELI. But my online silence and exile was not good enough for Timmy and he wanted to pick a fight with me because it was just too quiet for him. It became clear to me that he took my self-imposed exile as a sign of weakness and I decided it was time end my silence and make a comeback along with a pointed reply to the Seattle’s resident Getty Clown / Bozo Attorney.

In an incident from June 2013, I was forwarded a copy of John W. Jolin’s libelous and defamatory statements about me. I have BOLDED the outrageous defamatory statements that John wrote.

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Thank you for your email. There are damages to consider. You used a product that costs money for FREE to promote your website. You unlawfully used a product without permission. We also see that you have been in contact with a previous infringer of Ms. Ellis’ work and anti-copyright advocate Ms. April Brown. Ms. Brown’s comments in her blog that you copied in your email are completely untrue! We in no way pursue individuals of someone whose daughter just died! That is absurd.  I highly recommend you contact an attorney for legal advice. Ms. Brown is not an attorney. She is a vindictive copyright infringer that spews out bad legal advice. Ms. Brown is a Lead Advocate, Contributor and Ambassador to a proven stalker of Ms. Ellis, Mr. Matthew Chan. Ms. Ellis recently received a permanent restraining order against Mr. Chan in March. Mr. Chan has also been accused of additional stalking, child molestation and of being an abuser to women on many other websites. Please see the below link for more information on April Brown and Mr. Chan. I am sure your company would not want to be associated with these type of individuals.

http://lindaellis.net/the-dash/copyright-info/matthew-chan-columbus-ga-guilty-of-stalking/

Just to be clear our settlement offer is in lieu of possibly filing suit in federal court and pursuing statutory damages. Statutory damages are a damage award in civil law, in which the amount awarded is stipulated within the statute rather than being calculated based on the degree of harm to the plaintiff. Lawmakers will provide for statutory damages for acts in which it is difficult to determine a precise value of the loss suffered by the victim. Because of the ease of infringement, federal law authorizes copyright owners, like Ms. Ellis, to automatically recover statutory damages of up to $30,000.00 for each copyright violation in addition to the automatic recovery of all attorneys’ and costs involved in pursuing the copyright violation. 17 U.S.C. §§ 504(c)(1) and 505.  If a court determines the infringement intentional or “willful,” the law authorizes a court to award statutory damages of up to $150,000.00 per copyright violation.  17 U.S.C. § 504(c)(2). Courts will find “willful infringement” when someone continues to publish copyrighted material after receiving a letter like ours from the copyright owner requesting its removal.

I am sure you are an intelligent person. Please review the below link from the US copyright office and see that there are damages when you use copyrighted work without permission. Then contact an attorney for real advice. http://www.copyright.gov/title17/

We hope to hear from you promptly to discuss our offer of settlement in a professional manner. Our offer of settlement is open for 10 more days before we turn this clear copyright infringement matter over to our attorney for further action.

Sincerely,

John W. Jolin
Intellectual Property Coordinator
Linda’s Lyrics, LLC
1050 E. Piedmont Road
Suite E-135
Marietta, GA 30062
www.lindaellis.net
Phone:  678-521-6216
Fax: 770-977-0077

NOTICE: This message and accompanying documents are covered by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. 2510-2521, and contains information intended for the specified individual(s) only. This electronic mail transmission is for the use of the named individual or entity to which it is directed and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. It is not to be transmitted to or received by anyone other than the named addressee (or a person authorized to deliver it to the named addressee). It is not to be copied or forwarded to any unauthorized persons. If you have received this electronic mail transmission in error, delete it from your system without copying or forwarding it, and notify the sender of the error by replying via email or by calling Linda’s Lyrics at (678) 521-6216, so that our address record can be corrected.

There are a few points I want to make here.  First, if John didn’t want his email forwarded to anyone, he should never have sent it. No one can bind anyone to NOT share an email they legitimately received even with that ridiculous notice he attaches at the end of his email. I was forwarded his email legitimately and did not hack into his email account. Thus, I have a right to share it with anyone I please.

Second, John KNOWS I am not a “child molester” or an “abuser of women”. If I truly were, I guarantee he would not be so secretive or carefully worded about it. But he chose to take extreme creative liberties over posts made by a nutjob named Ari Hinnant who was upset at me for exposing her as an online scammer in 2009. One only needs to Google search “Ari Hinnant scam” to get what she is all about. Convicted sex offenders in all 50 states are listed in online federal databases. Anyone can easily do a search on anyone’s name. Needless to say, my name does not appear anywhere in these sex offender databases.. For that matter, aside from a few speeding tickets, I have no criminal record. And yet, here you can plainly see John engaging in some good old-fashioned libel and defamation of me in his efforts to discredit me (and April by association) so that he can collect money from his victim.

Third, John tells people to get “real advice from an attorney”. However, what he doesn’t say is “except if that attorney’s name is Oscar Michelen”. That is because Oscar knows better about how John and Linda operate and not at all intimidated by them. In fact, John wrote someone that he REFUSED to deal with Oscar because of his association with me.

An email from Summer 2013 (which I will not publish at this time), John tries to associate Oscar to the protective order I received and accuses both of us of “defaming entities” that protect copyrights. Because I received a protective order and Oscar made public statements in support of me and “associated” with me, John “refuses” to negotiate or “work with” Oscar. This unwise email John sent made Oscar unhappy because of its libelous and defamatory content that compelled Oscar to send a very stern cease-and-desist letter to John warning him of HIS defamatory, libelous, and possible tortious interference language.

Conveniently, John ran to “mommy” Linda. She stood up for and defended John by claiming she wrote and edited the entire email that was signed in John’s name. How convenient for him. John threatens legal action every other day to his victims but the one letter he receives from Oscar, he became silent and ran to Linda to defend him.

To the best of my knowledge, John or Linda never wrote anything libelous or defamatory about Oscar again. It seemed to me that they didn’t want to risk Oscar coming down to Georgia sue either of them personally. After all, it wouldn’t be hard to find them to get them served if Oscar wanted to. And HE would certainly not need to hire a lawyer to sue either John or Linda.

Both John and Linda have skirted the libel and defamation issue with both me and Oscar (but much moreso with me) the last two years when my case was under appeal. Desperately, they took advantage of the protective order that was in effect in 2013-2014 to stop people from listening to what Oscar, April, and I were telling victims regarding the Dash Poem extortion letters.

April’s book “Poetic Justice” is now available on Amazon. Sales have already ticked upwards based on online word-of-mouth alone. April has written about me, Oscar, ELI, and many people I’ve not met in her book. However, I only read very early drafts and have not come close to reading the final version. I am looking forward to reading her perspective of the dozens of victims (and their stories) she has communicated with and accumulated the last three years.

It is interesting note that had it not been for Linda and her foolish choices, it is entirely possible April would not have been so driven to become an author. Or if April wanted to become an author, certainly not with such urgency and passion.

April is likely to embark on an interesting journey in the months and year ahead. Those of us who are her friends cannot help but be fascinated with what she has planned. I am also an author of several books and audio programs but never on a subject so volatile. As a street-wise entrepreneur and businesswoman, she will take an unconventional and unorthodox approach to promoting the book. It will be interesting when people who are fans of “The Dash” encounter April’s book. It could be very eye-opening to Linda’s readership and fanbase.

I have kicked around the idea of writing a book about copyright extortion for years but it is April who was finally driven to make it happen. I commend her for committing the time, energy, and resources to make it happen. I know from personal experience that it is not an easy project to undertake especially the first book. The last book I wrote was in 2009, well over six years go. It is time I get back on the saddle.

Having said that, I am announcing that I will be writing about the Chan v. Ellis saga, I have no title yet. It will include the cast of characters and the MANY behind-the-scenes stories never told to the general public. It will likely debut in electronic format, not printed format. I want to be able to add and update it easily. In addition, Oscar Michelen has expressed interest in participating in this project and writing from his perspective. I am still in discussions with him. It would be a privilege to have Oscar as a co-author in this project. There is no timeline yet on this project but the Chan v. Ellis saga project is a definite go even if I have to write it alone.

With April’s book “Poetic Justice” hitting online shelves, I will have to play catch up to her!

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April Brown's Poetic Justice

April Brown’s Book Trailer “Poetic Justice: The True Story Behind the Dash” Released

poetic justiceOn January 30, 2015, April Brown, released on YouTube a colorful, humorous, and rather entertaining book trailer for her book, “Poetic Justice”.  However, under the color, animation, and humor lies a very real and serious message.

Normally, I would not write a blog post over an ordinary book trailer but April, in her own inimitable style, has created a very special book trailer.  It is short, informative, easy to understand, and encapsulates April’s (and others’) experience of innocently sharing Linda Ellis’ Dash Poem.

I stand by April’s message that Ellis’ viral Dash Poem has a dark, ugly, and financially catastrophic consequence to anyone who foolishly shares that poem in print within a newsletter, book, or a website.

I also endorse April’s advice in the video:

  1. Do take down the Dash Poem.
  2. Do not respond to any demands for payment.
  3. Do not be afraid. (I would also add another sentence to this point, “Get Educated”)
  4. Do tell the world.

Do yourself a favor. Watch the video. Get educated. And do share this video. I promise you April will not send you any letters demanding $7,500. In fact, she will be happy if you shared the video FREELY.

 

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CABALaw header

CABALaw.org Wants to Help Dash Poem Demand Letter Victims for FREE!

cabalaw-headerGreg Troy of CABALaw.org is on a roll this week. He has made a stunning public offer to help victims of the Linda’s Lyrics / Dash Poem Extortion Letter for FREE. In Greg’s recent article titled: You Received Linda Ellis’ Dash Poem Settlement Demand Letter. Now What? Copyright Anti-Bullying Act Wants to Help. (As a side note, I created the The “Linda Ellis / Linda’s Lyrics / Dash Poem Copyright Infringement Letter” Resource Page that assembles various web resources for anyone needing information on the subject. Greg’s newest article has been added to that page.)

In his latest article, Greg outlines the major options every Linda’s Lyrics / Dash Poem extortion letter victim should consider. They include calming down and getting educated, then get mad and fight back with complaint letters, and finally getting qualified legal counsel. Both he and I highly recommend Oscar Michelen for legal representation. There is no lawyer more qualified to go up against Linda Ellis and her offensive and greedy copyright enforcement operation than Oscar. In fact, Oscar is currently my lead attorney in my legal battle against Linda Ellis herself to overturn a local court’s overreaching protective order.

What makes Greg unique from other solutions discussed by others (including myself) in the past is that he wants to spearhead a letter-writing campaign to the appropriate government agencies, namely the Governor’s Office of Consumer Protection against the Dash Poem copyright enforcement operation. Greg has had good success with his efforts against Getty Images on ExtortionLetterInfo.com (ELI) with the ELI Forums. In fact, Greg holds the special distinction of leading “An Experiment Against Getty”, the longest single thread of discussion on ELI ever (currently at 18-pages). It all centered around his efforts to spearhead that letter-writing campaign against Getty Images and their girlie-lawyer, Timothy B. McCormack, which caused a great deal of annoyance and heartache for Getty Images. It is all entirely legal and a wonderful exercise in the First Amendment when angry people band together in a common cause to make public complaints about a much larger, more powerful, and legally threatening adversary.

Unfortunately, the Linda’s Lyrics / Dash Poem Letter Forum on the ELI Forums was ordered taken down in March 2013 (now being aggressively appealed with the Georgia Supreme Court), it would have hosted that online discussion. For now, Greg is taking this project on entirely independent of ELI resources.

Greg is often highly underestimated due to his low-key, diplomatic, easy-going demeanor. But when provoked, as Linda has clearly done with her recent cyber-strafing of his online web and social media accounts, in addition to her online attacks of me and April Brown, author of “Poetic Justice”. Greg is now making this letter-writing campaign his pet project. I almost feel sorry for her. Almost. It is my opinion (I haven’t asked him) that Greg is seeking to bankrupt the ugly and greedy Dash Poem copyright extortion operation once and for all. I could be wrong but far be it for me to stand in Greg’s way.

On a selfish note, it is kind of nice to see others take up a sword in this fight. For a long time, it was just April and I taking most of the arrows from her. It should be interesting to see Greg’s results in the weeks and months to come.

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ELI Support Team

ELI Support Team Bands Together to Fight Back Dash Poet’s Propaganda

DSCN1528I guess it is an official foursome. Robert Krausankas of Copyright-Trolls.com has once again released his latest post about the Dash Poet, Linda Ellis, entitled, “Poet” Linda Ellis has an Obsession Issue”. Robert’s post includes ALL of the Dash Poet’s “cyber-strafing” screenshots that I commented on.

It appears clear that Robert has chosen to publicly stand alongside me, April Brown, and Greg Troy in speaking out and fighting back the Dash Poet smear propaganda that was first directed at April in an effort to dissuade her from releasing her book, “Poetic Justice”, and myself for my outspoken support of April.

Weeks ago, the Dash Poet released a group photo of us in an attempt to embarrass or shame us into silence. That clearly did not work.

Given the good-looking, fabulous foursome we are (the Dash Poet calls us “cyberbullies” because we speak out about and against her nasty copyright extortion habits against unknowing victims), I thought I would share our happy photos when we all met and hung out as a group for the very first time in Atlanta on October 7, 2014.

DSCN1525DSCN1506

This last photo is the four of us with the ELI Legal Team!

We are not these “faceless” people behind the keyboard. All four us (April, Robert, Greg, and I) are all intelligent, quick-thinking, independent-minded, outspoken entrepreneurs who have chosen to band together as a team to take action, fight, and stand for a common cause using our respective talents and skill sets.

Thanks to the Dash Poet’s legal actions and public attacks against me since 2013, the ELI Team has never been stronger, closer, or formidable.

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CABALaw header

Robert Heinlein’s Quote About a Poet’s “Nasty Habits”

cabalaw-headerGreg Troy, of CABALaw.org, brought to our attention a very amusing quote from the great science-fiction writer, Robert Heinlein, in his book, “Time Enough For Love” (1978).

“A poet who reads his verse in public may have other nasty habits.”

It made us think with great laughter and amusement of the Dash Poet, Linda Ellis.

Within his work, “Time Enough For Love” (1978) , Mr. Heinlein shared that quote during a literary intermission (an intentional and momentary break and escape from the main story within the book).

It appears that before the Dash Poet ever came on the scene some 20 years later, Mr. Heinlein made an observation and statement about poets he knew or knew of at that time. Today, nearly 40 years later after Mr. Heinlein wrote that passage, we find it quite appropriate and applicable to the Dash Poet.

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CABALaw header

CABALaw.org Asks: Who is Stalking Whom?

cabalaw-headerGreg Troy, of CABALaw.org, has come out with his most informative post yet relating to our favorite Dash Poet, Linda Ellis, and her smear campaign against me and April Brown, author of “Poetic Justice”. The succinct title of his recent post is “Who is Stalking Whom?” Of course, none of the information Greg provided would be necessary if the Linda’s Lyrics / Dash Poem Letter Forum on the ExtortionLetterInfo.com (ELI) Forums was not ordered taken down by court order (now under appeal).

In the absence of that valuable resource, Greg decided to shed some light into the history of what is currently an online war with me, Greg, Robert Krausankas of Copyright-Trolls.com, and April Brown on one side and the Dash Poet using an “anonymous” account named “Good Prevails” on the other.

Greg’s article largely speaks for itself. However, I did find some interesting nuggets from all the screenshots Greg captured and shared. It appears that on the day that the Dash Poet conducted a “cyber-strafing run” on Greg’s various business online accounts, she made a total of 12 hits to his Google+, YouTube, Twitter, and WordPress accounts. There were two Google+ posts, two YouTube comments, one Tweet, two Facebook posts, and five WordPress comments. Based on the time-stamps I saw, it occurred approximately from 3:25pm to 3:40pm (15-minute span) using mostly cut-and-paste types of posts, nearly all of them included her 60-second clip of my online rant from the 9th Episode of The ELI Factor and  her snide and snarky remarks.

goodprevails-wordpressPrior to this incident, some of us suspected that the Dash Poet was posting “anonymously” using the handle “Good Prevails”. This is in keeping with her prior pattern of online behavior. However, we never had “proof” it was actually her, just a strong suspicion. However, if you look at Greg’s WordPress screenshot, it clearly shows the IP address (162.235.197.19) of the commenter and the “Good Prevails” email address (goodprevails11@gmail.com) that is typically hidden. (Note: Click on image to magnify.)

iplocationIPLocation.net is a nice online tool that queries six IP address databases and reports on approximately where the IP address originates and the Internet Service Provider (ISP). When I input 162.235.197.19, the screenshot to the left was the result that was displayed. I think the screenshot speaks for itself. Nearly all of the IP address databases report that the IP address that WordPress recorded from Greg’s website came from Marietta, Georgia with AT&T as the ISP. (Note: Click on image to magnify.)

 

 

greg-facebook(UPDATE: This Facebook screenshot was provided after release of the first version of my article.) In this screenshot provided by Greg, we see the Dash Poet makes no efforts to disguise her identity with these two posts on Greg’s business Facebook account with, of course, her links to her YouTube clip of me. The whole idea is that she wants to “expose” his clients to Greg’s association with me.

Does anyone else besides me find her wording amusing? The words used in her Facebook posts to Greg certainly doesn’t sound much like those coming from a poet, does it? (Note: Click on image to magnify.)

 

greg-twitter

Next up, we have Greg’s screenshot of his Twitter account, that clearly identifies the Dash Poet herself along with a photo! I don’t think it gets much more clear that it was her. (Note: Click on image to magnify.)

When you look at the big picture and see someone making 12 posts and comments across someone’s business web accounts, you have to wonder what exactly is the point and how will that serve her? Is this supposed to be a hint or a veiled threat to Greg to beware his decision to publicly be my friend and supporter? If that is the case, she is late to the party. I already forewarned him.  Greg already knows an awful lot about me and yet, stunningly, he is still a loyal friend, supporter, and volunteer.

My guess is that the Dash Poet won’t like this very much. It must be very perplexing to her why I have such strong and loyal support. Some might say, there is no accounting for bad taste in friends or it might be my “cult leader” status and influence on people! *wink* I try not to think too hard about it. I am grateful for the smart and capable people who lend their names to be my friends and supporters.

Admittedly, the information and screenshots Greg provided are largely circumstantial evidence. However, we are not in a court of law trying a criminal case.  We are dealing with a civil matter using common sense. It is clear to us that it has been the Dash Poet herself all along cyber-strafing Greg’s online accounts (within 15-minutes) as well as bouncing through the interwebs leaving her “stalkie-talkie” comments about me.

She has long been riding the horse that I am a “stalker”. She has been riding and grinding that horse so hard, you would think she was a nympho trying to kill the horse. Well, as Greg asked, “Who is Stalking Whom” here? She goes into April’s “Get Poetic Justice” Facebook page and leaves her inane marks there. She bounces around the interwebs “seeding” her pathetic, out-of-context clip of me, making a fool out of herself.  And now, she wants to cyber-strafe Greg’s accounts in the hopes Greg might back down?

Also for a poet, she certainly has a way with words.

“Dude work must be slow since you have so much time to spend defending your best friend, stalker. This is free speech and I KNOW how you are an advocate, so I’m sure it will be left here. Screenshot taken so after you delete, we can show you how much you believe in free speech. Here’s you (sic) good good buddy in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch…”

Apparently, her lawyer didn’t explain that free speech doesn’t mean you get to invade someone else’s online accounts with their unwanted speech.  It means you stay on your fucking side of the fence or you go to a place where the public is allowed to make such speech, not on someone’s privately-owned website. Greg has the absolute right to kick anyone out off of his website. April was the only one that allowed the Dash Poet’s drivel on her “Get Poetic Justice” Facebook page.  Although admittedly, April wanted to show the world the idiotic behavior by the Dash Poet.

It’s kind of funny how the Dash Poet “threatens” to take screenshots of her comments to Greg’s business website but it is Greg who has HAPPILY taken his own screenshots and disseminating it to whoever wants to see them or report on them.

I highly recommend everyone interested in this “online war” to read Greg’s post, “Who is Stalking Whom?” You decide for yourself.

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EFF Free Speech

Copyright-Trolls.com Shares The “Many Faces” of the Dash Poet

EFF Free Speech
EFF Free Speech

Robert Krausankas of Copyright-Trolls.com with his inimitable sense of humor has been watching the heated throwdown between Dash Poet (Linda Ellis) on one side vs. April Brown (Author of “Poetic Justice”) and myself, on the other side. He created an amusing collage of photos of the “many faces” of our favorite Dash Poet.  My favorite part of the photo is the one of the little figure on the far left with the green hair.

As a matter of disclosure, Robert Krausankas is a friend to me, April, and Greg Troy (which automatically makes Robert a future target of the Dash Poet). Robert has the distinction of being co-host of many episodes of “The ELI Factor” including the infamous Episode 9 where the Dash Poet is currently “seeding” online  a highly-edited, out-of-context 60-second rant from the infamous 33-minute episode. Robert is also an ELI Forums Administrator & Moderator and a member of the ELI Support Team.

This was and continues to be Robert’s humorous response to my online rants:

https://vimeo.com/117127355

Robert being the HERO web host provider that he is, said this publicly two years ago.

https://vimeo.com/117127354

Robert is a tougher defender of website owner rights than most. Kudos to him for making a stand.

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CABALaw header

CABALaw.org Asks: Why Does the Dash Poet Keeping Taunting Her Supposed Stalker?

cabalaw-headerGreg Troy, blogger of CABALaw.org, has written a very informative blog post with a provocative title, “If Linda Ellis Is Afraid of Matthew Chan As She Claims, Why Does She Keep Taunting Him?”

Before I begin, I want to do a full disclosure that Greg is a friend of mine, ExtortionLetterInfo (ELI) forum administrator & moderator, and a member of the ELI Support Team. I did not ask or instruct him to write this blog post. He did this of his own volition and only shared it with me after he was nearly completed. To be sure, I am grateful for his friendship and ongoing support of me and ELI. I have forewarned him that he places himself at some degree of “reputational risk” by publicly associating his name with mine as well as our mutual support of April Brown, author of “Poetic Justice”.

However, Greg is fearless, loyal, and has chosen to stand by me in my uphill battle to overturn the permanent protective order currently in effect against me. The Dash Poet, Linda Ellis, after firing her veiled threats and warnings to April in an effort to dissuade her from releasing her book, she has now turned her attention to me, her legal nemesis, to retaliate because of my outspoken support and loyalty to April Brown and her book project.

Greg has previously come out in support of April and her book in addition to helping defend April against the Dash Poet’s “smear-and-shame” campaign that appears to have subsided for the time being.

Greg, in his anger over watching has been happening with April and me, enters the fray and unleashes his story recounting some of the significant and dramatic Dash Poet events since 2012. Greg’s post is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn the history of the Dash Poet’s battle with me, April, and ELI. Certainly, many of you have read my version of recent and past events but it is always fascinating to read what someone else writes about you and their recollections. Remember, Greg is a friend but I didn’t write his blog post. This is all his baby and he has a good story to tell.

Greg has “come out” with certain events that I was reluctant to discuss like the recent “shirtless” video incident. Greg came out with it because he knew I was angry about the distortion of the context of the “shirtless” video from a few years ago when I was testing the UStream video streaming service. I didn’t discuss it because it appeared the Dash Poet took down the video very quickly. She took it down so quickly I didn’t have a chance to make a copy of that video. The clip she used was an extremely poor version of the original which has been long deleted. As Greg pointed out, that video “conveniently” blocks out much of the context and description of the video. Fortunately, there was enough to make out what it’s true purpose was, to test a video streaming service, not some secret sex-related video as was seemingly implied by the Dash Poet.

Anyone that knows Greg knows that he is a respectful, polite, mild-mannered guy. But under that demeanor lies a man that isn’t afraid to speak his mind, taking up a cause, and making a stand to support his friends. For that, I am grateful for his loyalty and friendship.

I could write more but I won’t for now. All I want to do is make sure you take the time to read Greg’s provocatively-named post, “If Linda Ellis Is Afraid of Matthew Chan As She Claims, Why Does She Keep Taunting Him?” which is actually quite on the mark.

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April Brown's Poetic Justice

The Dash Poet Plays the “Shame Game” with Author of “Poetic Justice”

poetic justiceIn my continuing series of editorials in defense of April Brown, author of the upcoming book “Poetic Justice: The True Story of The Dash and One Woman’s Quest to End Copyright Extortion and Bullying”, it appears that Dash Poet, Linda Ellis, isn’t afraid of getting her hands dirty and attempt to play the “shame game” with April in an attempt to discourage April from releasing her book. Specifically, Ellis informed April about justfreespeech.com on January 7, 2015. For those of you who have not seen it, you should go visit and see for yourself.

Before I dive in to the current contents of the justfreespeech.com website, I would like to state my belief that this domain and website was actually NOT originally intended for use against April. I believe the original intent of the justfreespeech.com was for me in preparation for a possible unfavorable ruling towards her side by the Georgia Supreme Court. (I expect a decision within the next 90 days of this writing.)

On October 7, 2014, oral argument for my appeal was presented at the Georgia Supreme Court. I had two legal powerhouses appear on my behalf in the form of New York Attorney Oscar Michelen, legal advisor to ExtortionLetterInfo.com (ELI) and Eugene Volokh, First Amendment Legal Scholar and law professor at the UCLA School of Law. The Dash Poet had family lawyer Elizabeth W. McBride and girly Getty Images lawyer, Timothy B. McCormack. Without getting too far off-track, it appeared by my admittedly legally-untrained, non-lawyer eyes, her lawyers did not perform “optimally” on her behalf. You can watch the oral argument yourself and make your own determination.

Interestingly, justfreespeech.com was registered just four days later on October 11, 2014! Perhaps it is only a coincidence but April had not launched any websites or social media accounts for her book until November 2014. Add to the fact that my lawyers and I made substantial arguments on behalf of Internet free speech in my appeal, it seems Ellis may have conceded that free speech might ultimately win the day in court and that she, in turn, was contemplating launching a “Matthew Chan shame-and-smear” website as her revenge upon me not knowing that April would announce her “Poetic Justice” book the month after oral argument concluded. For the few conspiracy theorists who might think that I masterminded the sequence of events, I had nothing to do with the timing of April’s book announcement. In fact, April surprised me when she informed our group that she wasn’t waiting until the New Year to announce. She said she was going to announce BEFORE the turn of the year and she followed through on her promise.

In any case, in the here and now, justfreespeech.com is clearly all about “shaming and smearing” April. But let’s break this down, shall we? April has always been very outspoken in the three years I have known her. She speaks her mind and isn’t afraid to put herself out there. She frequently makes remarks of her own PERCEIVED shortcomings. She talks about the crap she has been through in life, sexism, and having to fight for business success, respect, and independence in her life. She talks about making dumb mistakes she has made along the way. On the flip side, April talks about how she values friendship, loyalty, free speech, camaraderie, empowerment, and righting wrongs in this world. Of course, anyone who knows April knows that she is also not afraid to engage in some shameless, self-promotion as needed. After all, what successful entrepreneur and business person doesn’t indulge in shameless, self-promotion from time to time, right?

Big picture, April discusses BOTH her assets and liabilities, her strengths and weaknesses, her virtues and flaws, the good and the bad. In my eyes, that is called “being real and authentic” unlike the walking hypocrisy that lives within the Dash Poet. Perfection in a person is an absolute lie and myth.

On justfreespeech.com, the Dash Poet attempts to shame April with a comedy video that April herself posted in 2012 to entertain her followers and readership! In fact, April explains the background and history of that 1985 comedy act in the YouTube video description:

My stage name was Brenda Bullet. I loved this routine. My brother Mike served during the VietNam war and he helped me put together this uniform. I’m wearing his army jumpsuit, his hand tooled leather Harley motorcycle belt, his cotton army belt, army boots, and a squirt gun. The Tampon bandelero was my idea. Gotta love the big hair of the 80s.

This job would have been a whole lot easier had I been funny. Obviously I wrote my own material. I thought I was hysterical. You can hear my girlfriend Kathy “Rio” Laird leading the laughter with her own loud laugh after every joke. If she hadn’t been in the room I am sure I would have died.

This was one of the best times of my life. On this night I performed with Arnold Mukai (Milk commercials), Gary Larsen an Geoff somebody. Two weeks later I went to LA and worked at Mitzi Shore’s comedy club. I was scared to death and never did get any better than this. Still, I have some amazing memories. I met Robin Williams, Andrew Dice Clay, Howie Mandel, Richard Belzar, Wanda Sykes, Sandra Bernhart. Roseanne Barr just hit. I met my lifelong girlfriend Kat Simmons who is a successful comedian and animal rights activist. I hung in there for 3 years. I just did not have the talent. Still I will always treasure the memories.

Watch the video that April herself posted online, read April’s description of the video.

You may or may not like April’s comedy but I don’t see her comedy as being any more offensive than Kathy Griffin, Joan Rivers, Lisa Lampenelli, Chelsea Handler, Whoopi Goldberg, Sarah Silverman, Roseanne Barr, and scores of other successful comediennes. I think that is all that needs to be said whether April needs to be “ashamed” or “embarrassed” by her comedy video.

Next up, April had a run-in with an “Appalachian-descendant” neighbor (*snark* for the humor-impaired) that made complaints to Animal Control about one of April’s cats allegedly an “escapee” from Whisker City. Let’s assume it was true that it was one of April’s cats and it got loose and caused some mischief. Let’s assume that the cat was unlicensed. Can anyone tell me of an animal shelter or humane society that uses volunteers who work for free or near-minimum wage that won’t occasionally make a mistake that results in an “escapee”?

Regarding the licensing issue, I think it is safe to say that most municipalities use licensing as a way to generate easy revenues, not a safety issue. In my view, April manages and supports an animal shelter to care for unwanted cats and kittens (often a thankless job) but she also needs to pay a license for each animal on top of that for that “privilege”? April has told me that she often subsidizes Whisker City because she doesn’t spend enough time raising money for Whisker City. So, April periodically takes money from her profitable charity auction business to subsidize Whisker City? If that is the case, Whisker City is TRULY a non-profit. In fact, Whisker City is a MONEY-LOSER for April and yet she soldiers on with the animal shelter because of her love, commitment, and dedication to unwanted cats and kittens. What a terrible woman April is for having dealt with one complaint.

I have never seen any photos or videos of Whisker City before but it appears that April has an online webcam she regularly uses to monitor her feline tenants. I was stunned by the video I have seen. April’s cats and kittens live a life of luxury! I have been to many animal shelters and few look as clean, spacious, and as luxurious as the one shown by April’s webcam. I am embarrassed to say that the room her cats and kitten live in are cleaner and more organized than my own room!

Regarding the threat of “exposing” the finances of Whisker City, it appears to be a matter of public record. I am certainly not an expert on non-profit, charity finances but from what little I know, 98% of expenses spent on program services is actually quite phenomenal. I have been told that 90% is the benchmark for charities. It means that a good charity should direct MOST of its money to providing the services and benefits it advertises, not into management and administration. Without looking at the details of her accounting, only 2% of money spent is being used for management and administration of Whisker City. It is notable that Blue Sky Charities was established in 1995! It has been around for a solid 20 years.

All in all, if the Dash Poet’s only “dirt” into April’s 20-year charity is last year’s complaint, I think she is doing great. No one operates any business or project of any consequence in the public eye for 20-years and not get a complaint by someone.

Regarding the insinuations of April’s “illegal wiretapping” recording a law officer, it appears the Dash Poet once again needs some enlightenment. She has apparently not heard of the huge outrage over Ferguson’s Michael Brown or NYC’s Eric Garner killing incidents. She has missed the memo that it is entirely legal to video-record law enforcement officers doing their job as long as it doesn’t endanger the officers or prevent them from doing their jobs.  There is an abundance of “unauthorized” and “secret” recordings of police officers on YouTube and they are entirely legal. There are both interior and exterior videos, first-person and third-person videos, videos where officers “know” they are being recorded, and other videos where officers are under “secret” surveillance. They are all legal. It is actually good advice to record any interactions and confrontations you have with law enforcement officers to prevent any mischaracterizations or erroneous testimony. That is why police departments all over the U.S. are being encouraged to use body-cams partially as a result of the outrage of Ferguson’s Michael Brown and NYC’s Eric Garner police killings. Video recording any potential conflicts with law enforcement is a smart thing to do and highly recommended, not a “bad” thing to be “ashamed”.

In conclusion, anyone with any intelligence looking at the bigger picture can see the “smearing and shaming” of April on justfreespeech.com is one HUGE FAIL and actually makes the Dash Poet look quite small and desperate. Fortunately for her, she has her Chinese Wall in place to shield her Dash readers from what is truly going on.

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April Brown's Poetic Justice

Is the Dispute Between “Poetic Justice” Author, April Brown and the Dash Poet Truly a “Catfight”?

poetic justiceThe heated battle between April Brown, author of “Poetic Justice”, and Linda Ellis, of the infamous “Dash Poem Extortion Scheme” was recently reignited when April went public and began marketing her first book “Poetic Justice: The True Story of The Dash and One Woman’s Quest to End Copyright Extortion and Bullying”. Since January 7, 2015, Ellis has launched two websites (justfreespeech.com and lindalogic.com) in addition to directly confronting on April’s “Get Poetic Justice” Facebook page to deter April Brown from releasing her upcoming book.

April’s dispute with Ellis began in early 2012 when Ellis, without any warning, demanded thousands of dollars through an extortion letter from April for innocently sharing The Dash poem with her readers. Unlike the average cowardly and legally-ignorant Dash Poem extortion victim, April fought back by complaining loudly and publicly. It was one of April’s tweets from early 2012 that brought April and her plight to my attention as founder of ExtortionLetterInfo.com (ELI).

It was when I investigated April’s claims in 2012 did I find out more about the underlying details that most people would not ask for nor would they have access to. Unbeknownst to the public, April and Ellis engaged in heated email arguments where personal insults were traded. Those emails from 2012 have been made available on Greg Troy’s (ELI Team Member) website. Ellis made legal threats against April (which ultimately proved to be a bluff). Ellis contacted April’s husband and her business associates. Ellis also used the Google Adwords program to tarnish April’s online reputation. Understandably, April didn’t take kindly to Ellis’ over-the-top tactics to collect “damages” and it infuriated April more.

In 2012, I launched the Linda Ellis/Linda Lyrics/ Dash Poem Forum that gave April, the ELI Community, and other Dash Poem extortion letter victims an online platform to air their complaints and comments, share stories, and discuss strategies to combat the Dash Poem extortion letters. Unfortunately, this forum is not currently available. It was ordered shut down by an over-reaching stalking protective order issued by a small town judge that did not seem to understand how Section 230 of the CDA and the First Amendment applies to Internet speech. Using a court order to take that forum down upset April, among many others, greatly. (That over-reaching protective is currently under appeal with the Georgia Supreme Court and I expect a ruling within the next few months.)

April’s personal journey from receiving the Dash Poem extortion letter, the personal email arguments, Ellis aggressive tactics of taking down April’s YouTube account, becoming involved with ELI and the Dash Poem forum only to have it taken down by court order, counseling scores of Dash Poem extortion letter victims and listening to their plight, seeing all the victims’ emails received by Ellis’ “copyright henchman” John W. Jolin’s email communications, and watching me get dragged through the legal system and subsequent appeal, became all too much for April to bear and to sit silently. The seeming separate and disparate incidents in April’s life led her to the thought that she wanted to write a book about her personal journey, the legal danger of using the Dash Poem, and the plights and complaints from Dash Poem extortion letter victims.

Similar to myself, April’s personal journey and life experiences are more involved that what the general public knows. Only a small group of April’s supporters and friends know the larger story. Ellis seems to ignorantly believe that April is obsessed with her. Any author who chooses a subject to write and research on would reasonably immerse themselves and deeply research all the information available to them. Celebrity biographer, Kitty Kelly, spends months and years to research her subjects’ backgrounds, conduct personal interviews, compile stories, and organize information for her books. Would anyone consider what Kitty Kelly did for her book “obsessive”? What April is doing is no different except for the fact that April has had direct personal experience with Ellis and that Ellis did make a a personally, intrusive effort against April to collect monies for her extortion letter scheme.

Ellis will likely argue that she is not a public figure or celebrity. However, her poem has become a viral literary phenomenon since the mid-1990’s. And because of this, unsuspecting and well-intended sharers of her poem are, without any warning, being suddenly demanded to pay thousands of dollars of their ignorant, but generally well-intended sharing of the Dash poem. Ellis may not be a public figure, but her “no-warning, pay thousands of dollars for the sharing of a poem” absolutely SCREAMS for public attention and public warning. Hence, April’s very appropriate mantra and rallying cry against the legally-dangerous Dash Poem “BEWARE, DON’T SHARE!”

I explain all of this because April anticipates that the general public will dismiss the heated dispute between April and Ellis (two strong-willed but philosophically-opposite women) as a “catfight”. This heated dispute has both personal and professional dimensions that transcends a stereotypical “catfight” where two women are fighting over a male suitor. If it were only that simple. Philosophically, the two women come from very different life experiences, mindsets, and philosophies. Ellis publicly asserts she doesn’t understand April’s strong ill and hostile feelings towards her for pursuing “damages” from what is “rightfully” hers. The reality is that April’s ill feelings toward Ellis has accumulated over the years. While April has little concern about herself and the extortion letter she received from Ellis in 2012, the onslaught of cries, anger, and complaints from Dash Poem extortion letter victims, Ellis & Jolin’s various tactics to suppress information and victim complaints, efforts to shut down April’s YouTube account, my legal battle against Ellis, in addition to other personal events have greatly influenced April’s decision to publish this book.

Let me be clear, I am a biased party. I make no apologies for it. I am not a 3rd-party reporter but I do have access to information and April that most reporters will never get. I also understand and relate to April in many ways that many don’t. We are both entrepreneurial, passionate, no-nonsense, unconventional, rebellious, independent-minded, and not afraid of “putting it out there” when necessary. The fact of the matter is, at this early stage, no reporter gives a shit about this story because this is a non-story for most of the general public. But the label of “catfight” will inevitably come and this article is my response to that assertion.

I can hear it now, why doesn’t April just “let it go and go on with her life”? I can’t speak for April but I do have insights into her character and personality. Whether you agree with April or not is that her life experiences have shaped her and she has a right to tell her story. She explains some of these experiences in her book. April is an activist. April is a successful charity auctioneer and so it is part of her business to help raise money and become involved with various charities and causes. April has for many years actively operated and managed Whisker City, her Seattle-based, non-profit efforts to care for unwanted cats and kittens. April continues to donate her time to counsel Dash Poem victims. April spends time as an ELI team member supporting me in winning the appeal against Ellis’ to overturn the over-reaching stalking protective order against me. All the while, April manages, markets, and operates her charity auction business.

April has told me she experienced sexism since she was a young woman and has fought hard over the years to gain the position, success, respect, and independence she has today. She has told me she has been a loner many times in her life. Using April’s own words, she “loves” the kinship, camaraderie, intelligence, passion, creativity, and mission of ELI to stop copyright extortion and especially its eclectic members of which I am the “figurehead”. (I really should not claim to be the “leader” as dealing with strong-willed, independent-minded ELI members are like herding cats!) Given the totality of April’s life experiences and her association with ELI members (especially me), it was inevitable the next stage in her personal and professional growth was to become a book author. As an author of several book and audio titles myself, I support her goal to become a book author. Contrary to what some might think, April has aspirations to write other books, not “obsess” over Ellis and the legally-dangerous-to-share Dash poem. This book project is April selecting what she personally knows that others need to be informed and warned about.

What Ellis doesn’t appear to realize is that her and Jolin’s ongoing efforts to heavy-handedly “control” the Dash poem, her critics, extracting disproportionate payments from scores of legally-ignorant victims without any warning for innocent sharing, and initiating legal action against me, Ellis’ has given birth to so much material and stories within April’s book. (As a side note, one day [win, lose, or draw], I plan on writing my own book about the Ellis v. Chan / Chan v. Ellis legal saga.)

Clearly, there are two sides of the story in the heated dispute between April and Ellis. One being told by April and her supporters such as myself and one told by Ellis (who uses a Chinese wall to shield her readership of April’s book). April is determined to tell her side of the story through using a book platform. Understandably, Ellis is unnerved by April’s upcoming book. But Ellis herself has largely created the “monster” that will become the “Poetic Justice” book.

Some might want to label this dispute as a “catfight” between April and Ellis. The truth of the matter is that there is a whole lot more to the story. April is on a mission of personal growth, advocacy, education, and empowerment by publishing her book. What was unexpected is that Ellis would so personally and directly initiate attacks against April’s credibility before reading one word of the new book.

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April Brown's Poetic Justice

The Courage & Fortitude of April Brown, Author of “Poetic Justice”

poetic justiceIt has been totally unexpected that the Dash Poet, Linda Ellis, began her one-woman campaign against April Brown as “warnings” to be cautious in what she writes about Ms. Ellis in the book “Poetic Justice”. It goes without saying that stating opinions, no matter how disagreeable or politically incorrect it might be, is perfectly legal. It is also perfectly appropriate for an author like April to convey stories told to her by other victims of the The Dash Poem Extortion Scheme.

What is interesting is the direct approach Ms. Ellis is taking and the fortitude of April to stand up against her and even ALLOW Ms. Ellis’ outspoken protests, declarations, and veiled threats to release potentially unflattering personal information. Ms. Ellis is well within her rights to publish any unflattering information about April she might have. But April also does not have to allow Ms. Ellis protestations all over April’s websites and social media accounts. April has every right to delete all Ms. Ellis comments and ban her from visiting any of April’s websites and accounts and essentially give her the digital boot out.

What is unusual and courageous is that April appears to be taking a stand and allowing Ms. Ellis to “do her worse”. All the while, April is directly engaging Ms. Ellis. Honestly, I have an online reputation for being controversial, unpleasant, and being a hard-ass but I am not sure I would or could allow an “enemy” into my web space to say whatever they want as April has.

I admire April for taking a strong stand and directly confronting “the enemy” and challenging her to do her worse. April has her supporters and friends. I consider myself one of them. It appears a hornet’s nest has been stirred. The question is whose nest is being stirred here?  Is it Ms. Ellis’ or is it April’s nest that is being stirred?

The Dash Poet lives a hypocritical life and actively hides the details of her copyright extortion victims. She pitifully tries to put up a Chinese wall between her poetry marketing business and the highly profitable copyright extortion business. It only works because much of clientele are probably happy to live in la-la land being “inspired” by a woman who actively uses heavily-Photoshopped 15-20 year old photos on her websites.  But I digress. I am of the opinion the copyright extortion business is highly lucrative and profitable to be able to support the livelihood of “copyright henchman”, John W. Jolin. Having met and questioned him face-to-face in court, he is definitely not a minimum wage guy.  He needs to make more money to sustain his impressively “roundish” physical stature. He is not a dumb guy (mostly).

The Dash Poet delicately informs her “snowflake and butterfly” readership that she is engaging in the legal activity of copyright enforcement. What she doesn’t inform them is that she asks for $7,500 a pop going after churches, non-profits, medical/dental practices, funeral homes, and other organizations that are drawn to the Dash Poem. Nearly everyone I speak to cringes at the notion of paying up to $7,500 for unintentionally infringing on a poem by sharing it. There is a lot of wisdom in April’s mantra “Beware, Don’t Share” especially when it comes to the Dash Poem. To do so, invites too much unpleasantness of dealing with Mr. & Mrs. Shrek (Jolin & Ellis).

Ms. Ellis wants to play dumb and innocent and can’t understand the outrage and disdain April Brown (and many others including myself) finds what she does and asks for extortionate. Let us not forget that John W. Jolin regularly lies on behalf of Ms. Ellis for a living threatening to “escalate” matters in a game of chicken with legally ignorant Dash Poem victims that are already ripe to be victimized because of their innate fear of speaking out and conflict, in general.

April Brown has and continues to do more for Dash Poem Extortion victims working for free than I can ever or be willing to do. I simply find it difficult to respect some of the victims who are too legally ignorant to stand up for themselves and speak out in a country where free speech is a protected right.

Once again, April is doing something I am not sure I could do, go head to head with her “enemy” and letting that enemy sound off on April”s website and social media accounts. I think it takes a good amount of courage and internal fortitude to withstand the presence of an enemy. However, perhaps the true reward for April will come when the Dash Poet meets Streisand and the Dash Poet inadvertently helps promote the very book she wants to prevent from ever being released.

There is no question, the Dash Poet will be among the first customers to buy a copy to find out what has been written about her and what secrets have been uncovered. I have read several drafts and there are good stories to read.

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April Brown's Poetic Justice

Dash Poet “Stalks” Author in Effort to Suppress Book Release of “Poetic Justice”

poetic justiceThis is not how I wanted to introduce or discuss my friend’s and loyal supporter’s, April Brown’s, upcoming book “Poetic Justice”. However, an unexpected turn of events began January 7, 2015 when I was notified that my alleged “stalkee”, Linda Ellis of Dash Poem fame, had become an “online stalker of sorts” of April Brown. Unlike my case, where all of my flamboyant, controversial (and occasionally outrageous) commentary about the Dash Poet, Linda Ellis, was posted entirely on my own website, ExtortionLetterInfo.com (ELI) for MY audience and readership to read which led Ms. Ellis’ to pursue a “stalking protective order” against me. Today, we now find that that the alleged “stalkee” has become April Brown’s “stalker”.

It was brought to my attention that Ms. Ellis made a blog post on what appears to be a new website lindalogic.com entitled “Obsession”. Because of her well-known propensity to first post knee-jerk comments then late retract them or edit them only a short time later, I felt it wise to make a few screen captures. After all, in her case against me, she and her “wonderfully brilliant” lawyer, Elizabeth W. McBride, used intentionally-bastardized screenshots (incomplete, out-of-context, highly-selective, blocked out sections) to build a case against me. However, I need not stoop to that level. I am perfectly comfortable keeping everything in context in discussing Ms. Ellis’ current “stalking” of April Brown.

April Brown is a woman I “met” initially through Twitter in early 2012. To make a long story short, April and I first became acquaintances. But over time we developed a sense of camaraderie, mutual respect, and friendship especially when ELI and I became drawn into legal battle against Ms. Ellis in early 2013 where I was compelled to defend myself against her ridiculous stalking accusations. While I am not going sidetrack by detailing what transpired in the courtroom, (suffice it to say, that it was extremely beneficial for Ms. Ellis to portray herself as a tearful, middle-aged mother who was allegedly “protecting” her adult daughter and intellectual property in front of a local judge who show no little or no interest or knowledge of Section 230 of the CDA or even the First Amendment as it relates to Internet speech).

In a swift 10-minute “quiet and thoughtful” decision-making process by the judge, Ms. Ellis got herself a PERMANENT (lifetime) protective order against me which would have been fine with me EXCEPT that the genius of Elizabeth W. McBride (and legal super-heroine) wanted to take advantage of my non-lawyer status by adding two paragraphs in the protective order that directed me to wipe away nearly 2,000 other non-threatening, informative commentary and posts (many of which I did not write) from ELI AND to forbid me from ever speaking ABOUT Ms. Ellis ever again on my own website! Suffice it to say, the apparent conspiracy between Columbus attorney Elizabeth W. McBride and the local judge essentially guaranteed I was going to file an appeal but I was going to have break out the “big guns” in the form of my friend, business associate, and lawyer, Oscar Michelen (who without my asking volunteered his legal expertise on my behalf) in addition to William J. McKenney.

Ms. Ellis in her inimitable, hypocritical, self-righteous style and her alleged “fear” of me managed to coax out two distorted media stories against me by PDN and Marietta Daily Journal that actually said I was a “cult leader”. However, it didn’t take long for us to rebut those ridiculous stories in the form of our own media coverage from Ars Technica, TechDirt, EFF, DMLP, etc. who saw the truth of the over-reaching protective order as outright violations of Section 230 of the CDA as well as my free speech rights. You can find the list of “our” media coverage here.

The reason I summarize my story is that it is now ironic for me to watch Ms. Ellis seemingly chase April Brown around the Internet and directly, actively posting on April’s websites and social media accounts that discuss April’s upcoming book, “Poetic Justice”.

“Poetic Justice” is April’s behind-the-scenes telling and recounting of her personal journey as a result of becoming Ms. Ellis first, very outspoken, sassy, and passionate extortion letter victim. To the best of my knowledge, no other extortion letter victim has ever responded and fought back against Ms. Ellis as loudly and vocally as April. Additionally, scores of extortion letter victims since 2012 have turned to April who has freely given of her time, energy, and knowledge to educate others on how the Dash Poem Extortion Letter operation works which includes her pudgy and follically-challenged co-hort. John W. Jolin.

April Brown needs no one to defend her but I do so because Ms. Ellis continues to attempt to “tarnish” the reputations of people like April who are my friends, business associates, supporters, and allies of me, ELI, Section 230 CDA, and the First Amendment by tying the overreaching stalking protective order and underhandedly and misleadingly implying that I am a criminally-convicted stalker serving some punishment. Rest assured, that isn’t even close to being true. I have been free to go about my business since the protective order was issued and the whole legal incident has become a gift and lifted the ELI Community, website, and everyone associated with it in ways we could never have foreseen. It has brought us into contact with media, activists, and legal scholars I never could have met on my own. Win, lose, or draw, it has been a great life experience and a greatly unifying event for everyone involved.

As I see it, April Brown has the right to write and publish her own book “Poetic Justice” about her life experiences as a consequence of Ms. Ellis’ instigated actions. This has entirely been April’s brainchild. However, as a self-publisher, I was happy to give counsel and advice to April as she occasionally requested. While I am not April’s book publisher, I have made every effort to communicate and convey to April the necessity to be as accurate as possible and to be clear about what is fact and what is her opinion. She has hired a number of editors to re-read and critique her book. April has a right to express her opinions about Ms. Ellis, her copyright extortion operation, and the people who assist her.

It now appears that Ms. Ellis is conducting a one-woman campaign to dissuade and discourage April from releasing her book. This is quite ironic given the fact that Ms. Ellis has used her website justfreespeech.com to “motivate” and “encourage” April to rethink her plans to release the book by making veiled threats to publish potentially unflattering information about April. However, April, as long as I have known her, has never tried to make herself out to be a perfect human being. April is a smart, determined, passionate, creative, unorthodox, outspoken, no-nonsense business woman that takes no prisoners when provoked and attacked. She is extremely loyal and supportive to those she considers her friends. I relate to her and understand her on all of these characteristics. Nevertheless in her new book, April expresses her disapproval and disdain for Ms. Ellis, her poem, and most of all, her copyright extortion operation.

Ms. Ellis, has so far, made her presence directly known and directly engaged April on her book’s Facebook page, the book’s website getpoeticjustice.com, and Ms. Ellis’ own first-person comments directed to April:

APRIL:  As you read this and copy, paste and twist whatever sentences best fit your lies, know that in my heart I feel nothing but empathy for you.  Your actions have done more good than the harm you’d intended as I am now focused on helping other stalking victims.  

I continue to pray that God will bless you with something in your life important that you can focus your energy toward, something that will enable you to devote the time you have left on earth to loving, positive things.

Ms. Ellis has conveniently “lifted” a photo that I own and displayed that image on her website.

eli-groupThe good news for her is that she chose a nice-looking, flattering photo of me, my friends, and business associates. To the best of my knowledge, everyone in the photo is comfortable with it and have no problems being “shown off” to the world. Incidentally, the photo was taken in Atlanta on October 7, 2014 after the oral argument session at the Georgia Supreme Court.  I supposed if I felt motivated, I could have my lawyer send her a $7,500 extortion letter to see how she would respond to it.

Personally, I like that we are happy people fighting the good fight against copyright extortionists. Many people love us for it. The thanks and gratitude we receive from extortion letter victims is ongoing.

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