For those interested in following the progress of my appeal currently with the Georgia Supreme Court as well as learning the history of this case, I have presented a table of essential appellate court case documents here.
Oral Argument Videos: October 7, 2014 – Downtown Atlanta. (Oscar Michelen & Eugene Volokh arguing for Appellant Matthew Chan, Elizabeth W. (Betsy) McBride & Timothy B. McCormack for Appellee Linda Ellis)
A complete listing of all court documents including letters, pleadings, press releases, and other minor court documents can be found in the Matthew Chan v. Linda Ellis Georgia Appeal collection on Scribd.
Because the Georgia Supreme Court only allows public viewing of any oral argument video for 30-45 days, I made special arrangements to preserve and host the Chan v. Ellis Georgia Georgia Supreme Court Oral Argument video from October 7, 2014 at 2pm.
In attendance in support of Appellant (Matthew Chan) were: Oscar Michelen, Eugene Volokh, Darren Summerville. Unseen attendees in the audience were: Greg Troy, Robert Krausankas, April Brown, Matthew Chan, and Stinger.
In attendance in support of Appellee (Linda Ellis) were: Elizabeth W. (Betsy) McBride, Timothy B. McCormack. Unseen attendees in the audience were: Linda Ellis, John W. Jolin.
The Complete Uncut Oral Argument (41-minutes)
For those who prefer to watch each segment separately or specific segments, there are five videos representing each distinct presentation.
1. Opening & Oscar Michelen (10-minutes)
2. Eugene Volokh (8-minutes)
3. Elizabeth W. (Betsy) McBride (11-minutes)
4. Timothy B. McCormack (9-minutes)
5. Oscar Michelen Rebuttal & Adjournment (2-minutes)
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.
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.
Copyright-Trolls: Several sections of this website that humorously discuss and comments on Linda Ellis, John W. Jolin, and the Linda’s Lyrics / Dash Poem Copyright Infringement / Settlement Demand Letters.
Poetry Trolls: This entire website is devoted to Linda Ellis’ / Linda’s Lyrics / Dash Poem Copyright Infringement Settlement Demand Letters.
LETroll:Mini-website dedicated to victims of the Linda Ellis / Linda’s Lyrics / Dash Poem Copyright Infringement Settlement Demand Letters.
April Brown: This section of April Brown’s website discusses Linda Ellis, John W. Jolin, and the Linda’s Lyrics / Dash Poem Copyright Infringement Settlement Demand Letters.
Get Poetic Justice: April Brown has launched a new book titled “Poetic Justice” about Linda Ellis, her copyright enforcement scheme, and her victims’ stories. There is also a “Get Poetic Justice” Facebook page devoted to that book project.
ABA Journal: Scorned as ‘copyright troll,’ poet fights back in verse
Jewish Federations: Citing Poem Leads Synagogue Into Treacherous Legal Waters
Connecting Directors: Living in “The Dash” is getting Funeral Homes Fined $7,500
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 Callprogram.
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.
I wrote an Amazon book review of the paperback version of April Brown’s “Poetic Justice”. It felt a bit strange to do so considering I am a “character” in her book, and some of my own story overlaps with April’s story. I reviewed some early versions of certain chapters. But to see the completed book package is still very impressive to me. I did financially support the project by paying full price for my copy of the paperback. I give disclosure of my light involvement and relationship to the book.
===========
The Very First Book on Copyright Extortion and the Dash Poem.
As a disclaimer and full disclosure, I am one of the “characters” frequently mentioned in April Brown’s new book but I am also a legitimate buyer / customer of the book because I advanced purchased the book at full price directly from April to support this project.
I can confidently say for myself and many others, that no one ever imagined the Dash Poem would affect so many people in unexpected ways. Since 2012, I have watched April Brown’s personal journey and becoming, by default, the most outspoken victim advocate on behalf of the “Dash Poem Extortion” victims I have ever seen. It is the premise of “Poetic Justice.” And “Poetic Justice” is also the culmination of her personal journey through this.
When you do Google searches on the “Dash Poem Extortion” all roads point to April Brown. It is inescapable simply because no one has taken on the role of victim advocate as vocally as April has. Linda Ellis wrote a poem in the mid-1990’s that has been mentioned in countless websites and media sources. In today’s vernacular, it would be called a “viral” poem. But that viral poem has a very dark and ugly side to it.
If you share the poem on your website, you run the high risk of becoming a victim of the “Dash Poem Copyright Extortion”. What is truly amazing is this “extortion” operation is run by only two people operating from their respective homes. And yet, the terror and fear they strike into so many people and organizations is astounding. April thoroughly describes the details in her book.
I have reported and spoken out on the issue of copyright extortion since 2008. But until 2012, I never knew there was such a thing as “poem copyright extortion”. In fact, I was initially skeptical of April’s claims and didn’t believe that such a small operation run by a housewife could paralyze so many people and organizations into silence and fear that they do and successfully generate tens of thousands of dollars per year for Linda. Again, April describes the beginnings of the community that would become her friends and allies as a victims’ advocate.
My early role in this is that I extended April a communication platform and invitation to my online community. I then attempted (without much success) to be a victim advocate for “Dash Poem Extortion” victims. It turns out I was not a good victims’ advocate in this situation because I did not relate to this particular group of victims’ irrational fears where I was publicly critical of their cowardice. But April was the one constant throughout the months and years.
In my one attempt to directly assist a victim from a $100,000 extortion letter in 2012, I inadvertently placed myself in the line of fire. Because of my very outspoken writings that allegedly “threatened” Linda, Linda took legal action against me in February 2013 in a way no one ever foresaw. April describes the legal drama that would unfold in the next two years.
April, already unhappy with being a victim and hearing dozens of victim stories, suddenly watched in horror, disgust, and anger that I (a friend, supporter, ally, and online community leader) become “victimized” by Linda. Linda utilized the local court and a court order to shut down the one important communication platform April and many others used to share information with others about the “Dash Poem extortion”. April suddenly became the lone victims’ advocate again, publicly.
After battling through two appellate courts for two long years, I ultimately prevailed. Behind-the-scenes out of the public eye, April was there and she is one of the most important allies and supporters I had during this time. She watched it all happen and describes it all from her perspective. Of course, my portion of the story is one small piece among many people’s stories told in the book.
The “Poetic Justice” book is about April’s journey and her story. It is the very first book that discusses the phenomenon of copyright extortion. April writes her accounts and stories of the many people who have intersected and come into her life. She shares her experiences in fighting Linda, the “Dash Poem copyright extortion”, her personal observations and opinions of Linda, and ultimately brings the seemingly array of unrelated people and events together into one compelling narrative.
Even though I was there for certain portions described in her book, it is still fascinating to read her accounting of all the disparate, intertwining events since 2011. It is worth your time to read this book. I recommend it. I think you will be amazed, angered, shocked, and surprised by the revelations as it relates to the famous (and now also infamous) Dash Poem.
For 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.
.
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.
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!
I am happy to announce that I am probably the first “victim” to have ever made Linda Ellis, Author of the Dash Poem, pay real money to one of her victims as partial recompense for the unnecessary aggravation and legal shenanigans she and her side causes and engages in.
Last month, I received a money order from Linda Ellis as payment to recover some of my appellate costs which was entitled to me. It was not an automatic process. I filed a motion in April 2015 asking the court for a judgment against Linda to collect appellate costs, and that motion was incorrectly responded by her lawyer Elizabeth W. (Betsy) McBride in May 2015 claiming a full payment. But because Linda seems to enjoy engaging in passive-aggressive behavior against me (and her lawyer Betsy once again doesn’t check Linda’s “facts”), Linda shorted me payment by $0.01. I took the high road and chose not to have the Court “force” Linda to pay that $0.01. But as far as I am concerned, she still owes me that $0.01. It’s obvious that I don’t really care about that $0.01 as much as getting the facts correct. This is yet one more thing that Linda and Betsy gets wrong.
.
While I am not one of her copyright extortion victims, I now consider myself a legal victim of Linda Ellis. She managed to get a bogus lifetime stalking protective order against me in 2013 using heavily modified, obscured, distorted, out-of-context forum posts against me (some which I never made to begin with!) to give the impression that I was a physical “danger” to her and her family. She was so desperate to shut me and the ELI Community up by portraying herself in court as a helpless fear-fraught female against me, a boisterous, opinionated, highly-critical, outspoken activist male blogger. And yet, she and her “employee” John W. Jolin, have no problems whatsoever demanding (“extorting”) thousands of dollars from others for the innocent sharing of her poem. They insinuate they “might” file a copyright infringement lawsuit to anyone who don’t pay. With only one exception (against a convict, Aronson, many years ago), she has never successfully filed a copyright infringement lawsuit on anyone.)
The Georgia Supreme Court saw through the bogus story, Linda and her lawyers, Betsy and Timothy B. McCormack were trying to peddle. This was made abundantly clear on October 7, 2014 when these two so-called lawyers made a ridiculously embarrassing and poor showing at the Chan v. Ellis oral argument.
The difference between me and 97% of her legally ignorant, cowardly victims is that I refuse to shut up and stay silent. After all these years, it has only been my friend and author of “Poetic Justice”, April Brown, and a very few special individuals who has ever spoken out in a big way and make a stand against Linda and Jackass John W. Jolin. Many of Linda’s victims will forever stay her victims by the ridiculous cowering in fear of her and Jackass Jolin. I, on the other hand, am not fearful of Linda or John. Even when I was under the protective order, I was aggravated and pissed at them, not fearful. To find out more about John Jolin’s latest shenanigans, I encourage you to visit copyright-trolls.com for the latest discoveries uncovered by Robert Krausankas.
My appeal case was not a silent affair where I huddled in a small, dark room depending and praying for my lawyer to miraculously save me. I was entirely active and deeply involved throughout the entire two-year process. I did not let a detail like my being a non-lawyer from getting into the trenches. I had eyes, ears, brain, mouth, telephone, computer, keyboard, email, and Internet connection, I was going to use everything I had access to. I was not passive. I was constantly thinking, analyzing, brainstorming, strategizing, and trying out offbeat ideas to fight back.
Linda hated all the critical and insulting dialog on the Linda Ellis / Linda Lyrics / Dash Poem Letter Forum launched in 2012. She managed (through her court-submitted evidence manipulations) to shut that forum down in March 2013. (It has since been restored as a READ-ONLY forum in April 2015). But because of my unanimous legal win at the Georgia Supreme Court, this stage of the legal fight is over. However, I do not take things for granted. Linda is probably pissed that she had to pay my appellate costs and I am guessing that is why she shorted me $0.01. If it was an intentional passive-aggressive act on her part, it has obviously backfired. My supporters and I remain vigilant. It is never over until it is truly over.
I do not trust Linda or her lawyers, My supporters help me maintain a watchful eye on them. I think they should know by now if they want to reinstate any legal or reputational attacks against me or my team in any way, they can expect us to rally and engage in a very hard and public fight.
Linda may have been legally ignorant in some aspects of the ordeal we went through but her two lawyers SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER. This was ENTIRELY PREVENTABLE. They were either too STUPID or they tried to TAKE ADVANTAGE of me as a non-lawyer. I think I have shown that I might be a legally-uneducated non-lawyer but I managed to rally pretty well by being determined, creative, and resourceful. As I said two years ago, I don’t fight alone. And if I do have to fight alone, it won’t necessarily be pretty.
I may not be a copyright extortion victim of Linda’s but her copyright extortion victims can take some solace that someone (me!) was finally able to make Linda pay real money for her years of legally intimidating and financially extorting people. The image of that Linda Ellis’ money order payment to me will be preserved for many years to come.
Make no mistake, what she paid me is a tiny reimbursement compared to the collective time, energy, and resources that was gathered and galvanized to get to this stage.
On 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:
Do take down the Dash Poem.
Do not respond to any demands for payment.
Do not be afraid. (I would also add another sentence to this point, “Get Educated”)
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.
Greg 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.
It seems I just can’t stay away from April Brown, author of “Poetic Justice”. There seems to be something new happening almost every day for the past week that requires me to discuss or write about April. Before too long, people are going to think I have an “obsession” for April. For now, the current accusation by the Dash Poet is that April is “obsessed” with her because April decided to write a book about her. My thinking is that when your email inbox and phone rings nearly every week for the last two years from strangers wanting to complain about the Dash Poet, her henchman John W. Jolin, or one of her nasty $7,500 extortion letters, it doesn’t make it easy to ignore. There is just something a tad bit annoying about listening to unhappy stories from people being scared into paying thousands of dollars just because you liked a poem enough to post on a website.
It also doesn’t help that my legal battle has been going on for two years of which April felt partially responsible (she’s not) that I got hit with this ordeal. April cannot help that we have a legally uninformed boob of a poet that has little PR sense that you don’t try to sue a website owner for posts SOMEONE ELSE makes or when someone says something disagreeable and hurts her feelings. Bad things happen when you try that sort of nonsense in a courtroom and it gets found out. The interwebs absolutely HATE it. The Dash Poet has gotten a spanking by the tech media for it.
As obnoxious and “potty-mouthed” as I occasionally can be, people hate copyright extortionists a whole lot more. My biggest “crime” is that I speak out too loudly and obnoxiously against copyright extortionists. I call them names, make fun of them, and I am just mean to them online. I hurt their feelings by writing about their ongoing shenanigans and report publicly-accessible information. And the Dash Poet still does the “stalkie-talkie” trying to convince her airy-fairy, artsy-fartsy, behind-the-Chinese-wall readership of how she is so frightened of me and needs to take a stand against “cyberbullies”. All the while, she loves to get her little digs in on me trying to ding my credibility and reputation.
Oh sure, after being single for years and meeting scores of women without ever having one “stalking” accusation, I am suddenly going to start “stalking” some random older woman in a city I don’t live in and have never met because I am bored. Sure, that is believable. I am the only “stalker” in this world who never visited, met, phoned, emailed, faxed, text-messaged, or social media-ed their alleged victim.
When people ask me “what is the deal with the stalking stuff? I tell them that some woman in Marietta who sends $7,500 extortion letters to people for sharing a poem didn’t like it when I started “talking lots of shit” online in trying to help a guy with a $100,000 extortion letter. It’s kind of amazing how quickly they hop off the “stalkie-talkie” part to a WTF reaction over $7,500 letters for sharing a poem online much less a $100,000 letter. So, yeah, I am THAT GUY the Dash Poet constantly “cries” about during her “stalkie-talkie” sessions of how fearful she is.
And although I already have a wonderful girlfriend, the Dash Poet is trying to “matchmaker” me and April to make us a permanent item by “marrying” us online. If you look at the “language warning” clip, you can see how my friend, Robert, and I having a video conference in that “harassment” video? Well, according to the Dash Poet, April is somehow responsible for my rants in that video and it is part of her larger conspiracy although she isn’t anywhere in that video when we made the recording. And Robert and I dared to make the video without any involvement or permission from April. That became my supposed “harassment” video.
I suppose April and I can have an online relationship while my current girlfriend and I have an offline one. I should probably confess that I am also a part-time gigolo for April. April is always offering to pay me to provide business services for her. *wink* She sometimes outright gives me money when she is in the mood without ever being asked. How wonderful is a woman like that? She likes to help pay for my expenses such as court costs, travel expenses, office expenses, etc. (most of my lawyer fees were free for me thanks to my legal advisor, Oscar Michelen and First Amendment legal scholar, Eugene Volokh).
April is pretty generous so maybe I probably SHOULD let the Dash Poet “marry” April to me. There are far worse women to be associated with I can assure you. What do all of you think? Should I allow the “Dash Poet” to marry April to me or should I take steps to “break up” with April? What a freaking pickle I am now in. How the hell do I get out of this relationship with April? *wink*
This 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.
The 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.
In this 9-minute video, Seattle Attorney Timothy B. McCormack tries to convince the Justices of the Georgia Supreme Court (in the Chan v. Ellis appeals case) why I cannot be allowed to exercise my First Amendment rights to speak out against copyright extortionists such as he and Linda Ellis, poet-author of the Dash Poem, anywhere on the Internet. He shows his legal ignorance and desperation to shut me down.
He flew in from Seattle to Atlanta for the sole purpose to try to legally shut me up on a website I own and operate. Does he think we live in China or North Korea?
This video speaks volumes about him, his legal knowledge, his intelligence, and his supposed talents as a lawyer. Also, note the tone, questions, comments, and reactions from the Justices of the Georgia Supreme Court.
The Georgia Supreme Court website has posted the oral argument video for public viewing. I am currently reserving personal commentary for the time being. But believe me, LOTS of personal commentary by me and my supporters will be trickling out in the weeks and months to come. Although I continue to maintain my presence and periodically post on ExtortionLetterInfo.com, my best and most brutally frank commentaries will be found here on Defiantly.
Pay close attention to Justices David Nahmias, Harold Melton, and Keith Blackwell in the last 20 minutes. You will find their questioning and comments quite insightful and perhaps even entertaining. Also note their voice inflections and facial expressions.
Please note that this video will only be up for one month for public viewing on the Georgia Supreme Court website. I am in the process of having a copy and transcript of this video made and the video hosted elsewhere for ongoing reference and viewing after the removal of the video from the Georgia Supreme Court website.
UPDATE (November 16, 2014): I have since purchased the DVD video of the Chan v. Ellis Oral Argument from the Georgia Supreme Court. The videos have since been posted on my YouTube and Vimeo accounts. Please visit this post to get access the oral argument videos.
On a letter dated January 21, 2014, Seattle Attorney Timothy B. McCormack (Timmy) attempted to intimidate and threaten me with his annoying, ludicrous, and quite laughable “Infringement / Defamation / Harassment Letter“. He sent this letter while I was in an indefinite self-imposed exile from my own website, ExtortionLetterInfo.com (ELI) and The ELI Forums.
It apparently wasn’t enough for him that I chose to withdraw from posting and participating from my own website. I had been silent and uninvolved for 10-months letting ELI volunteers continue running and overseeing ELI. Timmy must have been delusional and figured that I was humiliated and beaten into submission over the bogus March 2013 Permanent Protective Order (PPO) in favor of the “The Dash” Poem Copyright Extortionist Extraordinaire, Linda Ellis. My case was under appeal with the Georgia Court of Appeals (now transferred to the Georgia Supreme Court) and I saw no reason to waste anytime on ELI while that was going on. Most of the Linda Ellis / Dash Poem victims were cowards and I saw no reason to stand up for them anymore. (However, April Brown is THE PERSON to contact for all things relating to fighting Dash Poem copyright extortion. (Google “April Brown Linda Ellis” and you will see what I mean.) The Linda Ellis victims have taught me that it is stupid to try to advocate for victims too frightened to even speak out. The Getty Images (among others) victims were well-represented and I wasn’t needed in the day-to-day operation any more.
Timmy apparently decided it was time for him to push on me and otherwise intimidate me while I was in self-imposed exile with his “threatening” letter. Unlike many of his victims, I am not so easily intimidated nor do I back down so easily. It was his letter that triggered me to come back to ELI in full force. He probably saw my absence as a sign of weakness. Since I made my fair share of enemies (nearly all whom are either lawyers working as or for copyright trolls and copyright extortionists), the only way to show that I wasn’t defeated was to come back in a very public way. I was only lying dormant, not defeated.
I wrote a few versions of my response letter to Seattle Attorney Timothy B. McCormack before I settled on the one I ultimately sent out on March 2, 2014. The text of that letter is provided below:
=========
March 2, 2014
Tim McCormack
c/o McCormack Intellectual Property Law PS
617 Lee St.
Seattle, WA 98109
FAX: (206) 381-1988
Via FAX & First-Class Mail
Tim,
This letter is my “formal response” to the frivolous and baseless form letter you sent me in January 2014 regarding the supposed infringement of your copyrighted headshot photo. Honestly, this letter is an exercise of repetition because you have shown that you are an avid reader and follower of the ELI website and the ELI Forums. The majority of the content and points of this letter has already been publicly posted and discussed on ELI. But I don’t want it said that I am incapable of being professional as challenging as it may be for me in this case.
Understandably, you have a high level of interest in any posts that may reference your name or business. I surmise you follow ELI daily to the degree you have shown an extensive screen-capture inventory of ELI posts in this and other communiques. Given this, I find your letter to be entirely frivolous, reckless, irresponsible, and unbecoming of a lawyer of your supposed stature and qualifications.
Your form letter included screenshots from July 26, 2012. However, we are now in 2014! It literally takes less than 30 seconds to verify that ALL your screenshots to those posts are outdated and obsolete. In fact, no user-posted images are currently displayed in the ELI Forums. This has been the case since March 2013. You should know this from your self-serving involvement in the Ellis case and the subsequent appeal. The ability to automatically display images (and other media) in the ELI Forums was deactivated to help prevent exactly the frivolous accusations such as the ones you are now making of me and ELI.
While it may not have been immediately apparent prior to March 2013, all ELI Forum user-posted images, memes, and videos were only “hot-links”. As you appear to be technically-unsavvy based on your baseless claims, I want to inform you that you can easily “right-click” any image or hyperlink from any contemporary web browser and you can easily determine where an object is actually hosted. Just because an image is displayed on a website does not automatically mean that website actually hosts it. To the best of my knowledge and my research, ELI has never hosted any image containing your headshot.
Considering that you insist on a formal reply from me when you could have done the necessary research yourself, I make the following additional points:
1. None of the posts you complain about was caused or posted by me. Hence, I cannot be harassing or defaming you. In fact, one of the posts you complain about doesn’t even exist anymore and was voluntarily deleted by the original poster in March 2013. I recommend you consult Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. ELI hosts discussions and posts of other users. And while I certainly do participate and post on ELI, I am only responsible for those posts I make, not other users’ posts.
2. None of the alleged copyright infringed images have been displayed on ELI since March 2013. Even if they were displayed, that does not automatically constitute copyright infringement on any ELI users’ part. They were hot-linked images and memes hosted elsewhere from ELI. I recommend consulting the case of “Perfect 10 vs. Amazon”.
3. In two of your screenshots, your headshot photo is clearly part of screenshots of Google searches. I suggest that if you don’t want your image showing up on a Google search, then maybe you should consider removing your image from your own websites so it won’t show up on anyone’s screenshot of a Google search. FYI, screenshots for commentary purposes are perfectly allowed under “fair use” and that is exactly what it was used for in that post.
4. None of the messaging on the complained about memes are even remotely close to meeting the standard of defamation or harassment. Most reasonable people know by its simple appearance and messaging they are meant as parody, satire, or negative commentary. The fact that people are making negative commentary about you doesn’t automatically make it defamation or harassment.
I highly object to the ongoing abuse of your privilege as a licensed attorney to try to lie, mislead, and intimidate laypeople such as myself. I may not be a lawyer but, fortunately, I am aware of my rights and responsibilities as a discussion forum host and website host. You and your office have a track record of writing misleading extortion letters designed to trip up and mislead the legally ignorant and the legally spineless. I am not one of those people.
With regard to the other information you are asking for, I outright refuse to provide them to you as you have no legitimate basis or authority to do so. Regarding information on ELI’s traffic, consider visiting Alexa.com, for example.
Regarding how much income ELI generates for me, I will gladly provide you that information in exchange for how much the Getty Images copyright enforcement business generates for you. I consider that a fair trade. Absent that, you have no legitimate basis or authority to get that information from me.
As I have now acknowledged the relevant issues of your complaints, I am going to take the opportunity to make a few points of my own. You have demonstrated this past year your hatred of me, Oscar Michelen, and ELI, in general. Your ongoing attack campaign against everything ELI is self-evident. You have done everything within your power to attack, threaten, discredit, disparage, and damage me, in particular. You somehow continue to blame me for the ills of your so-called copyright enforcement business. Perhaps if alleged infringers weren’t treated as criminals trying to squeeze disproportionate amounts of money for what amounts to be a “speeding ticket” on the Internet, your professional life would be easier. Perhaps if you weren’t so sloppy professionally and didn’t behave like a hack lawyer, you would get a bit more respect.
You continue to blame me for everything other ELI community members have posted about you when, in fact, they are intelligent, independent thinkers and passionate, self-motivated contributors of the ELI Forums. Any perceived influence I might have over them is due to the intense disdain and hatred for Getty Images and your role and behavior as their collections lawyer. It is because of you and Getty Images’ ongoing “copyright enforcement” efforts in particular, that ELI, the ELI Forums, and the ELI community came into existence.
You and Getty Images’ relentless, merciless, and duplicitous pursuit of revenues-at-all-costs (under the guise of copyright enforcement activities) continues to generate more disdain and hatred towards yourself and Getty Images with every passing day. Can you not plainly see this? Can you not plainly see that Getty Images is using you as a pawn while your corporate counter-parts within Getty Images Corporate Counsel department remain comfortably in hiding while you take all the arrows and bullets? Have you never wondered why no one within Getty Images Corporate Counsel has ever publicly spoken out on your behalf? They are cowards hiding within the womb of their corporate mommy.
In closing, the next time you decide to send a complaint letter to me, do your research and get your facts straight. Just because you want to write to me making frivolous and baseless claims does not automatically mean I am legally obligated to respond to you.
Onward and upward,
Matthew Chan
On behalf of ExtortionLetterInfo.com
==============
ELI Legal Advisor Oscar Michelen was also sent a copy of the letter I received, presumably so that Oscar might exert his influence over me (as “Daddy Oscar”) to “cooperate” with Timmy’s request. Oscar was not happy about this and wrote a stern response back to Timmy.
=============
January 29, 2014
Mr. Timothy B. McCormack
617 Lee Street
Seattle WA 98109
Re: Cease and Desist Letters
Dear Mr. McCormack:
This letter is sent to respond to two cease and desist letters recently issued by you. The first letter was issued to www.copyright-trolls.com; the second was issued to me personally and to www.extortionletterinfo.com and its owner Matthew Chan. I will address them one at a time.
Please be advised that I represent this site with respect to your claim regarding the use of an image purportedly owned and copyrighted by you. Please direct all future correspondence on this matter to me and not my client.
In an exercise of caution and to not to have to have continued correspondence with you on this matter, the site has complied with your cease and desist request and removed any display of your picture. The rest of your demands will not be complied with however. As to any purported claim of “defamation” I remind you that the First Amendment greatly protects speech, parody and comedy. In fact, last week or so, the Ninth Circuit (which covers Washington State), in Obsidian Finance Group v. Cox, ruled that bloggers and the public have the same First Amendment protections as journalists when sued for defamation: If the issue is of public concern, plaintiffs have to prove malice (if they are public figures) or negligence (if it is a matter of public concern regardless of their status) to win damages. The Court further reiterated the public’s right to post opinions, even if they are nasty and crude. It stated it looks at three factors to distinguish between “fact” and “opinion” as follows:
“(1) whether the general tenor of the entire work negates the impression that the defendant was asserting an objective fact, (2) whether the defendant used figurative or hyperbolic language that negates that impression, and (3) whether the statement in question is susceptible of being proved true or false.”
All three of those factors point to the obvious: that any statements or references to you in the posts to which you object are at best statements of opinion and are not defamatory. There was no false fact contained in any of the post of which you complain. They are merely jokes or expressions of opinion that amount to parody. No one believes that the posts are actually saying you are actually a “turd;” that is just an opinion and an attempt at humor. Particularly when aimed at someone who is a public figure like yourself, these types of sarcastic, even negative, parodies and commentaries are protected.
Moreover, your continued use of boilerplate, threatening letters on behalf of digital image warehouse companies, while likely lucrative to you, naturally exposes you to being the target of scorn and commentary. You cannot pretend to ignore the numerous sites, bloggers and journalists who have decried “copyright-trolling” as a scourge of the Internet. That places the subject matter and those who engage in it in the public eye and open to expression of opinion contrary to their pursuits. Far be it for me to tell another lawyer how to run his practice, but I would venture to guess that the more you continue in this method of practice, the more you will continue to be criticized by third parties. Copyright-trolls.com has no less right to express negative opinions and make negative comments on what you and others do than the Washington Post or the NY Times. Accordingly, I hope and expect that this communication ends this issue.
Much more troublesome is your communication to me regarding ELI. First of all, I do not practice out of my home; I am a partner in a litigation law firm with two offices – one in Manhattan and one on Long Island. While in the past you have unsuccessfully tried to embarrass me by writing my partner Matthew Cuomo at our Manhattan office which he manages, I ask that you direct all future correspondence to me at our Long Island office, which I manage. There is no reason for you to communicate with me at my home; any further communication about a client or potential client of mine that is directed to me at my home will be taken as harassment and reported to your State Bar.
Next, your letter refers to ELI as “your [meaning my] website” and asserts that you are writing to me so that I may use my “ownership” of the site to influence compliance with your demands. Too many times to mention it has been made clear to you that I do not own ELI in whole or in part. Your participation in the Linda Ellis matter also served to further instruct and advise you that Matthew Chan is sole owner of ELI. Your continued assertion that I am an owner of ELI is frivolous, baseless and beyond explanation – you clearly do not care that you are making a wrong and insupportable accusation.
You then also reference me as “opposing counsel.” On what matter am I opposing counsel to you with respect to ELI? Are you writing me as ELI’s lawyer or as ELI’s owner? Or both? Currently, I am in fact neither. Matthew Chan will likely want to respond to your letter directly himself. If I am going to respond on behalf of ELI, I will lead my letter with a sentence advising you that I am acting as ELI’s attorney. (See the section above dealing with copyright-trolls.com. as an example). You then intimate that I am somehow behaving in violation of Rule 8.4 of the Rules of Professional Conduct while at the same time asking me for “professional courtesy.” This request for courtesy is laughable, coming from an attorney who:
(a) made a completely frivolous and baseless multi-page complaint against me with the Grievance Committee of my State Bar; (b) included it as an exhibit in the improper affidavit submitted in the Linda Ellis matter so that the complaint is now also a matter of public record in the Georgia Court system; (c) who wrote to my law firm partner, as if writing to scold a child to his parent; (d) who writes me repeatedly at home over business issues; and (e) who continually and falsely claims that I own a website I have no ownership in. In my 27 years of practice as a litigator in one of the most litigious States in the Union, I can recall only one or two attorneys that I have less respect for than you Mr. McCormack. So before you ask me for “professional courtesy,” I suggest you find the nearest mirror. While I always extend professional courtesy to my adversaries, it is a two-way street and I will afford you precisely as much courtesy and respect as you seem to afford me.
To that end, let’s look at Rule 8.4 which you cite:
Rule 8.4 Misconduct
It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to:
(a) violate or attempt to violate the Rules of Professional Conduct, knowingly assist or induce another to do so, or do so through the acts of another;
(b) commit a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer in other respects;
(c) engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation;
(d) engage in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice;
(e) state or imply an ability to influence improperly a government agency or official or to achieve results by means that violate the Rules of Professional Conduct or other law; or
(f) knowingly assist a judge or judicial officer in conduct that is a violation of applicable rules of judicial conduct or other law.
Of course, like most of your demand letters, you provide no factual basis or explanation as to why any of these sections should apply to my conduct. I ask that you send me a detailed explanation of which of these sections I may have violated (or will violate) and the facts you rely upon to support such claim. Otherwise I will deem this part of your letter to constitute yet another frivolous and baseless accusation against me.
With respect to the substantive matters addressed in the letter to Mr. Chan, I expect he will respond to you himself. But, as usual, this looks like a boilerplate copy of the letter you sent my client at copyright-trolls.com, so the same arguments would apply.
In conclusion, address all future correspondence on the copyright-trolls.com matter to my attention at my Long Island Office. Furthermore, cease and desist from making baseless and frivolous allegations about my professional conduct and my practice of law.
