Our law firm has been retained to resolve a copyright infringement claim against West Saint Paul Antiques. Higbee & Associates has mailed an Initial Demand Letter to your place of business and we have not received a response. Attached is the Electronic Copy of the Initial Demand Letter please review and forward to the appropriate party, as a response is needed as soon as possible.
As this matter is time sensitive please contact our firm at your earliest convenience in an effort to avoid any further escalation. If a response is not received, this claim may be transferred to our litigation department for further review. You may respond and request to speak to a Legal Assistant by contacting our office or replying directly to myself at bayer@higbee.law
If you are represented by an attorney, please forward their contact information so we may redirect our efforts. If you have any questions you may contact me anytime at the number below.
Thank you,
Brian Ayer
Jr Legal Assistant
Copyright Enforcement Division The Law Firm of Higbee and Associates
Legal Assistant are non-attorney staff members who assist attorneys in attempting to resolve copyright claims prior to litigation. All correspondence is reviewed by staff attorneys.
This electronic mail message and any attachment is confidential and may also contain privileged attorney-client information or work product. If you are not the intended recipient, or the person responsible to deliver it to the intended recipient, you may not use, disseminate, distribute or copy this communication. If you have received the message in error, please immediately notify us by reply electronic mail or by telephone and delete this original message. Thank you very much.
Legal Assistant are non-attorney staff members who assist attorneys in attempting to resolve copyright claims prior to litigation. All correspondence is reviewed by staff attorneys.
This electronic mail message and any attachment is confidential and may also contain privileged attorney-client information or work product. If you are not the intended recipient, or the person responsible to deliver it to the intended recipient, you may not use, disseminate, distribute or copy this communication. If you have received the message in error, please immediately notify us by reply electronic mail or by telephone and delete this original message. Thank you very much.
Legal Assistant are non-attorney staff members who assist attorneys in attempting to resolve copyright claims prior to litigation. All correspondence is reviewed by staff attorneys.
This electronic mail message and any attachment is confidential and may also contain privileged attorney-client information or work product. If you are not the intended recipient, or the person responsible to deliver it to the intended recipient, you may not use, disseminate, distribute or copy this communication. If you have received the message in error, please immediately notify us by reply electronic mail or by telephone and delete this original message. Thank you very much.
Unfortunately, due to your unwillingness to amicably resolve this matter outside of court, this claim has escalated to our litigation department. All efforts to come to an amicable resolution in regards to resolving this matter have been exhausted. We recommend that you seek and obtain legal counsel for all further communications.
Contact us today if you wish to discuss a resolution.
Thank you,
Brian Ayer
Legal Assistant
Copyright Enforcement Division The Law Firm of Higbee and Associates
Re: Copyright Infringement - Claim #L60051 - West Saint Paul Antiques - Agence France-Presse - Claim #6PEEMQ - The Associated Press - Claim #N5MMOZ - mirrorpix - Claim #0Q993N - Nature Picture Library - Claim #XQVVPY - Reuters News & Media, Inc.
To floyd
Good afternoon Mr. Ruggles,
I apologize that the situation turned out this way. We know that you don’t want to go to court and we don’t want to court either, but our clients livelihoods are dependent on getting their licenses. Is it unreasonable that our clients be paid for the work they do? You could argue that they’re just snapping pictures, but they’re capturing history, think of the photographers that were on the ground during 9/11 that you had pictures of, or the OKC bombing. The famed photograph of the Marines raising the flag during Iwo Jima was taken by a correspondent for The Associated Press. Is it ridiculous that people like that be compensated for putting their life and limb out there for us to see it?
I know it seems like a big problem here, but you and I can work together to resolve this issue. Our clients have another offer to provide you at a significantly lower price and we can see about setting up a payment plan to help pay for it.
Please advise if you’d like to work together to resolve this issue.
Thank you so much for your time and have a wonderful day.
Kindly,
Brian Ayer
Legal Assistant
Copyright Enforcement Division The Law Firm of Higbee and Associates
Legal Assistant are non-attorney staff members who assist attorneys in attempting to resolve copyright claims prior to litigation. All correspondence is reviewed by staff attorneys.
This electronic mail message and any attachment is confidential and may also contain privileged attorney-client information or work product. If you are not the intended recipient, or the person responsible to deliver it to the intended recipient, you may not use, disseminate, distribute or copy this communication. If you have received the message in error, please immediately notify us by reply electronic mail or by telephone and delete this original message. Thank you very much.
2/15/2023
From: Yubani Noriega
Copyright Infringement - West Saint Paul Antiques - Claim # 6PEEMQ - L60051 - XQVVPY - N5MMOZ - 0Q993N
To floyd@weststpaulantiques.com Copy Brian Ayer
Hi Floyd,
Thank you for taking my call and briefly discussing this matter. Please send me your correspondence and let me know what is your best offer to resolve these matters outside of court.
Thank you,
Yubani Noriega Supervising Legal Assistant - Copyright Enforcement Division Law Firm of Higbee & Associates ( http://www.HigbeeAssociates.com ) 1504 Brookhollow Dr. Suite 112, Santa Ana, CA. 92705 Phone Office: (800) 716-1245 - Direct (714) 617-8361 - Fax: (714) 597-6559
Legal Assistants are non-attorney staff members who assist attorneys in attempting to resolve copyright claims before litigation. All correspondence is reviewed by staff attorneys.
This electronic mail message and any attachments are confidential and may also contain privileged attorney-client information or work product. If you are not the intended recipient, or the person responsible to deliver it to the intended recipient, you may not use, disseminate, distribute or copy this communication. If you have received the message in error, please immediately notify us by reply electronic mail or by telephone and delete this original message. Thank you very much.
Copy of an email sent 2/17/2023.
Yubani,
Thanks for the email. It was nice talking to you. You asked me to send you my best offer. Before I do that let me explain something first.
I asked Brian Ayer if he had checked out our website at West St Paul Antiques . He say YES and he also assured me that your law firm wouldn't be peppering West St Paul Antiques with lawsuits. So with that in mind I made an offer to save time and money. The offer was for $4200which I thought was a fair offer at the time. He rejected the offer within days of making it.. So I took my offer off the table for good. Brian then said that he would be sending it to litigation. I believed him. So I started preparing for litigation. Now you are asking me for my best offer. In my opinion that was my best offer. So if I was going to make your law firm a second offer, it would definitely be less than the original offer made. So with that in mind can you tell me what you would accept.
I am puzzled by something that Brian Ayer said. I asked Brian a question around the middle of January. The question was about your case, Claim Number: 516719 dated September 19th, 2018 against West Saint Paul Antiques. This is why I am so puzzled, he blew me off. He answered so quickly it's like he had prepared a statement. He said "Oh you were closed so we didn't pursue it." Not true, we were open then. We closed due to Covid on March 14th, 2020 and we remained closed for 15 months. So I can get this straight, so I'm clear about this, all I have to do is close to have your law firm not pursue these cases. Was Brian not telling me the whole truth at that time. I'm curious so can you respond to this issue and clarify this for me.
There are many issues with these cases. I'll bring up one more in this email today. PicRights did not make several efforts to resolve these copyright matters with West St Paul Antiques. As stated in your claims. The several attempts to resolve a case was in 2017 not in these cases. Compare all the cases. PicRights reference Number: 1447-7737-5436 attempts made to resolve that case were made on November 15th & December 13th, 2017 & January 3rd, 2018 before sending the case to your law firm. The first letter I received from Higbee & Associates was on September 19th, 2018 for that case. Your Claim Number: 516719. In these cases 6PEEMQ, XQVVPY, L60051, N5MMOZ & OQ993N RicRights sent all these letters on June 20th, 2022. I received those letters several days later. On all of those letters it reads: " We would like to resolve this time-sensitive issue as soon as possible and request that you respond within 14 days from the date of this correspondence." I received your firm's first letter dated July 6th, 2022 followed by four additional letters dated the 7th, 13th, and two on them July 26th, 2022. Draw your own conclusions on that. I already have.
I'll look forward to hearing back from you. If you have any questions for me don't hesitate to send me an email or call me at your leisure.
Think over what it would take to resolve these issues so I don't have to spend a lot more of my time on it. I can send you a link to the work that I've done so far. If you would like me to send this link just let me know. Keep in mind that this is not the final draft, it's a work in progress for me. This would show you and your associates things that bother me about these cases.
I hate to sound like a broken record, but all the images / photos / exhibits in question by PicRights and your law firm are all informational and educational images / photos with no profit or gain by myself or West St Paul Antiques. Send me a reasonable offer after you review all the facts in the link below with your associates, so that we can stop dancing around and resolve these issues.
Have a great day and thanks for all your time in this matter.
Sincerely,
Floyd Ruggles,
On behalf of West St Paul Antiques
2/22/2023
Yubani Noriega
To floyd
Hello Floyd,
Thank you for providing additional information and your efforts to amicably resolve this matter. After further discussions with each client, we were able to determine the total settlement for all five cases is $36,623 with 42 images in question. It is roughly about $872 per image.
In efforts to amicably resolve this matter, we have the authorization to accept $500 per image(x42) for a total settlement of $21,000 due on or before Monday, February 27, 2023. Please let me know if this offer is acceptable and I will be providing you a release agreement per each client and signature.
Thank you,
Yubani Noriega Supervising Legal Assistant - Copyright Enforcement Division Law Firm of Higbee & Associates ( http://www.HigbeeAssociates.com ) 1504 Brookhollow Dr. Suite 112, Santa Ana, CA. 92705 Phone Office: (800) 716-1245 - Direct (714) 617-8361 - Fax: (714) 597-6559
Legal Assistants are non-attorney staff members who assist attorneys in attempting to resolve copyright claims before litigation. All correspondence is reviewed by staff attorneys.
This electronic mail message and any attachments are confidential and may also contain privileged attorney-client information or work product. If you are not the intended recipient, or the person responsible to deliver it to the intended recipient, you may not use, disseminate, distribute or copy this communication. If you have received the message in error, please immediately notify us by reply electronic mail or by telephone and delete this original message. Thank you very much.
Copy of an email sent 2/27/2023.
Yubani,
Thanks for the email. It's always nice to hear from you.
I am still puzzled by why you and your firm are only referring to five open claims and not six.
Claim Number: 516719 dated September 19th, 2018 against West Saint Paul Antiques, in my opinion, is still an active claim. I've never received anything stating it isn't. An email or letter from your firm saying they're not pursuing the claim and why would be nice. This is why I am so puzzled. In the last email 10 days ago I said to you that Brian Ayer blew me off when I brought this old claim up. He answered so quickly it's like he had prepared a statement.
Again he said "Oh you were closed so we didn't pursue it." Not true, we were open then. We closed due to Covid on March 14th, 2020 and we remained closed for 15 months.
Now you seem to be avoiding that question about that claim. What is it about this particular claim that has everyone avoiding the question. Is it possible that PicRigths knew about West St Paul Antiques website and all of these images back in 2017. They were all on the website then.
So please if we are only dealing with five claims and not six give me something in writing saying that there's not a sixth claim now or in the forseeable future. So I'm not blindsided by a 6th or even 7th claim(s) that are looming that you or your law firm know about. I'm assuming that you're dealing in good faith with me. I prefer to be standing on a open battlefield defending myself, instead of being shelled by your firm's meaningless lawsuits. If your law firm or PicRights is planning that strategy and you're going to try to bleed me to death, then negotiations end today and we will meet, with the fate of my website in the balance. I don't believe a jury will think kindly of your playbook that you're playing with around our great country. It seems to me that I have a pretty good case going forward and it's only getting better by the day,
You also referred to in your email dated 2/22/2023 that there are 42 images in question. Even counting the one image from claim number: 516719 dated September 19th, 2018 there are not 42 images in question. In fact in the email that I sent you last time I volunteered to supply you with all of my concerns that I have about these claims. You didn't ask for the information. You just went ahead and talked to your clients, as you stated in your email. How does one talk to someone about something like this matter if they don't have all the facts? So the offer is still open if you would like to have all of my facts to date. Keep in mind it's just a work in progress. All you have to do is ask for the information. I'd be glad to supply it. Here are a few examples.
Exhibit A - Higbee & Associates, Claim Number: 516719
"AND OUR FLAG WAS STILL THERE" The Day, The Eagle Cried
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The photo in question was the remains of the collapsed Towers in New York on September 11, 2001. I found the photo on Facebook in 2001 with captions on it that read "AND OUR FLAG WAS STILL THERE" I placed it on my website, web page, that I called The Day, The Eagle Cried here with a sub-title that read "This Says it all...". The photo was removed immediately from my website page and I informed PicRights Ltd. that I had removed the photo in 2017. At the time in November 2017, I looked on Facebook for the photo so I could make a link to it from my web page tag but I could not find it. Several years later it appeared in an article by the BBC called: 9/11 anniversary: Irish NYPD officer recalls horror of aftermath
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Exhibit A - Higbee & Associates, Claim Number: L60051North High School Class of '66 Classmate Bill Lee webpage.
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The photo in question was immediately removed from West Saint Paul Antiques website in June of 2022. ("Yes I do know about the glitch on all of the images in question. I'm aware of the photos popping up on a image(s) search. I can assure you that they're not on my website or the old platform that host the site. We're presently have a computer technician looking into it. Hopefully we'll resolve the problems soon. This particular photo came from one of my High School classmates, for the High School Class website that I maintain on my website at West St Paul Antiques. There are 619 members of the class of '66. So as you can see there are 619 web pages on the West St Paul Antiques website. In fact I believe there are at least a thousand or more pages dedicated to my High School Class on this website. Sadly I'm doing more memorial pages than other things these days. I maintain these web pages not-for-profit. I was asked to volunteer by my High School Class president and I gladly volunteered back in 2010. The PicRights image in question is of the Sea of Galilee. I'm not sure where the photo came from, most likely Facebook, as my classmate Bill Lee was in that area around the Sea of Galilee several years ago. In fact a lot of my classmates have been to that area of the world.
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North High School was known as a Jewish High School back then. I have a few classmates living in Northern Israel today. The photo was removed from the website and a tag placed in its place. Most photos on West St Paul Antiques website have a link to it, this one did not. So I placed a link on it so people can see what the photo looked like.
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Exhibit A - Higbee & Associates, Claim Number: N5MMOZ - Twins go from bad to even worse 2012 web page.
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The photo in question is a 1959 Barbara Woodhouse black-and-white photo of Juno the great dane. It was removed in 2022 from the West Saint Paul Antiques website due to a dispute over copyright infringement claim 4208-2605-2114 and then N5MMOZ. This photo of 2 dogs sitting at Rickmans Worth Station holding suitcases. I'm not sure where the photo came from at this time. It was placed on our website in 2012, on a web page called Minnesota Twins go from bad to even worse in 2012. I'm thinking it may have come from one of our vintage black-and-white photos. We have thousands of them in our Antique Mall at all times. They come from estates that we buy or from people that just walk into our Antique Shop to sell things. I have been looking through our vintage black-and-white photos for sometime now, if I come across this photo, I'll let you know. On the other hand it may have come off of Facebook, who knows. If you looked at the West St Paul Antiques website or spend some time on the site, you would quickly come to the conclusion that our website is mainly for educational and informative purposes.
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Exhibit A - Higbee & Associates, Claim Number: OQ993N North High School Class of '66 Facebook index web page
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The photo in question was immediately removed from West Saint Paul Antiques website in June of 2022. This photo by Chadden Hunter, an Austrlian-Born BBC producer who has worked on some of the channel's biggest wildlife serles. This photo was taken in Yellowstone. It was on a web page called North High Shcool Class of '66 Facebook Index page. This is one of the web pages that I maintain for my high school classmates. This web page monitors and highlights things that happened on the High School Class Facebook page over the years. I am positively sure where the photo came from, Facebook. It was shared by one of my classmates which I will not mention at this time due to his illness.
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In fact this particular photo was altered a little from the original photo by someone and was shared over 5,000 times on Facebook. There are stories all over the internet about it. The photo on West St Paul Antiques website is the same Wolf Pack photo from Facebook. On "Josh Duhamel" (facebook.com/JoshDuhamel) the photo in question had over 4,000 additional shares. I placed a photo tab with a link to the same photo on my High School Class Facebook Index page, so people can see what the photo looked like. In fact all you have to do is Google "wolf pack photo" to find it on the internet today.
Exhibit A through F - Higbee & Associates, Claim Number: XQVVPY.
Exhibit A - San Francisco Giants 2010 - The photo in question is not the same photo in this exhibit A. If you look at the photo of Juan Uribe #5 hitting a homerun in the World Series game in 2010. In your exhibit A, the baseball is off the bat and in your screenshot of the web page the baseball is on the bat. It doesn't really matter because all of these photos are for informational and educational purposes only with no profit or gain to West St Paul Antiques. All of these photos were removed on July 16th, 2022 around 12:30 in the morning. How I know that is the time is because I had the presence to copy the web page and all the photos before removing them from their web page with a timestamp of 7/15/22 11:20 PM. If you would like to have a copy of that webpage just let me know. As for all of the links on this webpage that I called the San Francisco Giants 2010, I replaced them with their original links and subtitles while removing the photos. This is only one example of why I'm claiming these pages are for informational and educational purposes only. Before I'm finished with my work, I would like to have more examples for you. Exhibit A - Claim No. XQVVPY & Exhibit Y - Claim No. 6PEEMQ are the same photo.
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Exhibit B- No Man Left Behind - A Veteran's web page for linking two other Veterans websites. This Image was removed due to an Images Notice. I removed photo in June of 2022. Thanks for the letter. This photo was linked to a veteran's website called preciousstars.synthasite.com If you need more information on this website just ask. " last checked the website was down 2/8/2023 ," have a screenshot of the image in question. But you should know that, because your law firm went after that website for the same photo. The website what's called our precious stars on the homefront know how much you are needed and appreciated for all that you do for the troops and veterans and their families. Website is still down as of today. You can find the image on an image search at precious stars synthasites. Like exhibit B - XQVVPY all these photos on that web page are for Informational and Educational purposes only. All images are linking to veterans websites around the world with no profit gained to myself or West St Paul Antiques.
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All of these photos from claim number XQVVPY, ("1 photo of the San Francisco Giants World Series Winners in 2010, 1 photo from No Man Left Behind, a Veteran's web page and 4 photos of 9/11 The Day The Eagle Cried, a web page for the September 11th, 2001 attack." ) I maintain all of these web pages on West St Paul Antiques website. They're all informational and educational web pages. With no profit or gain by West St Paul Antiques.
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Exhibit A through GG - Higbee & Associates, Claim Number: 6PEEMQ.
*Exhibit B - 1st Recon Bn Index, this web page is the main page that veterans and active military personnel can and will use to link to over 500 web Pages on West St Paul Antiques website. I'm their membership director and webmaster. They are a non-profit organization for the Marine Corps Special Forces. These web pages for all Veterans groups are for Informatinal & Educational purposes only with no profit gained to West St Paul Antiques. The image in question was for Veterans Day 2016. This photo came from the Haunting Art Installation. This project with photos of 58,000 Dog Tags Commemorates US Soldiers Who Died in the Vietnam War. The Photo(s) are by: Charles Rex Arbogast in a tribute to those who fought in the Vietnam War. Now on display at the Chicago Public Library. * See below
.
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Exhibit D - Legend of Groundhogs Day - The photo in question is not the same photo in this exhibit D. If you look at the photo you can see the difference. This web page is for Informational and Educational purposes only with no profit gained to me or West St Paul Antiques.
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Exhibit E - Blogs Index web page, There are a variety of topics for example financial tips for the public. The image in question was linked to Politico "Social Security Disability". This image was by David Rogers 2015. This web pages is for Informational and Educational purposes with no profit gained to West St Paul Antiques.
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Exhibit M - New to this website 2013 - This web page is for linking to web page(s) on West St Paul Antiques website. This photo in question was linked to one of our Saint Patrick's Day web pages, The photo in question also appeared on one of those pages. Both photos were removed immediately and tagged. This particlar photo by Photographer Paul Beaty/2013 first appeared on the internet in an article from NBC News. "You can find a link on one of my St Patrick's Day web pages with a shared tag on it. Indeed it was shared many times on Facebook's platform. This is most likely place where I found this photo. I placed it on my website with Info on David Westerby of Kenosa, Wis. and Paul Beaty the photographer. All 3 of my St Patrick's Day web pages are Informational and Educational web pages with no profit gained to West St Paul Antiques.
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Exhibit Q - 1st Recon Battalion web page. This web page is the homepage to this nonprofit organization for the Marine Corps Special Forces, for Veterans and Active Military Personnel. In fact there are over 500 web Pages on West St Paul Antiques website for the Veteran and Veterans organizations. I'm their membership director and webmaster. They are a nonprofit organization for the Marine Corps Special Forces. These web pages for all Veterans groups are for Informational & Educational purposes only with no profit gained to West St Paul Antiques. The image in question was a Veterans image "The Memory Remains, Not All Wounds Are Visible." This photo was all over the internet in 2012-2017. You can find it on Flickr today. This photo came from Facebook back in 2017.
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Exhibit T - New to this website 2011 (B) - This web page is for linking to web page(s) on West St Paul Antiques website. This photo in question was linked to Twins go from bad to even worse web page. The photo in question also appeared on that web page. Both photos were removed immediately and tagged. This particlar photo by Photographer Jae C. Hong/2010 was of Minnesota Twins' Justin Morneau pointing to his teammates after hitting a home run against the Los Angeles Angels in 2010. This photo first appeared on the internet in 2010. This is most likely the place where I found this photo or possibly Facebook. The link on the photo was not working at the time I removed it from the Minnesota Twins go from bad to even worse webpage. On the West St Paul Antiques website. I looked on Facebook for it, and couldn't find the photo. I tag my web page with a link to the AP website. Twins go from bad to even worse web page is for Informational and Educational purposes only with no profit gained to West St Paul Antiques..Exhibit Y - San Francisco Giants 2010 - The World Series Winner 2010 Informational and Educational web page with no profit gained to me or West St Paul Antiques. Exhibit Y - Claim No. 6PEEMQ & Exhibit A -Claim No. XQVVPY are the same photo.
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Exhibit GG - Website other areas - This web page is like an index for this website overall. The photo in question is the same photo as in Exhibit Z Which is a photo of Texas Rangers relief pitcher Neftali Feliz celebrating after striking out New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez for the final out in the Rangers' 6-1 win in Game 6 of baseball's American League Championship Series in Arlington, Texas. Feliz was named American League Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers' Association. This is a (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) The photo was linked to the five greatest moments in Texas Rangers history, the Dallas Morning News website. All images / photos are for Informational and Educational purposes for the public with no profit gained to West St Paul Antiques. .
All of these photos from claim number 6PEEMQ, ("11 photos of the San Francisco Giants World Series Winners in 2010, 2 photos, for my Veteran's web pages, 7 photos from the Legend of Groundhog's Day web pages, 5 photos of the Texas Rangers Baseball team history-making World Series appearance 2010, 1 photo of the the Minnesota Twins Baseball team goes from bad to even worse 2012. 1 photo of the Los Angels Baseball team, 2 photos from the Oklahoma City Bombing web page, 1 photo from one of my Saint Patrick's Day web pages, 1 photo from one of North High School Class of '66 web pages. Remembering the 70's web page, 1 photo from a Blogs Index web page and 1 photo of 9/11 The Day The Eagle Cried, a web page for the September 11th, 2001 attack." )
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I maintain all of these web pages on West St Paul Antiques website. They're all informational and educational web pages, with no profit gained by West St Paul Antiques.
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In fact I believe there's at least three thousand or more pages dedicated to Educational and Informational purposes for the public with no profit gained. Please look over West St Paul Antiques website. Judge it for youself.
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I asked Brian Ayer in January of 2023 to checkout our website and he said he did. So please can you checkout West St Paul Antiques website so you can judge it for youself. I would really appreciate it, Thank you.
There are many issues with these claims. Those are just a few examples above and a few in the previous email you received from me.
As for your offer of $21,000.00 to settle all these claims by today, the 27th of February, 2023, I respectfully decline your offer.
After some soul-srarching and knowing how much time I've spent so far on all these claims.
I'll put this offer on the table for now to settle these claims immediately for $4000.00, please considerate.
I'll look forward to hearing back from you. If you have any questions for me don't hesitate to send me an email or call me at your leisure.
Have a great day and thanks for all your time in this matter.
Sincerely,
Floyd Ruggles,
On behalf of West St Paul Antiques
* This is only one photo in question by your Law Firm of Higbee & Associates. 1st Recon Battalion would really appreciate your reconsidertion of using this photo in question, this photo of 58,000 Dog Tags Commemorates US Soldiers Who Died in the Vietnam War, as over 350 of those dog tags represent fallen BROTHERS of our unit 1st Recon Battalion. I'd be proud to send you all their names. All you have to do is ask. This is only a sample.
Wednesday, September 22, 1965 GARY P BLAND, LCpl, Age 20, Peoria, IL
Saturday, November 27, 1965 TONY VALE, Pfc, Age 21, Houston, TX
Monday, January 24, 1966 JAMES C SPINUZZI, Cpl, Age 25, Pueblo, CO
Sunday, March 13, 1966 DAVID J GIER, Pfc, Age 19, Honolulu, HI
Thursday, April 28, 1966 CLEMENT B JOHNSTON JR, LCpl, Age 18, Pittsburgh, PA
Thursday, June 16, 1966 JOHN T ADAMS, LCpl, Age 22, Covington, OK IGNATIUS CARLISI, Pfc, Age 20, New York, NY THOMAS D GLAWE, Pfc, Age 18, Rockford, IL ALCADIO N MASCARENAS, LCpl, Age 22, Sapello, NM JAMES O MC KINNEY, Pfc, Age 18, Monroe, LA JERRALD R THOMPSON, Cpl, Age 24, Columbus, OH
Thursday, July 14, 1966 RICHARD G SCHROEDER, HM3, Age 24, Lansing, IL
Wednesday, July 27, 1966 SHELTON L EAKIN, 2ndLt, Age 31, Texarkana, AR
Monday, October 10, 1966 JAMES A BARRETT, LCpl, Age 21, Pittsburgh, PA LAWRENCE E CLARK, Pfc, Age 19, Amba, KY
Saturday, October 22, 1966 WILLIAM L CRAWFORD, LCpl, Age 19, Pauls Valley, OK
Friday, November 4, 1966 DONALD GAGNE, LCpl, Age 20, Fall River, MA
Thursday, November 24, 1966 WILLIAM H HARDWICK, Pfc, Age 20, Dallas, TX
Friday, January 20, 1967 ARTHUR W GREENE, Pvt, Age 24, Fort Pierce, FL
Wednesday, January 25, 1967 CRAIG S SHELTON, Pfc, Age 20, Omaha, NE
Friday, February 3, 1967 ROBERT L ARMITAGE, Pfc, Age 19, Everett, WA ROBERT L SHAFER, Cpl, Age 22, Windsor, IL EDWARD F SMITH, Pfc, Age 19, Easton, MA ROBERT F STARBUCK, Sgt, Age 25, Montgomery, NY
Monday, February 6, 1967 JAMES A ANGERMILLER, Pfc, Age 19, Corpus Christi, TX ROGER V BURKE, Cpl, Age 23, Georgetown, CT WILLIAM E FRANKLIN JR, Cpl, Age 23, Nashville, TN
Tuesday, February 7, 1967 KENNETH L DEAVERS JR, LCpl, Age 19, Williamsport, MD
Monday, February 20, 1967 BRUCE S LA PORTE, HN, Age 19, Fruitport, MI
Saturday, February 25, 1967 JOE W BARNES, Sgt, Age 22, Brunson, SC
Friday, March 3, 1967 RONNIE D ADCOX, LCpl, Age 23, Henderson, NC
Thursday, March 9, 1967 LAWRENCE MARTIN, Pfc, Age 18, New York, NY
Sunday, March 26, 1967 RICHARD S JOHNSON JR, 2ndLt, Age 23, Tuscumbia, AL
Saturday, April 1, 1967 JOHN O RHODES, LCpl, Age 20, Thonotosassa, FL
Tuesday, April 11, 1967 BARRY B BROERMAN, Pfc, Age 21, Cincinnati, OH JOHN H HAWLEY, LCpl, Age 21, Indianapolis, IN
Friday, April 21, 1967 LOUIS L GOERS, HM3, Age 21, Steger, IL
Monday, May 8, 1967 DURAND G LIGGETT, Pfc, Age 18, Downey, CA JOSE A ROSAS, SSgt, Age 27, Weslaco, TX
Saturday, May 13, 1967 MICHAEL R SMITH, LCpl, Age 21, Spindale, NC
Sunday, May 14, 1967 ERVIN LOVELL, Pfc, Age 20, Ontario, CA
Monday, May 22, 1967 LARRY G STONE, 2ndLt, Age 25, Yerington, NV
Monday, May 29, 1967 HAROLD D GRIFFIN, Cpl, Age 21, Canton, NC
Friday, June 16, 1967 LUIS F CORREA, Cpl, Age 20, New York, NY
Thursday, July 13, 1967 LARRY F FAULKNER, Pfc, Age 19, Chisolm, ME
Wednesday, July 19, 1967 WILLIAM A GUILLORY, Cpl, Age 21, Westlake, LA
Tuesday, August 15, 1967 PATRICK J FLEMING, LCpl, Age 19, Anaconda, MT
Friday, September 1, 1967 MELVIN J RILEY JR, LCpl, Age 20, Hazelwood, MO
Wednesday, September 13, 1967 WILLIAM P COLL, Capt, Age 29, Philadelphia, PA
Saturday, October 14, 1967 ROBERT C RUDD, Sgt, Age 21, Dallas, TX EDWARD J SIMONS, Cpl, Age 19, Bluefield, WV
Tuesday, October 17, 1967 LEMUEL L ALEWINE, GySgt, Age 34, Thornton, TX LAWRENCE H COLLIER, Pfc, Age 19, Memphis, TN EDWARD H RAUCH, LCpl, Age 20, San Francisco, CA
Tuesday, November 14, 1967 JONATHAN P KMETYK, LCpl, Age 20, Niagara Falls, NY
Tuesday, December 26, 1967 LANCE B BARTON, LCpl, Age 22, Richmond, VA
Wednesday, December 27, 1967 RONALD F KITZKE, LCpl, Age 20, Wauwatosa, WI
Saturday, January 6, 1968 STEVEN S SCHNACK, Cpl, Age 21, San Bernardino, CA
Saturday, January 13, 1968 ROBERT L ROGERS, Pfc, Age 20, Maryville, TN
Thursday, January 18, 1968 ROBERT L TRACY, HM3, Age 21, Greenville, DE
Thursday, January 25, 1968 ROGER M LAY, Pfc, Age 19, Milford, OH
Monday, January 29, 1968 PRINCE A JOHNSON JR, Pfc, Age 20, Corinth, MS
Thursday, February 1, 1968 MICHAEL G MURDOCK, Cpl, Age 21, Rockford, WA
Wednesday, February 21, 1968 BARTOLOME A BALDERA, Pvt, Age 19, New York, NY
Thursday, February 29, 1968 CARL R LEED, SSgt, Age 33, West Fairview, PA GILBERT THIBEAULT, Pfc, Age 18, Bristol, CT
Tuesday, March 5, 1968 THOMAS E JENNINGS, Pfc, Age 19, Lancaster, PA RALPH H JOHNSON, Pfc, Age 19, Charleston, SC
Saturday, March 23, 1968 JOSEPH M ROMERO, LCpl, Age 18, Lakewood, CA
Tuesday, April 23, 1968 DONALD G JACKSON, LCpl, Age 20, Lakeside, CA
Friday, April 26, 1968 JAMES L TURNER, Cpl, Age 22, Pueblo, CO
Saturday, May 4, 1968 RONALD C ANDERSON, Pfc, Age 21, Columbus, GA
Thursday, May 16, 1968 HARRY L RILEY JR, Pfc, Age 20, Chicago, IL
Sunday, May 19, 1968 CALVIN F BUTTERFIELD, Pfc, Age 18, Pekin, IL
Tuesday, May 21, 1968 MARCUS R ECKENRODE, Pfc, Age 21, Mar Vista, CA
Wednesday, May 22, 1968 WILLIAM B HUGHES, SSgt, Age 28, Vanceburg, KY DANIEL J KEATING JR, Major, Age 32, Larchmont, NY
Sunday, May 26, 1968 JAMES W COCKRELL JR, 1stLt, Age 23, Macon, MS JIMMY L MOORE, LCpl, Age 20, Greenville, SC LARRY J PIERSON, LCpl, Age 29, Beech Grove, IN LARRY J SINEGAL, Pfc, Age 18, Houston, TX
Tuesday, May 28, 1968 JOSEPH A HILL, LCpl, Age 20, Taylorville, IL
Thursday, May 30, 1968 ROBERT C BARNES JR, 2ndLt, Age 23, Carmi, IL
Monday, June 3, 1968 MICHAEL J BECK, LCpl, Age 20, Greeley, CO DARRELL E CAMPANELLO, Pfc, Age 18, Silver Spring, MD TERRECE E EDGAR, LCpl, Age 18, Oildale, CA CHARLES F HUFF, LCpl, Age 22, Chicago, IL GEROLD J MC ADAMS, Pfc, Age 20, Lincoln, NE JEFFERY S PATTERSON, Pfc, Age 18, Sparta, NJ PETER J WEIDEMIER, Pfc, Age 20, Alameda, CA
Tuesday, June 4, 1968 MARCIAL B GARCIA, LCpl, Age 19, San Francisco, CA EARL R LERCH, HM3, Age 22, San Francisco, CA
Saturday, June 29, 1968 WILLIAM J BOLAND JR, Pfc, Age 19, Cicero, IL KENNETH L DREW, Pfc, Age 19, Portland, OR
Wednesday, July 3, 1968 JOHN D DALHOUSE, Capt, Age 27, Montgomery, AL ALTON HOUSE, Pfc, Age 19, Walstonburg, NC WILLIAM D JOHNSON JR, Cpl, Age 20, Kokomo, IN JOSEPH J JONES, Sgt, Age 21, Scotland Neck, NC WILLIAM C MOON, LCpl, Age 18, Joliet, IL PAUL SCHECKLER, LCpl, Age 19, Huntingdon Valley, PA FAY C SIMMONS III, LCpl, Age 19, Cayce, SC GARY D TISDALL, Cpl, Age 21, Modesto, CA SHERMAN D VANCE, Cpl, Age 19, West Point, IL
Friday, July 12, 1968 JIMMY D FULFORD, LCpl, Age 20, Russellville, AR
Monday, July 15, 1968 CURTIS C BROWN, Pfc, Age 19, Dallas, TX
Monday, July 29, 1968 GARY V ORSLAND, Pfc, Age 20, Branson, CO
Thursday, August 1, 1968 GLEN R HICKS, Sgt, Age 20, Oklahoma City, OK JAMES H JONES, LCpl, Age 21, Beltsville, MD GERALD L POPPA, Sgt, Age 23, Salinas, CA SCOTT G SMITH, Pfc, Age 21, Berkeley, MO THEODORE J WHITLOCK, Pfc, Age 19, North Las Vegas, NV
Sunday, August 11, 1968 FRANK J BELTRAN, Cpl, Age 20, East Rochester, NY
Wednesday, August 21, 1968 WILLIAM G RASH, SSgt, Age 25, Baltimore, MD
Sunday, September 8, 1968 HARRY S ONETO JR, Cpl, Age 20, Sunnyvale, CA
Friday, September 20, 1968 FELIPE HERRERA, LCpl, Age 20, San Antonio, TX LARRY A JOHNSON, Sgt, Age 21, Varna, IL
Saturday, September 28, 1968 DANIEL E WINTERS, Pfc, Age 19, Bridge City, TX
Tuesday, November 12, 1968 DAVID A DENNIS, LCpl, Age 19, Fort Wayne, IN RONALD L REED, Pfc, Age 19, Benton, KY TERRY M WESTERGARD, LCpl, Age 20, Ireton, IA
Friday, November 29, 1968 EVANGELOS K CARANASIOS, LCpl, Age 21, Elkhart, IN GARY L CARLSON, Pfc, Age 20, Seattle, WA THOMAS R STEINBACH, LCpl, Age 21, Texas City, TX
Thursday, January 16, 1969 DOYLE ATKINS, SSgt, Age 23, Modesto, CA
Sunday, January 26, 1969 DONALD B DEAN, Pfc, Age 20, Portland, ME DENNIS E ULSTAD, Sgt, Age 21, Billings, MT
Thursday, March 6, 1969 JIMMY BOOKER, LCpl, Age 20, Lansing, MI
Wednesday, April 16, 1969 KARL H CULP, LCpl, Age 18, Fort Worth, TX WALTER E GIERMAN II, LCpl, Age 21, Lake Worth, FL ROBERT E GILL, Pfc, Age 19, Mobile, AL CHESTER JARMOLINSKI JR, LCpl, Age 21, Jersey City, NJ ANTHONY E KUPKA, 2ndLt, Age 23, Falmouth, MA
Wednesday, April 23, 1969 CHARLES D TANNEHILL, Sgt, Age 23, Jackson, MS
Friday, May 2, 1969 RENE MEDEGUARI, Pfc, Age 20, Douglas, AZ
Sunday, May 4, 1969 JAMES L URNES, Pfc, Age 19, Pacific Grove, CA
Wednesday, May 14, 1969 LARRY E THOMAS, Pfc, Age 22, Pittsville, WI
Tuesday, May 20, 1969 DAVID H WILKERSON, Pfc, Age 19, Davenport, IA
Saturday, May 24, 1969 JOHN H LAKIN, 2ndLt, Age 22, Fort Walton Beach, FL
Monday, May 26, 1969 JOHN M STENBERG, Pfc, Age 20, International Falls, MN
Saturday, June 21, 1969 FRANK J BOSCO, LCpl, Age 19, Providence, RI ARTHUR C COUNCILL III, Pfc, Age 20, Hawthorne, CA ROBERT L CRITES JR, Pfc, Age 19, Colton, CA JAMES O HALL JR, Pfc, Age 20, Vista, CA WILLIAM G SCHANCK JR, 2ndLt, Age 21, Chepachet, RI RICHARD A WEIL JR, LCpl, Age 20, Anaheim, CA
Tuesday, August 12, 1969 RAY E HOMBEL, LCpl, Age 20, Spokane, WA
Friday, August 29, 1969 ROBERT A HANEY, Pfc, Age 18, Duluth, MN
Sunday, September 7, 1969 ROGER W BISHOP, Cpl, Age 20, Beltsville, MD CHARLES W SHARMAN III, 1stLt, Age 23, Decatur, GA
Wednesday, October 22, 1969 KENNETH A KUBIK, 2ndLt, Age 25, Hollywood, FL TIMOTHY C ROBINSON, Pfc, Age 19, Kalispell, MT RICHARD W YATES, HN, Age 19, Quantico, VA
Wednesday, January 7, 1970 MICHAEL B ROBINSON, Cpl, Age 20, Wichita, KS
Monday, March 2, 1970 LAVOY D MC VEY, Capt, Age 32, Lamar, CO DAVID W SKIBBE, 2ndLt, Age 23, Des Plaines, IL
Sunday, April 12, 1970 HENRY P RATHMELL, 1stLt, Age 23, Muncy, PA
Thursday, April 23, 1970 THOMAS D WORREL, LCpl, Age 20, Roanoke, IN
Tuesday, May 19, 1970 CRAIG M YANCEY, Pvt, Age 19, Tulsa, OK
Monday, June 1, 1970 ROE HOPSON JR, Sgt, Age 21, Milo, KY
Sunday, June 14, 1970 GARY W RAGSDALE, LCpl, Age 19, Kerman, CA
Monday, July 13, 1970 RICHARD W EVANS, Cpl, Age 21, St Petersburg, FL ARTHUR P GRAY IV, 1stLt, Age 24, Richmond, VA
Friday, July 31, 1970 DANIEL L MITCHELL, Cpl, Age 22, Ballwin, MO
Sunday, August 9, 1970 ORLANDO TORRES-OYOLA, Cpl, Age 21, Cayey, PR
Tuesday, September 1, 1970 JIMMY R HOLKEM, LCpl, Age 22, Stevenson, AL DALE A PENNINGTON, LCpl, Age 20, Culver, IN
Wednesday, November 18, 1970 RUSSELL G DANIELS, HM2, Age 22, Phoenix, AZ DAVID V DELOZIER, LCpl, Age 20, Altoona, PA CLEVELAND R HARVEY, 1stLt, Age 23, Alexandria, VA GARY D HUDSON, LCpl, Age 20, Joplin, MO WILLIAM G LEFTWICH JR, LtCol, Age 39, Germantown, TN RANDALL P MANELA, Cpl, Age 19, Eugene, OR CHARLES A POPE JR, LCpl, Age 19, Independence, MO JOHN F STOCKMAN, Cpl, Age 27, Marcus Hook, PA ROBERT E TUCKER, LCpl, Age 22, Abbyville, KS FERNANDO VILLASANA, Cpl, Age 19, El Paso, TX
Monday, March 15, 1971 JAMES BINGENHEIMER, Sgt, Age 23, Atlantic City,
* More Information can be sent to you. All you have to do is ask for it.
2/28/2023
Yubani Noriega
2/28/2023 8:18 PM
Re: Copyright Infringement - West Saint Paul Antiques - Claim # 6PEEMQ - L60051 - XQVVPY - N5MMOZ - 0Q993N
Floyd,
Thank you for your response.
Claim Number: 516719 – This claim is closed. There is nothing I will be able to discuss.
We are only discussing and seeking resolution on the five pending claims we are currently discussing.
Exhibit A - Higbee & Associates, Claim Number: L60051North High School Class of '66 Classmate Bill Lee webpage.
The image in question for this claim has been removed from the website but is still stored on the following link:
If the image was obtained from Facebook and placed on your website without the proper authorization, that might the reason why we have a claim. You have to understand weststpaulantiques.com is a commercial website and any content being use will be considered commercial. Wherher you generated a finacial gain or not. Bottom line, if you did not obatinmed proper authorizatio to use and display the image in question, our client is entitled to recover their damages.
Exhibit A - Higbee & Associates, Claim Number: N5MMOZ - Twins go from bad to even worse 2012 web page.
Once again if you are obtaining images and not obtaining authorization to license to use and display, an infringement occurred and our client is entitled to recover their damages. I will repeat, weststpaulantiques.com is a commercial website and any content being use will be considered commercial.
Exhibit A - Higbee & Associates, Claim Number: OQ993N North High School Class of '66 Facebook index web page
Once again if you are obtaining images and not obtaining authorization to license to use and display, an infringement occurred and our client is entitled to recover their damages. I will repeat, weststpaulantiques.com is a commercial website and any content being use will be considered commercial.
Knowing that the image was shared 5000 times, you can see the gravity of the situation. Let me assure you, if our client was able to find their image on their website and confirm there was an unauthorized use, we will mostlikely have a claim of infirngement. Fiding images from Google is not a source of free images.
Exhibit A through F - Higbee & Associates, Claim Number: XQVVPY.
Exhibit A - I will contact our client about the differences in the images and confirm there was no mistake in uploading the incorrect image.
Removing the reaming images will not eliminate liability for the past usage. I will repeat, weststpaulantiques.com is a commercial website and any content being use will be considered commercial. If you did not obatined proper authorization or a license to use and display the images on your websiet, our client is entitled to recover their actual damages.
If our client was able to confirm the website is using our clients image without proper authorization or license, we will mostlikely have a claim against them. The fact that you are obatining these images from specific websites and reckelssisly disregarding copyrights can be seen willful.
Exhibit A through GG - Higbee & Associates, Claim Number: 6PEEMQ.
*Exhibit B - Once again if you are obtaining images and not obtaining authorization to license to use and display, an infringement occurred and our client is entitled to recover their damages. I will repeat, weststpaulantiques.com is a commercial website and any content being use will be considered commercial.
Exhibit D- I have attached the image in question and screenshot to show it is the same image.
Exhibit E - Once again if you are obtaining images and not obtaining authorization to license to use and display, an infringement occurred and our client is entitled to recover their damages. I will repeat, weststpaulantiques.com is a commercial website and any content being use will be considered commercial.
Exhibit M - Once again if you are obtaining images and not obtaining authorization to license to use and display, an infringement occurred and our client is entitled to recover their damages. I will repeat, weststpaulantiques.com is a commercial website and any content being use will be considered commercial.
Exhibit Q - Once again if you are obtaining images and not obtaining authorization to license to use and display, an infringement occurred and our client is entitled to recover their damages. I will repeat, weststpaulantiques.com is a commercial website and any content being use will be considered commercial.
Exhibit T - Once again if you are obtaining images and not obtaining authorization to license to use and display, an infringement occurred and our client is entitled to recover their damages. I will repeat, weststpaulantiques.com is a commercial website and any content being use will be considered commercial.
Exhibit Y - Claim No. 6PEEMQ & Exhibit A -Claim No. XQVVPY – I am confirming with both clients if there was an error made on this image. I will get this corrected once I have response from both clients.
Exhibit GG - Exhibit Z – we are counting this as one image. We still have 42 images in question with all claims together. With the exception of the image of Juan Uribe. I will update you once I have a response.
Our attorney would like me to inform you that none of the information provided above are valid legal arguments, and will not affect the demand amounts we are requesting. All of the images were obtained improperly and without permission or license to use and display them on weststpaulantiques.com. We urge you to make a reasonable offer and do not forced each client to initiate litigation on all five claims.
We appreciate you placing your offer back on the table, however, it was already respectfully decline and the reason why we provided you with a counter offer of $21,000. Making a lesser amount will not help this situation. I will need you to increase your offer in efforts to reach an amicable resolution.
Please let me know if you have a different offer, you want our client to consider. At this time, we do not have any authorization to make any further reductions if you have decreased your offer.
Re: Copyright Infringement - West Saint Paul Antiques - Claim # 6PEEMQ - L60051 - XQVVPY - N5MMOZ - 0Q993N
Hi Floyd,
I was able to get confirmation there was an error for the image of Juan Uribe. For Reuters Claim – XQVVPY – the image was deleted. Here is the list of number of images per claim:
XQVVPY – Reuters News & Media – 5 Images in question
6PEEMQ – The Associated Press – 32 Images in question
L60051 – Agence France-Presse – 1 image in question
N5MMOZ – Mirrorpix – 1 image in question
0Q993N – Nature Picture Library – 1 image in question
40 total images – Offer Demand $500 per image total settlement of $20,000. The offer decreased from $21,000.
Click here for a copy of this email sent 3/5/2023.
Yubani,
Thanks for the emails. It's always nice to hear from you.
.
In my email to you on February 27th, 2023. I asked you a question about Exhibit D - Claim Number: 6PEEMQ
The image in question you said it was on a web page called, Legend of Groundhogs Day - All photos on that web page was removed in June of 2022 I mean I removed all of the images on that web page, ones in question and photos not in question, I removed them all and the webpage was tagged at that time. In my email I said to you the photo in question is not the same photo in your exhibit D and screenshot that you proved at that time proved it. Look at your exhibit D and compare it to your screenshot on July 6th, 2022. you can see the difference.
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You reply to my question in your email dated 2/28/2023 at 8:18 PM
Exhibit D- I have attached the image in question and screenshot to show it is the same image.
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Yes you sent two attachmentts with photos on February 27th, 2023
I have four questions for you about your screenshot of my website. (1) When was the screenshot taken, time and date required. (2) Who took that screenshot. Was it, Higbee & Assocciates, PicRights International Inc, The Associated Press or was it someone else, in this case I would require a name. (3) Where was the image locate. Please give us the exact location on a give web page with in a give website. (4) Can you explan to me in detail how you could take a screenshot of one of West St Paul Antiques webpages in July of 2022 and a 2nd screenshot of the same webpage and come up with two totally different screenshots. Thedefinition of a screen·shot, "An image of the data displayed on the screen of a computer or mobile device." Our webpage doesn't look anything like you 2nd screenshot so please explain how this is possible.
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I fully expect you to cooperate with my request in this matter. So I can determine if you have a right to even bring a legal claim to the table on this Exhibit. Thank you.
I'm still puzzled by what you said in your email February 28, 2023
About claim number: 516719 dated September 19th, 2018. You said this claim is closed and you went on to say there is nothing I will be able to discuss. Then you closed by saying we are only discussing and seeking resolution on the five pending claims we are currently discussing.
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I hate to say this but it is important to me to know why you closed that claim in 2018. If I don't receive an answer I'll just assume that PicRigths knew about West St Paul Antiques website and all of these images back in 2017.
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I fully expect you to cooperate with my request in this matter. So I can determine if you have a right to even bring these legal claims to the table. Thank you
.
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I'm still puzzled by the number of images in question. In an earlier email you stated 42. Then in your latest email you now say 40, one was removed and deleted from claim #XQVVPY now making that claim 5 photos in question. So was the 42nd photo from claim number: 516719 or someplace else?
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In an earlier email I asked you a question. Why did PicRigths vary from their normal policy on notification. You never did answer, so I'll ask it again. PicRights did not make several efforts to resolve these copyright matters with West St Paul Antiques, as stated in all your claims. The several attempts to resolve a claim was in 2017 not in these claims. Compare all of the claims. PicRights reference Number: 1447-7737-5436 attempts made to resolve that claim were made on November 15th & December 13th, 2017 & January 3rd, 2018 before sending the claim to your law firm. The first letter I received from Higbee & Associates was on September 19th, 2018 for that claim. Your Claim Number: 516719. In these claims 6PEEMQ, XQVVPY, L60051, N5MMOZ & OQ993N PicRights sent all the letters on June 20th, 2022. I received those letters several days later. On all of those letters it reads: " We would like to resolve this time-sensitive issue as soon as possible and request that you respond within 14 days from the date of this correspondence." I received your firm's first letter dated July 6th, 2022 followed by four additional letters dated the 7th, 13th, and two on them July 26th, 2022.
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Sure looks like a coordinated attack between your law firm and PicRights International Inc.on my company website.
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So can you please answer the question, why did PicRigths vary from their normal policy on notification on your 5 claims? Or have they changed their policy on notification. I know for a fact that they haven't as of February 13th, 2023. All you have to do look up Reference Number: 4094-9680-4118, - Click here* See below
.
As I stated before there are many issues with these claims. Plus I'm finding new things everyday. I haven't even gone into case law yet. That's for another email down the road. I have brought up a few issues in previous emails and I'll bring up a few more in this email.
In an earlier email you stated that your attorney would like you to inform me that none of the informationprovided in my emails are valid legal arguments, and will not affect the demand amounts we are requesting. All of the images were obtained improperly and without permission or license to use and display them on weststpaulantiques.com.
.
The information you provided to me is incorrect and you know it. If you're going give me your opinion or hearsay, just let know that upfront and not like you're passing on valid information in order to discourage me or even intimidate me in to settling these claims quickly. Get to know me, don't assume I'm stupid, that's insulting. Things like that hinder my decisions on the path forward with these claims. I thought you were negotiating in good fath with me, am I wrong?
.
You also said, we urge you to make a reasonable offer. Do you really think $4000.00 isn't a reasonable offer. What planet are you from. It's not earth that's for sure. For most families of 4 in Minnesota and most states in this great country of ours, $4000.00 would feed a family of four for 6 months or longer. To complete your sentence, you said, We urge you to make a reasonable offer and do not force each client to initiate litigation on all five claims. All I can say is just give your clients all the facts.
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Then you said, we appreciate you placing your offer back on the table, however, it was already respectfully declined and the reason why we provided you with a counter offer of $21,000. "That offer has now been reduced to $20,000.00 in an email from you on March 1st, 2023." Now you're saying. "Making a lesser amount will not help this situation. I will need you to increase your offer in efforts to reach an amicable resolution."
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You go on to say, please let me know if you have a different offer you want our client to consider. (Yes give your clients the new offer from me with all the facts this time.) Then you continue to say, "At this time, we do not have any authorization to make any further reductions if you have decreased your offer".
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So I'm not confused about this, are you asking me to remove my offer of $4000.00, because it was already respectfully declined. I believed you declined the first offer of $4200.00, so this is a brand-new offer with more facts. If you would like me to remove it from the table just let me know. I' m okay with that just let me know.
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As of today, I'm asking you to provide me with all documents relating to ownership of all images in question. Plus all copyright registration certificates with dates. I'm asking to see all 40 copyright registration certificates, so I can review them and determine legal claim, so I can make plans to move forward with my defense. Thank you and I fully expect you to cooperate with my request in this matter.
.
I really do not want to engage in a back and forth with your law firm. I really don't want to hire a law firm at this time, but I'll leave that option open. My time is limited, hopefully you can understand that and reconsider the offer that still on the table for now.
.
You seem to be more focused on the prize than the facts. This is a good example. You sent me an e-mail on February 15th, 2023 your entire email said:"Hi Floyd, Thank you for taking my call and briefly discussing this matter. Please send me your correspondence and let me know what is your best offer to resolve these matters outside of court. Thank you, Yubani Noriega." I followed up on that email with a page-and-a-half of facts to consider in your claims. Plus the offer to share the link to the work that I've been doing. You don't seem to care about the facts. You're just too focused on the grand prize in your case it's 20 grand. Look, I hate burst your balloon, but there is no way you're getting anything if you reject my offer. Except for a slap on your wrist for being foolish based on a case to case scenario of all your images in question by your law firm. I totally believe each of the images used by West St Paul Antiques was a fair use and will pass all fair use tests. I have been trying to explain to you, just look at our website, for example let's start with Exhibit A - Higbee & Associates, Claim Number: L60051 you seem to been focuseed on that one in an earlier email. North High School Class of '66 Classmate Bill Lee webpage, as you stated in an earlier email, "the image in question for this claim has been removed from the website but is still stored on the following link:" This is the link you sent me: http://www.weststpaulantiques.com/images/512_The_northwestern_shore_of_the_Sea_of_Galilee.jpg
As I stated in an earlier email we have a computer technician from Network Solutions working on the problem. The problem should be resolved quickly by that company, but it is one of their older platforms.
You also stated in your earlier email about that image that is on Bill Lee's web page.
"If the image was obtained from Facebook and placed on your website without the proper authorization, that might the reason why we have a claim. You have to understand weststpaulantiques.com is a commercial website and any content being used will be considered commercial. Whether you generated a financial gain or not. Bottom line, if you did not obtain proper authorization to use and display the image in question, our client is entitled to recover their damages." Maybe you should add or ask your associates to add some case law to your theory on the law. Let me know if can prove me wrong. I'll look forward to seeing your follow-up on this one..
We can argue over this one photograph for days or weeks. Possibly we could set some new law precedents. The bottom line is it will always fall under fair use and you know that for a fact. I'm assuming that based on your title with Higbee and Associates. Save yourself and your associates sometime, just click your own link to the image. That will take you to the web page. (1) Look at where the photo was placed on the web page. There's a web page tag in the place where the photo was. (2) Then check out all the links on this web page for all kinds of information. (3) Now look over the entire web page This web page was created for Bill Lee as time capsule of his life and all of his accomplishments in life. You're probably wondering who is Bill Lee, he's just one of my High School classmates and a Marine brother from the Vietnam War. As I stated in an earlier email there's approximately 619 class members to the class of '66. Each of them with their own web page(s). All pages are different just like humans, some of them are more private that others. They share what they want with me and let me know what's okay to publish and what's not okay. They even at times will share confidential matters with me like an illness or something they're comfortable with. I'm always adding new content to there webpage like stories, news clippings, photos and pretty much what I can find floating around the internet about them. I'm the class webmaster and historian. I'm just doing my best to preserve their life stories. For some of my classmates I have actually started with their birth and taking their story all the way to their passing and wrapping it up in a mamorial page for them. Most of the class is engaged and active in the website. It's their source of information from the class of '66, and in some cases it's the only information they look at on a daily basis. They would be the ones that would volunteer to come and testify on my behalf. I have been doing this for years and I plan on doing it for years to come. God willing. (4) Now check out the nature of the alleged copyrighted work. The amount and substantiality of the portion taken, and, the effect of the use upon the potential market,
,
Now if you can tell me without a doubt and you're that positive this one image that you seem to focus on in your email to me on February 28th, 2023 wouldn't fall under a fair use defense and win the argument. If you are so positive then I suggest you go back to blowing up your balloons.
.
As you can see in the example above, Exhibit A claim number: L6OO51 which I did not cherry-pick, that was the one exhibit you focused on in one of your last emails. If I was given the opportunity to cherry-pick one of the exhibit I probably would have picked one that the photo had been so altered by someone. I couldn't even determine if it's actually the photo, that you're alleging copyright infringement on West St Paul Antiques. But I still removed all of them immediately. So you can see it would not be hard for me to produce similar results in all of the 40 images in question. The only problem with that is the $4000.00 would have been taken off the table by then. In fact as I'm typing this and thinking, why even have $4000.00 on the table. Just let me know as soon as possible, I'm ready to go back to working case-by-case on the balance of 39 images in question by your law firm.
So let me be clear about this today. If you or your associates invest a little time to took a little look at West St Paul Antiques website, you would come to the conclusion almost immediately, that all the images in question “they all fall under fair use!” in the opinion of many. I am claiming a fair use affirmative defense, plus any defenses that will be discovered within the search of the truth behind their claims. Yes I do know “everything you say can and will be used against you!”. I'm just trying to be upfront and honest so we're not wasting our time. West St Paul Antiques website has been around since April 22nd, 2009. It's basically the same website today as it was in 2009. This website is Informational and Educational and used for that purpose, with no profit or gain to West St Paul Antiques or myself. Spend a little time on it and maybe you'll come away with the same opinion.
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I'll look forward to hearing back from you. If you have any questions for me don't hesitate to send me an email or call me at your leisure.
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Have a great day and thanks for all your time in this matter.
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Sincerely,
.
Floyd Ruggles,
On behalf of West St Paul Antiques
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*This is, a link to all the work that I have done so far on all of the claims in question. I gave you the offer back on February 17th, 2023 in my email I sent to you.
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Februay 17th, 2023 email:.
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"I can send you a link to the work that I've done so far. If you would like me to send this link just let me know. Keep in mind that this is not the final draft, it's a work in progress for me. This would show you and your associates things that bother me about these claims." .
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That brings us to the present moment, where do we go from here, the ball is in your court.
I'm actually blown away by all the information out there on your Law Firm. You must be very popular and well-liked by all. I hope this doesn't turn into a PR nightmare for you and your associates. I just don't have the time for this nonsense and attention I'm getting .
A quote from my February 27th, 2023 e-mail.
“I don't believe a jury will think kindly of your playbook.”
March 10, 2023
Yubani Noriega
Re: Copyright Infringement - West Saint Paul Antiques - Claim # 6PEEMQ - L60051 - XQVVPY - N5MMOZ - 0Q993N
Hello Floyd,
I will have our supervising attorney address your concerns. Our attorney, Theodore Sell, will be in touch.
Thank you,
Yubani Noriega Supervising Legal Assistant - Copyright Enforcement Division Law Firm of Higbee & Associates ( http://www.HigbeeAssociates.com ) 1504 Brookhollow Dr. Suite 112, Santa Ana, CA. 92705 Phone Office: (800) 716-1245 - Direct (714) 617-8361 - Fax: (714) 597-6559
Legal Assistants are non-attorney staff members who assist attorneys in attempting to resolve copyright claims before litigation. All correspondence is reviewed by staff attorneys.
This electronic mail message and any attachments are confidential and may also contain privileged attorney-client information or work product. If you are not the intended recipient, or the person responsible to deliver it to the intended recipient, you may not use, disseminate, distribute or copy this communication. If you have received the message in error, please immediately notify us by reply electronic mail or by telephone and delete this original message. Thank you very much.
Copy of an email sent 3/10/2023
Yubani,
Thanks for the email. It's always nice to hear from you.
This is a heads up, Linda and I will be on spring break from March 16th through March 29th, 2023. We will be traveling with our children and totally disconnected from the internet. This is a chance for me and my family to recharge our batteries.
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Will your attorney be responding to these questions?
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In my last email to you. I asked you 7 questions.
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(1) About claim number: 516719 dated September 19th, 2018.
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(2) Why did PicRigths vary from their normal policy on notification.
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Sure looks like a coordinated attack between your law firm and PicRights International Inc. on my company website.
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(3) I'm asking you to provide me with all documents relating to ownership of all images in question, plus all copyright registration certificates with dates. I'm expecting to see all 40 copyright registration certificates, so I can review them and determine legal claim, so I can make plans to move forward with my defense.
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(4) Iasked you if you wanted me to remove my offer of $4000.00
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(5) I asked you in my last email. I thought you were negotiating in good fath with me, am I wrong?
(6) In an earlier email you stated 42 images in question. Then in your latest email you now say 40, one was removed and deleted from claim #XQVVPY now making that claim 5 photos in question. So was the 42nd photo from claim number: 516719 or someplace else?
(7) You replied to one of my question in your email dated 2/28/2023
Exhibit D - 6PEEMQ I have attached the image in question and screenshot to show it is the same image.
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Yes you sent two attachments with photos on February 27th, 2023
I have four questions for you about your screenshot of that webpage at that time. (1) When was the screenshot taken, time and date required. (2) Who took that screenshot. Was it, Higbee & Assocciates, PicRights International Inc, The Associated Press or was it someone else, in this case I would require a name. (3) Where was the image located. Please give me the exact location on a given web page with in a given website. (4) Can you explain to me in detail how you could take a screenshot of one of West St Paul Antiques webpages in July of 2022 and a 2nd screenshot of the same webpage and come up with two totally different screenshots. Thedefinition of a screen·shot, "An image of the data displayed on the screen of a computer or mobile device." Our webpage doesn't look anything like you 2nd screenshot so please explain how this is possible.
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I brought up those questions in my last email to you. I fully expect your attorney, Theodore Sell, to cooperate with my request in this matter.
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These are new questions for you today.
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Exhibit Z - Baseball Park - Claim No. 6PEEMQ and
Exhibit GG -Website other areas - Claim No. 6PEEMQ
These are the same photos of Texas Rangers relief pitcher Neftali Feliz celebrating after striking out New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez for the final out in the Rangers' 6-1 win in Game 6 of baseball's American League Championship Series in Arlington, Texas in 2010. I have mentioned that to Brian Ayer from your law firm, back in January of 2023. I'm expecting you to remove one of those exhibits from your claim 6PEEMQ. I fully expect you to cooperate with my request in this matter.
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and
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Two of your exhibits you really need to take a second look at, because they don't resemble the actual photographs that were on West St Paul Antiques website. These images were removed but you can see by your screenshots that you've made a mistake. They should be removed from your claims as follows.
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Exhibit B - Claim Number:XQVVPY No Man Left Behind - One of my Veteran's web pages for linking to other Veterans websites. You really need to take a second look at this image, because it doesn't resemble the actual photograph that was on West St Paul Antiques website. This photo was linked to a veteran's website called preciousstars.synthasite.com. The last I checked the website was down 2/8/2023. I have a screenshot of that image from the internet. You can find the same image by searching for precious stars synthasites. Click here for No Man Left Behind webpages and take a look for yourself.
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Exhibit Q - Claim Number: 6PEEMQ 1st Recon Battalion website 1st Recon Bn.com. This was the homepage to this nonprofit organization for the Marine Corps Special Forces in 2017 and acts as their backup system today. Veterans and Active Military Personnel are using these webpages for up-to-date information and educational purposes. In fact there are over 500 web pages on West St Paul Antiques website today for Veterans and Veterans organizations. I'm their membership director and webmaster. The image in question was a Veterans image "The Memory Remains, Not All Wounds Are Visible." You really need to take a second look at this image, because it doesn't resemble the actual photograph that was on West St Paul Antiques website. This photo was all over the internet in 2012-2017. You can find it on Flick today. This photo came from Facebook back in 2017. Click here for 1st Recon Battalion website..
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We can argue over all of these photographs for days or weeks. As I stated in my last email we possibly could set some new law precedents. The bottom line is all 40 images in question will fall under fair use. Where do we go from here. The ball is in your court.
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I'll look forward to hearing back from you and your attorney. If you have any questions for me don't hesitate to ask me. Keep in mind I will be on spring break starting next week.
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Have a great weekend and thanks for all your time in this matter.
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Sincerely,
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Floyd Ruggles,
On behalf of West St Paul Antiques
March 14, 2023
On 03/14/2023 5:38 PM EDT Theodore Sell <tsell@higbee.law> wrote:
Thank you Yubani
Mr. Ruggles,
I am not going to go through and explain that which is already extremely simple to understand and my staff is done answering your questions. If you need actual help understanding your unlawful actions here, please retain counsel of an attorney for your own defense.
These matters are really simple for a prima facie case for copyright infringement exists where a plaintiff can show (1) ownership of a valid copyright and (2) unauthorized use of constituent elements of the work that are original. See 17 USC 410(c) and Feist Publ'ns, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Serv. Co., 499 U.S. 340, 361 (1991). Our clients can show that they are the authors or employer-authors of these images and, as such, they hold the copyrights. 17 USC 201. We can also show – and have provided you proof – that you used those images and we also know you had no authorization from our clients to use their properties. It really is that simple. If you need, we can have a federal judge explain it to you.
As you can see, that infringement was found April 14, 2022.
The rest are all similar and easily – and already – proven. Shall we settle or would you rather face judgment for your multiple violations of the property rights of others?
Respectfully,
Theodore (Ted) W. Sell, Esq. Colorado Bar No. 44157
Idaho Bar No. 12047 Attorney at Law - Copyright Division
Law Firm of Higbee & Associates 1504 Brookhollow Dr. Suite 112 Santa Ana, CA 92705
This electronic mail message and any attachment is confidential and may also contain privileged attorney-client information or work product. If you are not the intended recipient, or the person responsible to deliver it to the intended recipient, you may not use, disseminate, distribute or copy this communication. If you have received the message in error, please immediately notify us by reply electronic mail or by telephone and delete this original message. Thank you very much.
Copy of an email sent 3/15/2023
Theodore (Ted) W. Sell, Esq. & Yubani Noriega
Thanks for the email. Possilbly you could have spent some of your time in your last email to me explaining why you don't feel I have the right to ask questions. I thought under rule 408 I was perfectly in my right to ask questions or am I wrong to be asking any questions. But as you stated in your email, "If you need, we can have a federal judge explain it to you." Maybe you're right but I don't think so. In my last two emails to your law firm and Yubani. I asked 7 questions. You never do answer them, you just seem to dance around and dodge all of the questions. Let me ask these important questions for the last time.
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(1) About claim number: 516719 dated September 19th, 2018. You said this claim is closed and you went on to say there is nothing I will be able to discuss. Then you closed by saying we are only discussing and seeking resolution on the five pending claims we are currently discussing.
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I hate to keep saying this but it very important to me to know why you closed that claim in 2018. If I don't receive an answer I'll just assume that PicRigths knew about West St Paul Antiques website and all of these images back in 2017. If that's the case, you need to walk away from all of these claims immediately, before I start poking around for more information about this predicament you have.
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I fully expect you to cooperate with my request in this matter, so I can determine if you have a right to even bring these legal claims to the table.
(2) Why did PicRigths vary from their normal policy on notification. You never did answer, so I'll ask it again. PicRights did not make several efforts to resolve these copyright matters with West St Paul Antiques, as stated in all your claims. The several attempts to resolve a claim was in 2017 not in these claims. Compare all of the claims. PicRights reference Number: 1447-7737-5436 attempts made to resolve that claim were made on November 15th & December 13th, 2017 & January 3rd, 2018 before sending the claim to your law firm. The first letter I received from Higbee & Associates was on September 19th, 2018 for that claim. Your Claim Number: 516719. In these claims 6PEEMQ, XQVVPY, L60051, N5MMOZ & OQ993N PicRights sent all the letters on June 20th, 2022. I received those letters several days later. On all of those letters it reads: " We would like to resolve this time-sensitive issue as soon as possible and request that you respond within 14 days from the date of this correspondence." I received your firm's first letter dated July 6th, 2022 followed by four additional letters dated the 7th, 13th, and two on them July 26th, 2022.
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Sure looks like a coordinated attack between your law firm and PicRights International Inc. on my company website.
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So can you please answer the question, why did PicRigths vary from their normal policy on notification on your 5 claims? Or have they changed their policy on notification. I know for a fact that they haven't as of February 13th, 2023. All you have to do is look up Reference Number: 4094-9680-4118
I fully expect you to cooperate with my request in this matter, so I can determine if you even have a right to bring these legal claims to the table.
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(3) I'm asking you to provide me with all documents relating to ownership of all images in question, plus all copyright registration certificates with dates. I'm expecting to see all 40 copyright registration certificates, so I can review them and determine legal claim, so I can make plans to move forward with my defense.
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I fully expect you to cooperate with my request in this matter, so I can determine if you even have a right to bring these legal claims to the table. .
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(4) Iasked you if you wanted me to remove my offer of $4000.00 but you didn't answer. That leaves me at a crossroad today.
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I also said in my last email. I really do not want to engage in a back and forth with you or your law firm. Knowing how rule 408 works and my time seems to be limited, I'm hoping you can respect that. You seem to be dodging all of my questions at this time, I do know that a good legal team with some investigating work behind it would be expensive. The $4000.00 won't go far but it's a start and it might pay out dividends. But who knows one of my theories might pan out, about the nonsense between your firm and PicRights International, as I stated in previous emails. That's why I have to ask so many questions about these claims. I really don't want to hire a law firm, but I'm leaning that way. Again my time is limited, hopefully you can understand that and reconsider the offer that still on the table for now.
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(5) I asked you in my last email. I thought you were negotiating in good fath with me, am I wrong?
(6) In an earlier email you stated 42 images in question. Then in your latest email you now say 40, one was removed and deleted from claim #XQVVPY now making that claim 5 photos in question. So was the 42nd photo from claim number: 516719 or someplace else?
(7) You replied to one of my question in your email dated 2/28/2023
Exhibit D - 6PEEMQ I have attached the image in question and screenshot to show it is the same image.
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Yes you sent two attachments with photos on February 27th, 2023
I have four questions for you about your screenshot of that webpage at that time. (1) When was the screenshot taken, time and date required. (2) Who took that screenshot. Was it, Higbee & Assocciates, PicRights International Inc, The Associated Press or was it someone else, in this case I would require a name. (3) Where was the image located. Please give me the exact location on a given web page with in a given website. (4) Can you explain to me in detail how you could take a screenshot of one of West St Paul Antiques webpages in July of 2022 and a 2nd screenshot of the same webpage and come up with two totally different screenshots. Thedefinition of a screen·shot, "An image of the data displayed on the screen of a computer or mobile device." Our webpage doesn't look anything like you 2nd screenshot so please explain how this is possible.
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I fully expect you to cooperate with my request in this matter, so I can determine if you have a right to even bring a legal claim to the table on this Exhibit D - 6PEEMQ.
As I stated before there are many issues with your claims. I have brought up many issues in previous emails. You never answered all my questions honestly. You just seem to dance around and dodge most of my questions.
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I'll bring up a few in my last email to Yubani, and I'll bring up a few more in this email. I fully expect you to cooperate with my request in this matter.
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These are new questions for you today.
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Exhibit Z - Baseball Park - Claim No. 6PEEMQ and
Exhibit GG -Website other areas - Claim No. 6PEEMQ
These are the some photos of Texas Rangers relief pitcher Neftali Feliz celebrating after striking out New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez for the final out in the Rangers' 6-1 win in Game 6 of baseball's American League Championship Series in Arlington, Texas in 2010. I have mentioned that to Brian Ayer from your law firm, back in January of 2023. I'm expecting you to remove one of those exhibits from your claim 6PEEMQ. I fully expect you to cooperate with my request in this matter.
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and
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Two of your exhibits you really need to take a second look at, because they don't resemble the actual photographs that were on West St Paul Antiques website. These images were removed but you can see by your screenshots that you've made a mistake. They should be removed from your claims as follows.
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Exhibit B - Claim Number:XQVVPY No Man Left Behind - One of my Veteran's web page for linking to other Veterans websites. You really need to take a second look at this image, because it doesn't resemble the actual photograph that was on West St Paul Antiques website. This photo was linked to a veteran's website called preciousstars.synthasite.com. The last I checked the website was down 2/8/2023 , I have a screenshot of that image from the internet. You can find the same image by searching fort precious stars synthasites. Click here for No Man Left Behind webpages and take a look for yourself.
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Exhibit Q - Claim Number: 6PEEMQ 1st Recon Battalion website 1st Recon Bn.com. This was the homepage to this nonprofit organization for the Marine Corps Special Forces in 2017 and acts as their backup system today. Veterans and Active Military Personnel are using these webpages for up-to-date information and educational purposes. In fact there are over 500 web pages on West St Paul Antiques website today for Veterans and Veterans organizations. I'm their membership director and webmaster. The image in question was a Veteran's image "The Memory Remains, Not All Wounds Are Visible." You really need to take a second look at this image, because it doesn't resemble the actual photograph that was on West St Paul Antiques website. This photo was all over the internet in 2012-2017. You can find it on Flick today. This photo came from Facebook back in 2017. Click here for 1st Recon Battalion website..
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We can argue over all of these photographs for days or weeks. As I stated in my last email we possibly could set some new law precedents. The bottom line is all 40 images in question will fall under fair use. Where do we go from here. The ball is in your court.
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I'll look forward to hearing back from you. If you have any questions for me don't hesitate to ask me. Linda and I will be on spring break from March 16th through March 29th, 2023. We will be traveling with our children and totally disconnected from the internet. This is a chance for me and my family to recharge our batteries. I seriously hope when I get back there's an email from you with answers to these questions. If you're seriously negotiating in good faith with me you would answer all the questions
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A quote from my March 5th, 2023 e-mail.
“ I hope this doesn't turn into a PR nightmare for you and your associates.”
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Have a great day and thanks for all your time in this matter.
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Sincerely,
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Floyd Ruggles,
On behalf of West St Paul Antiques
March 22, 2023
From: Theodore Sell <tsell@Higbee.law> Date: Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 11:13 AM To: floyd <floyd@weststpaulantiques.com> Cc: Yubani Noriega <ynoriega@Higbee.law>, Brian Ayer <bayer@Higbee.law> Subject: Re: Copyright Infringement - West Saint Paul Antiques - Claim # 6PEEMQ - L60051 - XQVVPY - N5MMOZ - 0Q993N
Mr. Ruggles,
It is regrettable that you are stuck on getting answers to moot questions, which is both a waste of time and effort on both our parts. Perhaps a federal judge can make that clear to you?
Nevertheless, I will answer a few questions:
Case 516719 was closed because our client said to close it. Nothing else truly matters and you have no right to know our communications with our client and your assumptions are not well-advised.
It find interesting that you claim PicRights did not attempt to resolve these matters considering you conversed with its staff on several occasions. Additionally, there is no “coordinated attack” on your website; but for your multiple unlawful uses of the properties of others, there would be no contact with you at all. Perhaps you should look in instead of out as the source of your troubles.
That you still look for copyright registration certificates though copyright exists prior to, and even in the absence of, shows your dire need of seeking competent counsel. You really should discuss these matters with a licensed attorney of your own choosing to avoid such pratfalls.
I did not address your suggestion of removing the counteroffer because it is an abnormal request. I’ll be blunt, if you remove (rescind?) the counteroffer, we must then advise our clients to proceed immediately to suit, the result of which will leave you with an understanding of how much cheaper it would have been to just pay the full demands – let alone further negotiations.
I believe we are negotiating in good faith but we await counteroffers, or a combined counteroffer, that might actually motivate these property holders – our clients – to settle rather than litigate. Of course, if you remove the $4000 counteroffer, all good faith will have evaporated.
I believe I may have either miscounted or mistyped; observe:
6PEEMQ – 32 images
L60051 – 1 image
XQVVPY – 5 images
N5MMOZ – 1 image
0Q993N – 1 image
40 images total
The screenshot provided you in my prior email was created by me, simultaneous to and for the email response I sent; however, that you question this shows that you have failed to consider the information found in that image as it does show that our client is the author – and therefore the copyright holder – of the image you unlawfully used. (This is the kind of irrelevant questions that is going to lead you to answering to a federal judge as to why you care so little about the property of others.)
We will not be chasing down your multiple rabbit holes of irrelevance. You have a simple, direct question before; do you want to resolve these matters or do you want to face injunctions and judgments from a federal court?
Respectfully,
Theodore (Ted) W. Sell, Esq. Colorado Bar No. 44157
Idaho Bar No. 12047 Attorney at Law - Copyright Division
Law Firm of Higbee & Associates 1504 Brookhollow Dr. Suite 112 Santa Ana, CA 92705
This electronic mail message and any attachment is confidential and may also contain privileged attorney-client information or work product. If you are not the intended recipient, or the person responsible to deliver it to the intended recipient, you may not use, disseminate, distribute or copy this communication. If you have received the message in error, please immediately notify us by reply electronic mail or by telephone and delete this original message. Thank you very much.
April 18, 2023
Yubani Noriega<ynoriega@higbee.law>
Re: Copyright Infringement - West Saint Paul Antiques - Claim # 6PEEMQ - L60051 - XQVVPY - N5MMOZ - 0Q993N
To Theodore Sell, floyd Copy Brian Ayer
Hello Mr. Ruggles,
I’m doing a follow-up on the email below. Let me know how you like to proceed.
Thank you,
Yubani Noriega Supervising Legal Assistant - Copyright Enforcement Division Law Firm of Higbee & Associates ( http://www.HigbeeAssociates.com ) 1504 Brookhollow Dr. Suite 112, Santa Ana, CA. 92705 Phone Office: (800) 716-1245 - Direct (714) 617-8361 - Fax: (714) 597-6559
Legal Assistants are non-attorney staff members who assist attorneys in attempting to resolve copyright claims before litigation. All correspondence is reviewed by staff attorneys.
This electronic mail message and any attachments are confidential and may also contain privileged attorney-client information or work product. If you are not the intended recipient, or the person responsible to deliver it to the intended recipient, you may not use, disseminate, distribute or copy this communication. If you have received the message in error, please immediately notify us by reply electronic mail or by telephone and delete this original message. Thank you very much.
Copy of an email sent 4/23/2023
Yubani,
Always nice to hear from you. Just saw your email and the email from Mr. Sell today. I am disappointed that you have again not addressed many of my concerns. I believe you are conducting a coordinated attack on my website despite your assertion to the contrary. As I have stated I did not have conversations with PicRights except in the case that was dropped from 2017 for reasons I am not privy to. I am disappointed that you are not interested in accepting my offer of $4000 or making a reasonable counter offer. I will begin the search for an attorney this week.
Sincerely,
Floyd Ruggles
Copy of an email sent 5/8/2023
Brian,
I've been looking over all my emails correspondence with your firm and I noticed that I did not receive in your email dated January 12th, 2023 the attached Electronic Copies of the Initial Demand Letters that you ask me to please review and forward to the appropriate party was missing in your email. Can you please send me the Electronic Copies of the Initial Demand Letters or a link to the copies of them ASP. Thank You,
Have a great day and thanks for all your time in this matter.
Sincerely,
Floyd Ruggles,
On behalf of West St Paul Antiques
Copy of an email sent 5/12/2023
Brian or Yubani,
This is my second request. Please send me my Electronic Copies of the Initial Demand Letters.
Have a great day and thanks for all your time in this matter.
Sincerely,
Floyd Ruggles,
On behalf of West St Paul Antiques
May 12, 2023
Brian Ayer<bayer@higbee.law>
Re: Electronic Copy of the Initial Demand Letters
To floyd Copy Yubani Noriega
Good afternoon Mr. Ruggles,
Thank you for your email response. My apologies for the delay in getting back to you, please see attached.
Thank you,
Brian Ayer
Legal Assistant
Copyright Enforcement Division The Law Firm of Higbee and Associates
Legal Assistant are non-attorney staff members who assist attorneys in attempting to resolve copyright claims prior to litigation. All correspondence is reviewed by staff attorneys.
This electronic mail message and any attachment is confidential and may also contain privileged attorney-client information or work product. If you are not the intended recipient, or the person responsible to deliver it to the intended recipient, you may not use, disseminate, distribute or copy this communication. If you have received the message in error, please immediately notify us by reply electronic mail or by telephone and delete this original message. Thank you very much.
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