Discussion:
What is the name of your state? South Carolina
I am a creator in a virtual world. I design a product that has earned me a healthy chunk of funds every month. The product is sold to other players in the virtual world.
In March, I was contacted by another creator (let's call her 'Lizzy') who wanted to do a collaboration project in which my source code would be exposed. This was out of the question. There was no way that I was going to give this person access to my source code.
In April, the item was purchased by another player (let's name her 'Joan') using an exploit in the system which allowed her to purchase it for only one dollar (in virtual funds). She only coughed up the remaining amount when asked. This player persisted in asking me questions about how my product worked. I thought nothing of it at the time.
Then when I upgraded my product, I sent out new versions to everyone who had previously purchased the product. 'Joan' left a message on a 3rd party website in which I used to sell the item that she had not received the upgrade.
I logged in to the 3D virtual world and delivered it to her personally. Then the next day, another message was posted for me that said "Thanks I received it". But it was not posted by 'Joan', it was posted by 'Lizzy'! I knew then exactcly who this person was. Joan was an alt account for Lizzy.
On June 20, I looked on the website I use to sell my products to other players and saw that Lizzy had produced a ripped version of my product!!! I immediatley filed a DMCA complaint contaiing all the related evidence. The product was taken down. The next day I received an email from the website administrator that the product was restored because Lizzy had filed a counter complaint stating that my complaint was in "error".
Lizzy knowingly and willingly used her alt account to obtain my product and then proceeded to dissect it to reproduce a ripped version of it. She is profiting off of my creative efforts and I want it stopped.
I was told that the only way it can be removed is to have a court order issued. I intend to be at the court house on Monday morning. The question is which court? Do I file at the magistrate court? And what forms do I use -or- where can I find a suitable example of a legal pleading online?
In this case, I will not contact an attorney due to the fact that the individual "Lizzy" is not even in the U.S. I would think that if I submit sufficient evidence to a judge that my copyright has been infringed upon, that they will issue an order to have the content removed. In addition, in order for her to contest the matter doesn't she have to appear before the judge?
Thanks for any helpful advice!What is the name of your state?
Answer:
From the little I understand of suing somebody in another country, you have to go to THEIR country to use THEIR court to sue them, but who knows.
Interesting to note, however, is that the most recent of cases regarding electronic copyright infringement, companies are not allowed to act as a server to allow copyright infringement to occur anymore, so if you can prove infringement and take this admin to court, they would be forced to take it down.
That all being said, I think you need to be more specific about what's going on here. From what I understand, you have not created anything tangible, n'est-ce pas?
Answer:
The product I created would classify as a computer program/code I suppose. It was written in a language similar to VBScript. The virtual world allows you to create objects using a building system. You can create pretty much anything in there that you can in the real world and more. So the product in question is my own original work. The makers of the 3D World do follow the DMCA and will follow through as will the website that is hosting the product for sale.
If real money was not involved, it would not be a big deal. But we are talking about thousands of US dollars, not five bucks.
Answer:
From the little I understand of suing somebody in another country, you have to go to THEIR country to use THEIR court to sue them, but who knows.
Interesting to note, however, is that the most recent of cases regarding electronic copyright infringement, companies are not allowed to act as a server to allow copyright infringement to occur anymore, so if you can prove infringement and take this admin to court, they would be forced to take it down.
That all being said, I think you need to be more specific about what's going on here. From what I understand, you have not created anything tangible, n'est-ce pas? Oh I see what you are saying about the filing location. But I will not be filing against HER, I will be filing to have the content removed from the website. The website that hosts the service is located in PA.
Answer:
Oh I see what you are saying about the filing location. But I will not be filing against HER, I will be filing to have the content removed from the website. The website that hosts the service is located in PA. You can't sue the ISP -- or, if you do, the case will be immediately dismissed. The ISP followed the rules under the DMCA -- when they received your complaint, they removed the material. When she countered, they put it back up. Now you have to sue HER in order to obtain a permanent injunction or other relief. Because the ISP followed the DMCA rules, they are immune from liability in this case.
You'll need to sue her in her own country -- although you'll likely be suing under U.S. copyright law...
You could try and sue her in the U.S., and obtain an injunction if she fails to appear. But you'll need to find some way to serve her in the country in which she lives in, and then hope that she doesn't object to jurisdiction, because if she does, the case will be dismissed. U.S. courts simply do not have jurisdiction over people not in the U.S. And you can't just go down to the courthouse, either -- you need to file a lawsuit before any judge will look at your case.
Answer:
You can't sue the ISP -- or, if you do, the case will be immediately dismissed. The ISP followed the rules under the DMCA -- when they received your complaint, they removed the material. When she countered, they put it back up. Now you have to sue HER in order to obtain a permanent injunction or other relief. Because the ISP followed the DMCA rules, they are immune from liability in this case.
You'll need to sue her in her own country -- although you'll likely be suing under U.S. copyright law...
You could try and sue her in the U.S., and obtain an injunction if she fails to appear. But you'll need to find some way to serve her in the country in which she lives in, and then hope that she doesn't object to jurisdiction, because if she does, the case will be dismissed. U.S. courts simply do not have jurisdiction over people not in the U.S. And you can't just go down to the courthouse, either -- you need to file a lawsuit before any judge will look at your case. Thanks for your reply. I am not sure I understand completely. Are you saying that I CAN in fact sue her in the U.S. but then I will have to have her served? So this is not something I can write up and just run down to the magistrate and take care of on Monday morning huh?
So if I file a lawsuit, can it be handled in a small claims court? I am not suing her for money, only to have the content removed. If it looks like I am coming out of pocket more than a couple hundred dollars, I will definitley being suing for court costs as well.
As far as having her served, it's kind of hard because in an online virtual world we have no access to other people identities and addresses. I only know that she lives in Europe because she has said so many times in the forums. And even then who knows if it is true.
So then there's another road block. I cannot serve someone when I do not have their address or even their real name. Would I have to go through the ownwers of the game and have THEM served to disclose that information?
Answer:
Are you saying that I CAN in fact sue her in the U.S. but then I will have to have her served? In principle. But she could easily have the case dismissed if she's paying attention.
So this is not something I can write up and just run down to the magistrate and take care of on Monday morning huh? No.
So if I file a lawsuit, can it be handled in a small claims court? No. Small claims courts do not have the authority to issue injunctions. Further, copyright law is a "federal question," and will therefore almost invariably end up in federal court.
I am not suing her for money, only to have the content removed. This is a type of "injunctive" relief -- basically a permanent restraining order.
If it looks like I am coming out of pocket more than a couple hundred dollars, I will definitley being suing for court costs as well. You can always sue for costs, you just can't usually get legal fees.
As far as having her served, it's kind of hard because in an online virtual world we have no access to other people identities and addresses. I only know that she lives in Europe because she has said so many times in the forums. And even then who knows if it is true. That does make things more difficult -- but that doesn't change the fact that she MUST be served. Even if you could go to small claims, you still need to serve.
So then there's another road block. I cannot serve someone when I do not have their address or even their real name. Would I have to go through the ownwers of the game and have THEM served to disclose that information? Most states allow you to file suit against a "Jane Doe" defendant. Once the suit is filed, then you can use the court's subpoena power to try and obtain records from other entities. However, if the subpoena's cross state lines, this can be difficult.
In any event, here's the problem. Even if you did file suit, and even if you did manage to find out where she lived and her real name and managed to get her served, all she would have to do is file for dismissal for lack of personal jurisdiction. Now, if she failed to do so, THEN you could go ahead and sue her, and she would have to appear to defend herself, or face a default judgment. However -- if she's on the ball enough to fight your DMCA request, do you really believe that she will be naive enough (or not consult counsel) in order to get the case easily dismissed? She can get the case dismissed from wherever she happens to be, so it's not like you can force her to come here and defend herself.
I'm not trying to make this seem hopeless, but in a sense, it is. If she really is overseas, there is very little you can do from here. The internet is a tough place sometimes, because the same system that allows people from around the worls to collaborate with each other also can allow people to rip other people off with relative impunity, because they know that they are safe from the laws that you and I have to follow.
Answer:
You might try checking the counter notice they filed. Some state that you're submitting to jurisdiction in the USA. For example, the one eBay supplies does that.