Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 16:09:18 -0500
From: ezola < [email protected]>
To: John Young < [email protected]>
Subject: DMCA and Church of L. Ron Hubbard
From: < [email protected]>
To: < [email protected]>
Cc: < [email protected]>; < [email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2001 3:09 PM
Subject: Notice of Copyright Infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Dear Gentlepersons:
Our office represents L. Ron Hubbard Library, the exclusive licensee of the copyrights to certain photographs of Mr. L. Ron Hubbard. Additionally, our office also represents Religious Technology Center ("RTC"), the owner of the federally registered trademark and service mark "L. RON HUBBARD". The mark "L. RON HUBBARD" is registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office under registration number, 1,821,751, a copy of which is attached. We also represent the Church of Scientology International ("CSI"), which is the licensee of the "L. Ron Hubbard" trademark.
Please be advised that one of Town Square Internet's subscribers, Laissez Faire City, has placed one of the L. Ron Hubbard Library's copyrighted photographs on his home page on your web site without the authorization of our client. This photograph is registered with the United States Copyright office under TX 441 079, a copy of which is attached hereto. He has also placed RTC's federally registered trademark, L. RON HUBBARD above this photograph. The copyrighted work and trademark can be found under the following URL:
http://www.zolatimes.com/JparArt/hubbard.html
Our clients have obtained numerous permanent injunctions concerning Internet infringements of other copyrighted works. For instance, in May 1998, a jury in the United States District Court in San Jose, California assessed damages in the amount of $75,000 against a Mr. Henson for copyright infringement on the Internet. Mr. Henson was also permanently enjoined by the court against further infringements. A United States District Court in the state of Virginia granted judgment for damages, costs, and a permanent injunction related to similar copyright infringement. Permanent injunctions have also been entered in three additional U.S. cases.
Similar results have been reached in Europe. On September 14, 1998, a Swedish court enjoined a defendant who engaged in similar infringements, in addition to finding that his actions in placing our client's copyrighted works on the Internet violated the owner's rights under Swedish copyright law. He was also fined for his illegal actions and ordered to pay $161,000 in litigation costs. On June 9, 1999, a Dutch court found an individual and numerous Internet service providers had engaged in copyright infringement by posting, or hosting, our clients' copyrighted works on their web sites. The court ruled that the service providers must remove such postings as soon as they are notified of them, subject to a penalty of $2,500 for each day on which they do not comply.
Moreover, the reproduction of a photograph in its entirety constitutes copyright infringement. See Rogers v. Koons, 751 F.Supp. 474, 478 (S.D.N.Y. 1990) aff'd, 960 F.2d 301 (2nd Cir.), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 934 (1992).
Likewise, your subscriber's use of RTC's federally registered trademark, L. RON HUBBARD, has caused his name/web page to be falsely associated with our client's registered mark as owner and creates a likelihood of confusion as to the source or sponsorship of this web page in violation of United States state and federal law, including the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. . 1125(a), various state and federal laws and international law.
Additionally, the federally registered trademark, L. Ron Hubbard, is famous, distinctive and unique. The use of this mark in this manner dilutes the distinctiveness of the mark in violation of the federal trademark antidilution statute, 15 U.S.C. . 1125(c) and California's antidilution statute. See, Archdiocese of St. Louis v. Internet Entertainment Group, Inc., 34 F.Supp.2d 1145 (E.D. Mo. 1999); Mattel, Inc. v. Internet Dimensions, Inc., 55 U.S.P.Q.2d 1620 (S.D.N.Y. 2000); Deere & Co. v. MTD Products, Inc., 41 F.3d 39, 43 (2nd Cir. 1994).
This subscriber's actions in placing our clients' copyrighted work and federally registered trademark on his web page violates United States copyright and trademark law. Accordingly, we request that this work and the trademark be removed immediately.
I have a good faith belief, and in fact know for certain, that the posting of this work by your subscriber on their web page was not authorized by my client, any agent of my client, or the law.
I declare under penalty of perjury that this information is accurate and that I am authorized to act on behalf of the L. Ron Hubbard Library in this matter.
Sincerely,
Ava Paquette
Moxon & Kobrin
3055 Wilshire Boulevard
Suite 900
Los Angeles, California 90010
Tel: (213) 487-4468
Fax: (213) 487-5385
Yakki Da
Kent
"The only difference between God and Adolf Hitler is that God is more proficient at genocide."
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