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I've talked to plenty of lawyers and spent plenty of money on intellectual property issues. I know what I'm talking about. A declaratory judgement suit is in my

by ikeboy 6y ago

I've talked to plenty of lawyers and spent plenty of money on intellectual property issues. I know what I'm talking about. A declaratory judgement suit is in my view the proper avenue to address a tenuous IP claim. Like I said, tortious interference is not a great fit, but it's still applicable - interference with my contract with Github counts as interference. If it was an actual DMCA notice then the only remedy would be a 512(f) suit (plus declaratory judgement) because DMCA preempts other causes of action (caveat: [0]), but it's not a DMCA notice. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/8166790/tech-and-goods-inc-v-30-watt-holdings-llc/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/8166790/tech-and-goods-... here's a recent decision where a tortious interference claim was upheld when a false infringement claim was made to a third party (Amazon in this case). See dkt 30. https://mdcourts.gov/sites/default/files/unreported-opinions/2017/2556s15.pdf https://mdcourts.gov/sites/default/files/unreported-opinions... here's a tortious interference case that went to a jury and 150k in punitive damages was awarded despite actual damages only being around 5k (reduced by appeals to 75k+interest.) [0] Note that some jurisdictions haven't explicitly held that DMCA preempts state claims such as tortious interference, and at least one IP lawyer I've spoken to has brought state claims in such a jurisdiction.

varispeed 6y ago
I am sceptical, but I wish you all the best. I hope you'll be successful like this dude who got Spotify playlist export back on - it was epic.
gamblor956 6y ago
Your cites don't say what you think they say. For starters, the first link is for a motion to dismiss, A motion to dismiss merely assesses whether the plaintiff has made sufficient claims in its pleading to keep the case going. It's not a substantive ruling on the merits of anything. And second, it was related to a "tortious interference with business expectancy claim" which required the plaintiff to have a business that was interfered with as a result of the defendant's false trademark violation claim, and that harm actually resulted from the defendant's false claim. (The case is still going, and both sides have filed competing motions for summary judgment.) The second case was a tortious interfence case in which the defendant also made false allegations of counterfeiting, which led to Amazon removing the plaintiff's products from the store, so I'm assuming you brought it up because you are going to argue that the RIAA will make factually false statements of fact against you if you make a copy of the youtube-dl repository. If that's your plan, good luck, because you're going to need it. You're definitely going to want to hire better lawyers, too, if your current lawyers have advised you that you could beat the RIAA in these circumstances.
- ikeboy 6y ago
  I'm well aware of the differences between a motion to dismiss, summary judgment, and awards at trial. A ruling on a motion to dismiss shows that the law applies to a situation as alleged in the complaint. As I said in the comment you originally responded to, damages are likely to be negligible, which is why I wouldn't bring such a claim. You didn't explain what objection you had to the concept of tortious interference as it relates to a takedown request, so I just checked my database for examples of successful tortious interference claims at any stage. (I'm following over 100 similar cases where people or companies harmed by false infringement claims sued.) To the extent you were objecting because I lack a relevant contract, I don't see why the GitHub contract isn't sufficient. The biggest issue is damages. And as I said above, the plan is to file a declaratory judgement claim, which definitely applies if I can get standing. Whether a tortious interference claim would work depends on a number of factors including the exact details of a hypothetical RIAA takedown request, and as I said I don't plan on pursuing one anyway.

by ikeboy 6y ago

varispeed 6y ago

I am sceptical, but I wish you all the best. I hope you'll be successful like this dude who got Spotify playlist export back on - it was epic.

gamblor956 6y ago

Your cites don't say what you think they say. For starters, the first link is for a motion to dismiss, A motion to dismiss merely assesses whether the plaintiff has made sufficient claims in its pleading to keep the case going. It's not a substantive ruling on the merits of anything. And second, it was related to a "tortious interference with business expectancy claim" which required the plaintiff to have a business that was interfered with as a result of the defendant's false trademark violation claim, and that harm actually resulted from the defendant's false claim. (The case is still going, and both sides have filed competing motions for summary judgment.) The second case was a tortious interfence case in which the defendant also made false allegations of counterfeiting, which led to Amazon removing the plaintiff's products from the store, so I'm assuming you brought it up because you are going to argue that the RIAA will make factually false statements of fact against you if you make a copy of the youtube-dl repository. If that's your plan, good luck, because you're going to need it. You're definitely going to want to hire better lawyers, too, if your current lawyers have advised you that you could beat the RIAA in these circumstances.

ikeboy 6y ago
I'm well aware of the differences between a motion to dismiss, summary judgment, and awards at trial. A ruling on a motion to dismiss shows that the law applies to a situation as alleged in the complaint. As I said in the comment you originally responded to, damages are likely to be negligible, which is why I wouldn't bring such a claim. You didn't explain what objection you had to the concept of tortious interference as it relates to a takedown request, so I just checked my database for examples of successful tortious interference claims at any stage. (I'm following over 100 similar cases where people or companies harmed by false infringement claims sued.) To the extent you were objecting because I lack a relevant contract, I don't see why the GitHub contract isn't sufficient. The biggest issue is damages. And as I said above, the plan is to file a declaratory judgement claim, which definitely applies if I can get standing. Whether a tortious interference claim would work depends on a number of factors including the exact details of a hypothetical RIAA takedown request, and as I said I don't plan on pursuing one anyway.