It looks like Jack Davis may be sued for using a picture of Jon Powers in a political ad. According to the attorney, the picture was copyrighted.
Here’s the release and picture:
The Law Office of Paul C. Rapp
348 Long Pond Road
Housatonic, Massachusetts 01236Licensed in New York and Massachusetts
MA: 413.553.3189
NY: 518.935.4568
Fax: 413.528.2079
paul@paulrapp.com
www.paulrapp.comSeptember 3, 2008
via email jack@jackdavis and overnight courier
Jack Davis
Davis for Congress
12600 Clarence Center Road
Akron, New York 14001Re: Notice of Copyright Infringement
Dear Mr. Davis:
I represent journalist Jerri Kaiser of Churchville, New York. Please be advised that a television advertisement your campaign is running infringes on Ms. Kaiser’s copyright in a photograph of your opponent Jon Powers. A copy of the photograph is attached hereto.
Ms. Kaiser has attempted to inform your organization of this infringement and your organization has responded with a combination of ignorance and arrogance. Someone at your campaign headquarters asked her if her photograph had been “copyrighted.” Erick Mullen, of the Washington DC political communications firm that created this advertisement on your behalf, informed Ms. Kaiser via email “I can assure you that any claim against this work based on U.S. copyright law is baseless.”
The photograph was taken by Ms. Kaiser and she has held the federal copyrights in the photograph since its creation. 17 USC § 102. You have used it without authorization. Her claim of infringement is not only far from baseless, it is unassailable. And your organization has continued to air the advertisement, despite being correctly informed by Ms. Kaiser last week that such airings were in violation of her rights.
It is disappointing that one seeking a seat in Congress lacks an appreciation for even the most basic tenets of federal intellectual property law.
We demand that you immediately cease and desist further airing of the television commercial using the image of my client’s photograph, and that you further cease producing or distributing all media of any type that incorporates the image of my client’s photograph, and destroy any and all media of any type that incorporates the image of my client’s photographs. We also demand that you provide us with a full accounting of the number of airings of the offending commercial by market and television station, and any other uses of the image of my client’s photograph in printed or other media, including the number of copies printing and the means and manner of distribution.
We are in the process of acquiring the federal registration of Ms. Kaiser’s claim of copyright from the federal Copyright Office. If we do not hear from by the close of business on Friday September 5, 2008, we will understand that you prefer to resolve this matter in a court of law, a fight you cannot possibly win.
Very truly yours,
Paul C. Rapp
