I've been spending some time over at "My Space" working on "Networking" and meeting new people outside of DU (Shocking, I know), and recently became "My Space friends" with the page "Our Missing Children" (link below) and just today got the message below. It's a long message, but you'll get the gist of the question in the first few paragraphs. The person who created this page at My Space is looking for advice as to how to deal with this other website who is threatening to sue them for "Copyright Violation."
Any advice you can give (to the person that created the Our Missing Children page) will be helpful, the link to the My Space page is below.
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Our Missing Children
Date: Aug 4, 2006 3:36 AM
QUILT OF HOPE HAS NO HOPE WITH CHILDSEEK NETWORK
Today I posted a blog about a quilt of hope I found on Childseek Network. It specifically stated it was from Childseek Network and also had a link to their home page at the bottom. Their online site probably got at least 3,000 hits, which will look great for their donors because people want to donate money to missing childrens sites that get alot of views.
You want to know how they thanked me? A lady who claims to be affiliated with them and runs a myspace account called Childseek Network has posted a bulletin saying they are going to sue me. If she is really affiliated with them it looks even worse because she is then using her myspace to make money by directing people to Childseek where they solicit for donations that are not being properly spent.
I looked up Childseek online and it seems they have a history of getting distracted from their real cause and getting into legal battles with such places as Team Amber, which gave them both bad press.
They posted a bulletin telling people I violated their quilts copyright and they are suing me yet their online site says nothing about it being copyrighted.
They are ready to spend money on lawyers to sue a man with no
money but cannot afford to spend money getting more bandwidth?
1.5 Gigs of bandwith costs about $49 a month and should allow about 50,000 views providing it's not a Video! This is just a link to a pic and shouldn't have any issue with the extra views unless they went with a really cheap hosting package for about $19 a month!!
If they went with a cheap hosting package they should close shop because they aren't interested in helping locate missing children. They are interested in making as much money as possible!
Why even have a site dedicated to sharing information about missing children if you're concerned about the number of "views"??
If they can't cite the exact law, either Title 18 or Title 47 USC (neither of which applies) they are full of it and need to find something better to do like spend the money they get sharing information, linking with other organizations, and actually helping find missing children!!
They better not be making money and ripping off the public for an important cause like missing children or they will regret the day they chose to mess with us, and the rest of the good people who really care!!
Here is a copy of a letter she posted in my blog with notes I made to some of her questionable statements in bold text:
I am the founder and director of the ChildSeek Network. We are a non profit organization (IF THEY ARE NON PROFIT THEN WHAT ARE THEY TRYING TO SUE ME FOR IF NOT FOR PROFIT?) based in Oregon. We have been together for over four years.
Our team of volunteers has worked tirelessly in that time to help families with missing loved ones.
Our hearts have experienced with families the loss of some children and the joy of others coming home.
We do what we do because we want to help. We love children and helping families. It is our passion.
The quilt you are viewing has taken us years to build. Much love, script writing and team work has gone into it.
The bandwidth that is used to bring the quilt to the public on our site is paid for through donations from generous people of the public. (I AM BRINGING IT TO THE PUBLIC SO USE THE DONATIONS TO PAY FOR IT NOT TO PAY FOR ATTORNEYS TO SUE SOMEONE ONE WHO HAS NO MONEY AND A SUIT THAT HAS NO CHANCE OF PREVAILING)
YES we want these children brought home, yes we want all them to be found safe and YES we want the public to view it. However we want it viewed on our site. (IT DOES NOT MATTER WHERE IT IS VIEWED FROM YOU STILL GET CHARGED AND PEOPLE WANT IT VIEWED WHO HAVE MISSING CHILDREN AND SUBMITTED IT AND THEY DON'T CARE WHERE IT IS VIEWED AS LONG AS IT GETS THE CHILD HOME)
Each time we add a missing child to our data base that image is added automatically to this quilt. (THIS CONTRADICTS YOUR EARLIER STATEMENT THAT THIS QUILT HAS TAKEN YEARS TO BUILD AND AS I CAN SEE WHEN A FAMILY SUBMITS A CASE IT IS AUTOMATICALLY ADDED TO YOUR QUILT) Each time that quilt is viewed it draws bandwidth from the server we have that is paid for by the donations. Each viewing draws on the bandwidth that is part of our server.
That means we are charged for the bandwidth used. (SO IF THEY VIEW IT FROM YOUR SITE OR MINE YOU STILL GET CHARGED, IF I PUT A LINK TO THE QUILT OF HOPE IN MY BLOG AND PEOPLE VIEWED IT YOU WOULD STILL GET CHARGED JUST AS MUCH SO WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM)
When this is used without our permission it is bandwidth theft.
The reason we removed Tim from our space last week was because he did not understand what bandwidth theft ment and why we were concerned about copyright laws and theft when he continued to do it on his site. ( I KNOW WHAT BANDWIDTH THEFT IS AND SHE NEVER COMPLAINED WHEN I REPOSTED HER MISSING BULLETINS WITHOUT USING MY OWN IMAGE HOSTING, AND SHE DELETED ME BECAUSE SHE SAID I WAS USING COPYRIGHTED STUFF FROM NCMEC AND AMW BUT YET I HAVE THEIR PERMISSION TO USE IT SO SHE IS A LIAR)
This removal of our guilt is a good example of that.
If you scroll over each image you will see it is directly linked to our site which draws from our server. Sending our quilt out not only draws from us it is in violation of our copyright. (YOU CANNOT COPYRIGHT A MISSING CHILD CASE. FURTHERMORE THERE IS NOTHING ON YOUR SITE SAYING THERE IS A COPYRIGHT ON IT. FINALLY WHEN YOU SUBMIT A MISSING CASE IT DOES NOT SAY ANYWHERE IN THE SUBMISSION THAT THIS NOW BELONGS TO CHILDSEEK AND IS COPYRIGHT PROTECTED. HOW WOULD THE PARENTS WHO SUBMIT THE CASES FEEL IF THEY KNEW YOU WERE NOT SHARING THEIR CASES WITH OTHER SITES? THEY PUT THEM THERE TO BE VIEWED BY ANYONE)
Please by all means visit ChildSeek and view our quilt but please TIM do not steal what is not yours. ( I DID NOT STEAL ANYTHING, NOWHERE ON CHILDSEEK SIGHT DOES IT SAY YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO USE THIS AND THAT THE QUILT IS COPYRIGHT PROTECTED, YOU ARE AN OUTRIGHT LIAR)
For Tim to place this without our permission is inexcusable. He deserves no credit for the hard work placed in this quilt. (I TOOK NO CREDIT FOR THE QUILT, MY BLOG SPECIFICALLY STATED IT WAS FROM CHILDSEEK NETWORK AND IT WAS LINKED ALSO MEANING WHEN PEOPLE CLICKED ON ANY OF THE PHOTO'S ON IT , IT GAVE A HIT TO CHILDSEEK NETWORK EVERYTIME)
http://www.childseeknetwork.com/quilt.phpJudy Maher
ChildSeek Network
Please remove our quilt from your space. You may place a link to it that is all.
FRIENDS OF OUR MISSING CHILDREN, LET US TAKE A MOMENT TO CONSIDER WHAT THIS MYSPACE CHILDSEEK NETWORK HAS SAID AND ASK OURSELVES, DO THEY REALLY CARE ABOUT THE CHILDREN? IT SEEMS TO ME THEY ARE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT HAVING TO SPEND A LITTLE BIT OF MONEY TO GET MORE BANDWIDTH. WHICH MAKES ME QUESTION WHAT THEY ARE DOING WITH ALL OF THAT DONATION MONEY. IS IT REALLY BEING SPENT ON FINDING MISSING CHILDREN?
They claim to be a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization . and their proceeds go to maintaining their website, providing flyers, buttons, and events for families of missing children. Yet, they are not rated, or haven't submitted to being rated, by the leading charity rating organization in America.
What might they be hiding? How much does their CEO make? How much of their donations go toward their stated cause, and how much goes to salary, overhead, and other questionable expenses? These are legitimate questions to be asked of a 501 (c) Non-profit organization.. Will we get legitimatge answers??
Lastly, they claim on their website that they work with other missing children sites. After all, the more exposure, the better chance of solving a case. Yet, they are very concerned with bandwith. A bogus claim because any 501 (c) Non-profit organization would gladly welcome the exposure and networking! After all, the views could lead to results, and subsequently more positive publicity which would lead to more donations!
I'm requesting that this organization be reviewed by a reputable national charity evaluation site. Let's hope ChildSeek network complies with this investigation and allows themselves to be reviewed amongst their peers. Any refusal to cooperate would not be a good faith sign that they are completely sincere about helping locate missing children and spending their donations wisely, would it?
FRIENDS OF MISSING CHILDREN EVERYWHERE WHY HAS THE MYSPACE CHILDSEEK NETWORK DONE THIS? ARE THEY REALLY YOUR FRIEND AND A FRIEND OF THE MISSING CHILDREN? OR ARE THEY UPSET THAT MY SITE IS DOING SO WELL AND PUTS OUT SO MUCH MORE INFO THAN THEIRS? ARE THEY UPSET BECAUSE AMW AND NCMEC CHILDREN GAVE ME PERMISSION TO USE THEIR STUFF WITHOUT MY OWN IMAGE HOSTING AND WITHOUT THREAT OF LAWSUIT FOR COPYRIGHT SO NOW THEY LOOK LIKE THE LIARS THAT THEY ARE? I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEIR PROBLEM IS BUT I HAVE BETTER THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT RIGHT NOW LIKE WORKING ON SOME MORE CASES
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