Rich Morris' Comics - YAFGC and The ComixBlog

That seems to have been his weapon the whole time. He spouts confidently about copyrights and legal action and stuff like that. A lot of people who aren't very confident about their legal knowledge, are likely to back off rather than risk the trouble he threatens.

That's my observation as well. He said he would have my feedback removed as slander and I told him he would have to prove it to be untrue, which he cannot.

It just irks me that he claims a copyright for this image. Is it actually possible that he HAS a copyright? Sadly, Ebay is unlikely to take any action against him unless some big corp complains. Then he will be dropped immediately. For stuff like this they seldom take serious action. Too many big time violations to worry about the small ones.

I think hell would freeze over before the BBC would license anything to this guy, or that he could afford whatever fees they charge. Not to mention he certainly does not have Rich's original art or the right to use that, even if he did have some kind of permission from the Beeb.

I'm not suggesting that he got any sort of permission. How would anyone know who the image is or by whom is was drawn if they were not told? If he went to a copyright office with the image and said it was his own, why would they question? It isn't their job to determine the validity of the claim. They simply take your money and issue you the copyright and if no one complains, that is that.

Regardless of whether or not he's got a piece of paper that he paid a ton of cash for that says he can use the image, if the BBC were to come down on him (and they haven't put a lot of effort into that from what I can see), then the use of the logo and the unauthorized use of the actor's likeness would be easy to shut down.
Similarly, if he were going to contest me, I've got the original art in a safe place. There's no way he's got anything that looks like original art of that image, even though he told me he's got the original inked copy in a frame on his wall. That would also be easy to prove. He wouldn't stand a chance.

Nah... I checked. No-one has registered anything under his or his company's name with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, and their searchable database goes back to 1992.

Thanks, I posted the copyright info as follow-up to my feedback. At least now if people see it they will know he's lying.

I can't understand why he's being so stubborn. These shirts are more trouble than they're worth for him and yet he persists. He's only sold one and that was to me. I guess doesn't have enough neg feedback to deter him yet. He's such a jerk.

I suspect it's a classic 'crash or crash through' situation.

If at this point they admit theft - they are wide open to legal action, banning from sales sites, investigation by government agencies for fraud, etc. If they don't admit guit - they stave it off until a lawyer kicks their head in, or the real owner gives up trying out of frustration (and they pray for the latter to occur).

If they had just taken it down and kept quiet when first caught, things may have worked out better. But by being the 'tough guy' and attempting to intimidate/browbeat the owner (which they may have done successfully before) into backing down they have closed that way out.

You know, I really thought I was doing the right thing in trying to make this guy stop using Rich's stolen artwork. I really did. It may have been a misguided effort, but I meant well.

I just got around to checking my email addy after the holidays to find this.

It was clearly written by an uneducated person and it reads like a Nigerian email scam, but the most important factors are that A) he is pissed off at me enough to do stupid things and B) he has my actual home address.

Given the level of insanity this guy has shown, I am seriously frightened. I just wanted to help, but I didn't consider what would happen if he singled me out.

Here is the latest in his string of insanity edited only to omit my personal info. I plan to contact the police tomorrow.

No Response Necessary Action has begun
Monday, December 13, 2010 9:48 AM
From: "Flag First" <ecoms.protection@gmail.com>
To: My Email Address


My Full Name
My Real Street Address
Ny Actual City and State
United States

This is notification that an Action in the Superior Court Of British Columbia has begun against the above name individual in the matter of.

1) Criminal Conspiracy to Defraud
2) Libelous Slander
3) Commercial Fraud over $5,000

As set forth in the Affadavids of A. Hopkins Founder Quantum Group Holdings and Thomas Chow, Artist.

Total Damages Sought $25,000. Case File to be determined on service. Court Location: Surrey British Columbia

Jothan Burger
President
Ecoms Protection Services

As a post script: a) there are 23 companies owned by Quantum Group the oldest dating back too 1982. b) there is no centralized repository of Intellectual property in Canada other then the office of the Registrar for each province. c) This matter has be sequestered by Crown Council at the request of the RCMP under Canadian Anti-cyber bullying and stalking laws.

Woah. That's a whole new level of crazy, right there. Please keep us apprised.

I'm curious about this: "b) there is no centralized repository of Intellectual property in Canada other then the office of the Registrar for each province." Did you mention it to him, or is this a sign that he's stalking the forum as well?

Contacting the police seems a wise move. He does sound unstable, and threatening. I'd take whatever action they deem appropriate, as soon as possible.

I believe the comment stems from our feedback exchange:

Got refund for poor quality, discovered artwork is stolen copyright theft alert!
Seller: canacreations ( 242) Nov-29-10 15:45

Reply by canacreations (Dec-07-10 22:12):
Work owned by us copyright 2009 Quantum Group Holdings. BBL CanadIian list.

Follow-up by wargodess (Dec-12-10 21:29):
Canadian Intellectual Property Office no record your co. or you back to 1992
-- (#220606436732)

I doubt he even knows there is a messgage board.

Sorry for the freak out post, that last email just struck a chord. My Company Commander says not to worry about this guy, qoute, "He's in for a world of hurt if he comes after one of my soldiers!" I'm a Military Police corporal. The email sent me into "mommy mode".

Please don't apologize - it freaked me out as well. I absolutely hate the thought that your effort to do us a favour would end up placing you in danger, however theoretical or blustery.



I love you both.

(And as a side note, thank you for your service. We've got a lot of Navy friends here and USMC buddies in the states, and I've got a cousin just home from Kandahar. Forces members are close to our hearts.)

Wargoddess,

The first and most important thing that you can do in response to this email is to IGNORE IT!

The Canadian courts must contact you if you are to appear in court. Any lawyer worth his salt will contact you by registered mail. If they have your home address, why would they use an unreliable system like email to contact you? NO government body would contact you by email and neither would a lawyer with the least amount of sense.

Thanks for the support guys! My C.O. told me to report him to Ebay for harrassment and that it is highly unlikely that he will do much in the way of physical violence since he's in Canada and probably doesn't have the funds.

I'm being discharged for medical reasons and I already miss my Company and especially my CO. He wants me to keep in touch and he'll help me if I need it.

I know the email was garbage, it was sent from a gmail account and was full of spelling and grammatical errors no lawyer would ever make. The thing that freaked me out was that it had my full address and real name.