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Embroidery Software Protection Coalition (ESPC) Hall Of Shame Members Page Added July 11, 2008 |
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Last updated July 13, 2008 The Embroidery Software Protection Coalition is a non-profit group of predatory embroidery software and design manufacturers whose purpose is to extort monies from unsuspecting persons by promoting phony copyright compliance through lies and threats. |
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There is a major problem today with illegal embroidery designs. Modern technology makes it possible for people to digitalize any image they want
and then use it or sell it. If they use it for personal use, that is a fuzzy area because it still could be infringing because of subsequent confusion should
the item ever be sold. If they sell it, it is obviously and unquentioningly infringment. Cyber Cops and "Protection Coalitions", designated
guardians of the Intellectual Property ("IP") Owners, troll the internet looking for infringers. And there are many. However, innocent embroiders
are too often caught in the far-flung nets cast by these guardians. And the guardians, and their employers, appear not to care. Their bottom line
is enhanced by what we call "copyright extortion" and that's what we believe the ESPC does as their primary function.
In the US, their is a "phenomena" called Black While Driving ("BWD"), especially in an all-white neighborhood, whereby the police would stop a black
man and question him simply because he was in a white neighborhood. BWD stops are now prohibited by law and court decisions for good reason:
a lack of justification. These IP guardians are not restricted by law or court decision and they know it. They don't appear to care who gets harmed
just as long as they can show their employers what good little policemen they are.
The ESPC has a web site at http://www.embroideryprotection.org/. They are located at 1220G Airport Freeway, Suite 422,
Bedford, TX 76022. 682-503-6513. On this web site, as of June 30, 2008, they claimed that :
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The way we read the copyright laws, a person purchasing what they reasonably believe to be a genuine product not guilty of infringement. The only possible claims
of infringement would be according to §106(1) and §106(21), the right to make copies and/or derivatives. But since the final product, the embroidered output,
is not covered by the copyright, unless the Embroidery Software Protection Coalition (ESPC) can show someone bought the degigns knowing
when they purchased it that it was infringing, their claim is not only outrageous but criminal extortion at the very least. So why does the
Embroidery Software Protection Coalition (ESPC) claim otherwise? Because they want the world to believe it. Notice a lack of documentation
for their claim? They also calim under FAQs that the purchaser "must take steps to insure that they are legitimate original embroidery designs
or software, not pirated copies." But, the Embroidery Software Protection Coalition (ESPC) doesn't give you a clue as to what steps
someone might conceivably take to "insure" they are not violating "the law according to the Embroidery Software Protection Coalition (ESPC)". Why not?
They make money from this scam of theirs. That's what it is: a scam.
The Embroidery Software Protection Coalition (ESPC) also appears to send emails and letters to people whom they believe are selling pirated software or, it appears, people who are selling items made from this embroidery software. These letters are what we describe as "extortion letters". The seller is told they have broken the law, in very general and vauge terms, and if they pay the Embroidery Software Protection Coalition (ESPC) the sum of $300.00, sometimes more, the almighty and omnipotent Embroidery Software Protection Coalition (ESPC) will forgive them trespass and grant them absolution if they promise not to sin ever again. Amen. But, the Embroidery Software Protection Coalition (ESPC) is lying about someone breaking the law simple because they innocently bought something they believed to be legitimate. Gasp, you say? They lie? Certainly we jest? We kid you not, as Jack Paar would say. Obviously, we do not agree with their interpretation of copyright law as it applies to use use of the embroidery designs to sell the items made from the CDs. Embroidery software isn't a computer program as much as it is a set of instructions to a machine to make something. Computer software by it's nature is interactive. That is, it reqiures some sort of action or input from a human or outside source. Embroidery CDs are not software by definition. When you purchase the embroidery CD you are purchasing the copyrighted instructions that tell the machine what to make. The copyright does not cover the item made. Copyrights do not cover physical objects but rather ideas and the expression of those ideas. Even though the design may be copyrighted, the physical object, regardless of source, is not.
In our opinion, the Embroidery Software Protection Coalition (ESPC) is nothing more than a gang of thugs trolling the internet looking for victims.
Counsel to the Embroidery Software Protection Coalition (ESPC), according to one letter we have dated July 11, 2008, is one
Carole A. Faulkner. Based upon her address, she's in-house. What's the matter, Carole? Couldn't get a real job as an attorney with a real law firm?
Tired of chasing ambulances? So you get a job telling grandmothers they're criminals and extorting their meager savings? What are you going to tell your kids
(assuming you can find someone that stupid), if you have any, that you did for a living? A grave robber? You're pathetic. And in our opinion, you should be
disbarred for criminal activity.
Some jerk weed named Martin Favre signs these letters as Director, as in "Lights! Camera! Start The Scam!" The cast of
yo-yos includes a Donna McCaulry who is a member of the oft-maligned and seriously ethically deficient ESPC Legal Department.
In this politically correct world we are no longer "allowed" to use the word "retard" when describing a person with diminished capacities. However, we don't
see any "restrictions" using the word to describe the staff at the Embroidery Software Protection Coalition (ESPC) who are involved in the scam.
EFF filed a motion to block a brazen attempt by ESPC to unmask the identities of anonymous members of an online discussion group for embroidery fans.
The online group was created to share information about a long-running campaign to threaten purchasers of embroidery designs and software with copyright
infringement lawsuits. The Embroidery Software Protection Coalition (ESPC), a purported coalition of embroidery pattern design companies, is behind the
heavy-handed campaign. ESPC filed defamation claims against some members of the group and then issued a subpoena for detailed personal information
about every single person who joined the discussion group-whether or not they had ever posted a single message.
ESPC dropped its attempt to unmask the anonymous users after the EEF got involved. Want to guess who represented them?
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Rebuttals
In an effort to provide a balanced view, we make the following offer to anyone who feels they have been wrongly accused on this web site. If you, or your company, have been referenced on these pages, and you would like the chance to post a rebuttal, we will post your rebuttal (provided it is in good taste) so others can read it. The rebuttal must be submitted in a format that can easily be converted into HTML. We reserve the right to alter the rebuttal to make it more readable. However, we will not alter the content (unless there is offensive material to be removed). We also reserve the right to comment on any rebuttal received. Emails protesting the content of this web site may be treated as rebuttals by us at our discretion. We made this offer a very long time ago and as of September 2008, only AnimieHot.com, in our Hall Of Shame, and Charlotte Perman (Sevenarts in our Hall Of Shame) have chosen to submit a formal rebuttal. |
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