Tabberone is pronounced tab ber won not tay ber own

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This is a generic version of the first extortion demand usually made by the Embroidery Software Protection Coalition (ESPC). Note the heavy-handed wording and threats of large monies being awarded.

This letter informs you of your legal rights. It is not an advertisement, solicitation, or a scam. Please read it in its entirety for complete information. The Embroidery Software Protection Coalition (ESPC) is a consortium of some of the major embroidery design and software companies, which includes Bernina, OESD and Great Notions, which was formed to protect member's federally registered copyrights and prosecute infringements, i.e., “pirating” of those copyrights. Due to ongoing and extensive investigations, including records recently obtained from various eBay sellers, whom have been sued, we have learned that you have purchased and utilized counterfeit and pirated embroidery designs purchased online from eBay seller ******** also known as ******** and/or ********, and that these pirated copies of embroidery designs were in your possession. Your use of these counterfeit designs are in violation of the Federal Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §101 et seq. The Board Members of the ESPC owns the copyrights to the embroidery designs or software you purchased. The ESPC holds the power of attorneys from the Board Members to prosecute persons who violate or infringe upon the copyrights. Federal Law, under the U.S. Copyright Act, imposes serious civil damages for copyright violations. Statutory damages may be $30,000.00 per design, not per CD. Additionally, the Court has discretion to increase the amount of statutory damages to $150,000.00 for each copyright violated if the infringement was willful. Further, 17 U.S.C. §505 provides for the recovery of attorneys' fees and costs by the prevailing party. These are the damages that we will seek if we have to institute suit against you. But we would first like to attempt to settle this matter with you. Many copyright infringers claim that they were ignorant that their actions were illegal, and believe that this defense will be enough to keep them from having to address their illegal actions. Others claim that software piracy is widespread on the internet, and because “everyone is doing it”, they should have no liability. You are responsible for the use of counterfeit and pirated embroidery designs and software. The ESPC takes all copyright infringement very seriously and we are working diligently to stop all incidents of piracy through prosecution of sellers and education of buyers. The ESPC is making an effort to rectify past infringements and violations of the Board Members Copyrights and to prevent such violations in the future. For this reason, the ESPC actively pursues legal action against those engaged in infringement and piracy. With the above goals in mind and in light of the evidence against you, the ESPC would like to resolve this matter with you. In return for your cooperation, The ESPC is willing to forgo litigation against you for violations occurring prior to the date of this letter. The ESPC is prepared to release its claims against you in return for your agreement to: (1) surrender all copies of illegal, pirated embroidery designs in your possession which are copyrighted by Bernina, OESD or Great Notions; (2) agree that you will not purchase or use illegal, counterfeit or pirated copies of embroidery designs in the future; and (3) pay a nominal monetary sum to the ESPC for your past wrongful conduct and the damages thereby incurred by our Board members (sic) from your infringement of their copyrights. By your settlement of this matter and by purchasing only legitimate, original copies of designs and software you will be helping embroidery designers and software developers bring you exciting new products. Without your cooperation in this matter, the industry is being determinately damaged. If you should choose to reject the ESPC's settlement offer, or should you fail to respond, please be advised that the ESPC can initiate legal proceedings in Federal District Court for violation of the Federal Copyright Act and will seek their full amount of damages and other relief as discussed above. While we are willing to discuss this matter with you, the ESPC will not imprudently and indefinitely wait for you. We have paralegals standing by to discuss your situation individually and to attempt to reach a settlement with you. Therefore, to discuss the contents of this letter, you must contact our legal department at 214-350-1892 within 15 days from the date of this letter. After this date, The ESPC will abandon its attempts to negotiate and/or amicably resolve this matter. If you receive a recorded message at the above legal department number, that means we are taking time to discuss an individual's situation so PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE; with your full name, name of the letter recipient, date of this letter, and a telephone number where you can be reached. Your file will be noted and your call will be returned as quickly as possible. It is not an option for you to send an email. You must personally contact or leave a message on the ESPC legal department line at 214-350-1892. All questions and settlements are handled through the legal department. There is little question that you will benefit by resolving this matter through informal discussions with our paralegals in lieu of judicial action. The ESPC has no choice but to fully pursue anti-piracy efforts. We look forward to your cooperation in the matter. Sincerely, Martin Favre, Director Embroidery Software Protection Coalition Enforcement Division