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Copyright Violation in Action: The Case of the Paul Kopeikin Gallery


Response from Marc J. Kopeikin, Esq., to A. D. Coleman

What follows is a response from Marc J. Kopeikin, Esq., attorney for the Paul Kopeikin Gallery, to me, in relation to an invoice sent by me to the Paul Kopeikin Gallery for the unauthorized use of two of my essays at this commercial gallery's website.

My comments about it follow the letter itself.

-- A. D. C.
February 16, 2003

Law Offices of
Marc J. Kopeikin
A Professional Corporation
9454 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 600
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
Tel. 310-271-7675
Fax 310-271-7695

September 4, 2001

Alan [sic] D. Coleman
Image/World Syndication Service
Post Office Box 040078
Staten Island, New York 10304

Re:
Paul Kopeikin Gallery
Paul Kopeikin Gallery Website/www.paulkopeikingallery.com
Invoice No. 822 Dated August 14, 2001

Dear Mr. Coleman:

This office represents the Paul Kopeikin Gallery with regards to the above-referenced invoice from Image/World Syndication Service. It is requested that you direct all future correspondence and communication in this matter to the undersigned.

Mr. Kopeikin disputes your invoice in its entirety, including the purported imposition of penalties, collection costs, and late fees. The invoice you have presented to Mr. Kopeikin has no legal significance. Mr. Kopeikin owes you no money and he will pay you nothing.

Please be advised that allegedly disputed postings to the Paul Kopeikin Gallery website, if any, were completely removed from the website in July 2001.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT Mr. Kopeikin reserves his rights to seek damages against you for libel, slander, and intentional interference with business relations if you do not immediately cease and desist contacting Mr. Kopeikin's clients, vendors, other photography dealers, and the Association of International Photography Art Dealers, Inc., regarding the website issue.

You are invited to have your legal counsel contact me if you feel this matter warrants further discussion. If not, I presume this issue will be laid to rest.

Very truly yours,
/s/ Marc J. Kopeikin, Esq.

Usefully, you'll note, this lawyer does provide certification that my copyrighted material, "if any," was "completely removed from the website in July 2001" -- which means that it had to be put there illegally in the first place. This proves most convenient to me from an evidentiary standpoint, and I'm grateful to him for that. In conjunction with Paul Kopeikin's own repeated acknowledgement that the material to which he helped himself so freely had in fact been both posted and removed, it constitutes a de facto stipulation to its presence on the website, which the court will find instructive. (He provides a second such piece of evidence in this regard in his letter to AIPAD; see link above.)

I was, of course, entirely within my rights in placing this matter before the Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD), the professional organization in which the Paul Kopeikin Gallery advertises its membership, as well as in bringing it to the attention of my fellow writers and other colleagues in the field. I have continued to do so -- Marc Kopeikin's threats notwithstanding.

-- A. D. C.
February 16, 2003

Copyright © 2001 by A. D. Coleman. All rights reserved. For reprint permissions contact Image/World Syndication Services, POB 040078, Staten Island, NY 10304-0002 USA;T/F (718) 447-3091, imageworld@nearbycafe.com