Copyright Infringement???

Update as of 10-15-2018 -- The case has been dismissed by both parties.  As we have agreed to move forward, the dismissed case will remain confidential.

As of 7/30/13, the Copyright Claims have been dismissed and my videos restored. 

I initially thought that my encounter with Alfieri at the Coffee Bean on Sunset Boulevard had rekindled his desire to start another legal battle with me. Just five hours after I saw him twirling his hair in the parking lot of the coffee shop, I got a notification from YouTube alerting me that I was being accused of copyright infringement. I later learned that the claim had been submitted on July 1st.  

In order to maintain a YouTube account and enjoy the benefits it offers, some rules have to be followed and respected. The uploaded videos may not contain inappropriate material. In addition, material that belongs to another party may not be used without authorization.

YouTube allows three "strikes" before canceling an account. I have received my first strike from Victor Alfieri and Bondolini Productions. I have submitted a counter-notification denying any copyright infringement.  Now my account is on "probation" and my response could trigger a lawsuit if Alfieri insists that the footage is his.

I have been really careful with what I have included in my videos and how I edited them. I consulted with my attorney and he assured me that portions of the footage from Victor's deposition could be posted on line. He told me that as long as I did not alter the footage, I could post the complete deposition on YouTube.

I did cut the footage from the deposition and edited in a way that is entertaining and focuses on a specific subject. I was especially proud of my amateur editing work in my "trailers." I actually had so much fun working on them. I was careful to only use footage I owned. I had a few videos and multiple photos shot with my iPhone and my digital camera. That is the footage and pictures I used for my YouTube videos.

Now Alfieri is claiming copyright infringement? Why would he only claim it over the "trailers"? Does he believe that the footage I used was shot with the Alexa camera? Well... I am flattered.

The footage used was either from the deposition, from my iPhone or digital camera. Therefore, I own it and can create any videos I want with it. 

A legal representative was listed in the copyright claim. Her name is Margarette Mow. I believe it is somewhat strange that she provided an odd gmail address as her contact information instead of using an email connected to her lawfirm's website, which would have been more appropriate and professional. I cannot help it but speculate about how these copyright claims were discussed with an attorney, what information Alfieri shared and what he chose to omit.

This is what I personally believe:

• Afieri wanted to start another legal battle and used the videos as an excuse. Why did he wait 5 months to do so?????
• Ms. Mow is a woman Alfieri charmed and convinced to have her become his legal representative in these copyright claims. He is not paying her a penny (my personal opinion.)
• Ms. Mow does not know much about the case or what truly happened. She only heard Alfieri's story where he is clearly the victim and needs legal protection. I really hope that she takes the time to read some of the posts of this blog.

In ten days I will find out if YouTube will get my videos back up or if Alfieri will sue for copyright claims over the footage of those videos.  I will be updating this post when this happens.

UPDATE: I received three emails from Youtube such as the one below - one for each video that had previously been removed.

Disclaimer – As of October 15, 2018, all legal issues have been resolved. This resolution was reached during arbitration. There are no pending issues related to fraud or theft. The resolution was mutually agreeable. There will be no more posts written about this story.