Universal's legal action against 11th Hour
POSTED BY: CABridges
UPDATED: Monday, November 13, 2006 09:47
VIEWED: 59280
PAGE 3 of 17
Quote:
Originally posted by MrT:
good point made by Kane 1 over on the OB...Quote:
Hang on - you've rec'd an E-MAIL demand for retrospective fees .... what legal body makes demands by e-mail? Treat it as a scam claim to extort money and report it to the Police and if you feel like it Universal but make the police your first stop (may be an FBI report would be appropriate in the US)
...does make you wonder.
Yes. If it it legit' there should be a postal address AND telephone number which can be used to verify its authenticity. I would suggest making sure this is all above board before leaping to any other sort of action.
When I think of an interesting signature you'll be the first to know.
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Gotta be a scam this is!
Hang on there friend. Some light might be shed soon.
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I can't see a legitimate demand for retrospective fees being made by e-mail, how would you get a receipt for a start? Bounce it to the police as a possible extortion attempt, they get paid for this sort of thing then if it's genuine address the problem appropriately.
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Sorry, e-mails are now commonly used as a first point of contact in such matters.
Plus there's the fact that Universal and Fox have both been taking separate actions against other people selling Firefly/Serenity related items.
It's no scam, more's the pity.
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Guys, it's definitely legit. They often use email, and sometimes also send it to an address. However, they don't have 11th Hour's address - she doesn't have her own domain name, she uses AT&T's webspace instead, so Universal don't know her address.
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Why is the Universal Legal Arm doing this? Cuz they're lawyers.
Why aren't they being nice? Cuz, they're LAWYERS. Sadly, it's that simple. The legal system isn't meant to be cuddly.
Having actually been sued - yep, served on several occassions (ammendments, ya see! whee!), depositioned, mediations, lawyers lawyers lawyers, the whole ball o'wax - I know how these things go, I know how lawyers are, and I know that the very last place to look for help is the internet. (Um. Unless you're looking up the Yellow Pages online for a lawyer...... Shush.)
11th Hour... sweetheart... you lovely talented woman: take our support, ignore our legal ramblings, and get thee to a lawyer.
(edited waaaay down so I don't sound like a complete raving lunatic 
)
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Not captioned for the sarcasm impaired.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sara013
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what she said ^
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Get a copyright/contracts lawyer and find out what your legal rights are. Sometimes demands are made and paid that are not exactly legal. I'm not a lawyer, but the demand for retroactive licensing payment sounds fishy and is a legal grey area. Since they did not send you a cease and desist letter first, I would expect this would not hold up, along with the fact Uni encouraged fan works.
I used to work in the entertainment industry and most of the legal people are snakes. It was common practice for them to write misleading contracts, hiding important stuff in legalese in the middle of the contract.
I am surprised this is coming from Universal, They are usually more even handed than the rest of the big studios. This sounds like something I would expect from Paramount Studios.
Hera7
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If Universal is taking action like this, there is a reason. And that reason is not that they have given up on a sequel. The direct opposite, I think.
That reason is one of two things, or both.
1. A licensee that has PAID Universal a fee to manufacture product under a property that is held by the studio has complained.
2. There are plans to continue the series, and the studio wants to make sure there is no one else making money off of their intellectual property.
Yes, I work in licensing.
"A government is a body of people usually notably ungoverned."
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