Is this guy a scam, er what???

[Rockrz]

A friend of mine won't research to see if this is a scam, so I told him I would cause this is very smelly!

He runs a site that lists all the karaoke shows in his area and some guy named "Bill Stanely" emailed from antipiracy2010@yahoo.com saying he was looking for some guy in the area selling hard drives full of karaoke music and wanted help finding this guy (my friend has never heard of this guy or anyone selling illegal karaoke music).

Then, he says they may try to hold him responsible for listing shows are are using pirated music because he is allowing illegal activity to be advertised on his website!

My question is, how does this make his website illegal when there's no way of knowing if the music kjs are using is legit or not?

Doesn't this sound like some guy just trying to use legal scare tactics to convince my friend to help him find illegal shows and those that deal in that type of thing?

[mindonstrike]

Pure BS. Local newspapers also often list bar events , bands karaoke etc. This guys argument would make most newspapers that except advertising from many escort services and a few massage parlors guilty of promoting prostitution.
It wouldn't be a bad idea to ad a disclaimer to his website saying he's not responsible for show content

[Rockrz]

That's what I've been told by others is a website host, newspapers, TV stations, etc can't be held liable unless they are knowingly advertising illegal products or services.

Since there is no way of knowing if any of the shows listed are legal or not, I don't see where he'd have any problems. I don't want his site to go away because I use it to keep up with where all the shows are and watch for new ones starting up ( it's at http://www.DFWkaraoke.com )

So, should my friend get a lawyer and see if this Bill Stanley character will provide his contact info so the lawyer can set him straight?

What I find really odd is my friend says he has tried numerous times to get this guy's contact info, and the name of who he is working for and this guy refuses to give this out.

If he is working for KAPPA, why doesn't he say so?

Or, is he an independant contractor who gets a cut of any fines he can get levied against someone?

[mindonstrike]

Originally Posted by Rockrz

That's what I've been told by others is a website host, newspapers, TV stations, etc can't be held liable unless they are knowingly advertising illegal products or services.

Since there is no way of knowing if any of the shows listed are legal or not, I don't see where he'd have any problems. I don't want his site to go away because I use it to keep up with where all the shows are and watch for new ones starting up ( it's at http://www.DFWkaraoke.com )

So, should my friend get a lawyer and see if this Bill Stanley character will provide his contact info so the lawyer can set him straight?

What I find really odd is my friend says he has tried numerous times to get this guy's contact info, and the name of who he is working for and this guy refuses to give this out.

If he is working for KAPPA, why doesn't he say so?

Or, is he an independant contractor who gets a cut of any fines he can get levied against someone?

I can't recommend what someone else should do but me personally? I wouldn't go to the expense.

If this guy were to get a lawyer to go after your friend I think he'd be told pretty quick that he doesn't have a leg to stand on.

Having said that: Looney people have been known to cause others a lot of expense and headache with frivolous lawsuits so I would recomend he keep any and all corespondance with the guy and make notes of any personal conversations.

Before this guy can even begin to do ANYTHING he will have to PROVE in court that one of these shows is illegal which would cost him many thousands of dollars and probably take a couple of years. He can't go after your friend for advertising illegal shows when none of them have been shown in court to be illegal.

Tell your friend to to tell this guy to "Leave me alone or I'll sue You for harassment".

personal opinion
Sam

[Rockrz]

Originally Posted by mindonstrike

Looney people have been known to cause others a lot of expense and headache with frivolous lawsuits so I would recomend he keep any and all corespondance with the guy and make notes of any personal conversations

Good point, I'll pass that along.

[ginamon]

Isn't Piracy an issue for the Government and Police and not some private citizen with a nifty Yahoo address? I would call the local police about this guy, it sounds like a scam.