Alex Midnight Walker To Melissa Hovey: Lift Copyright On Bigfoot Photo, Or Else...
Did you know that the Bigfoot photo released by Melissa Hovey is copyrighted by her group, the American Bigfoot Society?
It appears Alex Midnight Walker isn't too happy with her group copyrighting a photo that doesn't belong to her. According to the United States Copyright Law, copyright grants the copyright owner exclusive rights to their "creative work" for a specific period of time or term. The problem is -- Alex does not believe it's her property or her work, and he's wants her to remove the copyright or else, he will report her to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
 |
| "Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Commercial copying, hiring, lending is strictly prohibited." - Melissa Hovey |
If Alex does report Melissa to the USPTO and accuse her of false copyright claim, we're not sure if he will be successful since it's clearly stated in her article that photo falls under the 'Fair Use' guideline:
The American Bigfoot Society holds the copyright for this image for any and all purposes. As stated in the last article, if and when the true owner of this photo steps up, we will turn the copyright over to them, and they can cover this.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Commercial copying, hiring, lending is strictly prohibited.
This image and its use on the various websites, discussion forums blogs and any other form of social media, for purposes of discussion/evaluation/research by the general public, Bigfoot Researchers and/or the media, BE ON NOTICE: the copyright MUST be maintained and placed on any images taken from this photo for any purpose and/or distributed or displayed in any manner.
WHO CARES WHAT THIS PSYCHO WOMAN HATER HAS TO SAY!!!! QUIT COVERING THIS LOSER! Hes ALWAYS butting in where he doesnt belong! Go AWAY ALEX LOSER!!! WEVE HEARD ENOUGH!
ReplyDeleteHovey, is a gadfly. I hope this is a big enough Fly swatter to take her off her high horse
DeleteI dont think that is a horse that fly is on.
DeleteI agree with him. How is he supposed to copy this photo and doctor it so he can claim he got a picture of a BF if he has to worry about copyright infringement?
DeleteLOL That's great! Nope, just calling at the hacks as always and there are plenty of them. BTW Shawn, that Fair Use law doesn't apply in this case...And no I am not going to report Melissa but I am making a point. She had the cojones to read everyone the riot act about using her piece of work without her little organization on there when that does not belong to them. I simply set the record straight for Ms. Melissa. "Fair Use" is very different from claiming a piece of work is owned by you when 0% is owned by you.
ReplyDeleteKind Regards,
Alex (aka Woman Hater, Loser, Butting in LOL) Obviously I don't care what any of you folks think of me. This little virtual world is a small part of my day or life.
Falsely claiming copyright is a criminal offense, but it hardly matters. The fine is ridiculously small:
Any person who, with fraudulent intent, places on any article a notice of copyright or words of the same purport that such person knows to be false, or who, with fraudulent intent, publicly distributes or imports for public distribution any article bearing such notice or words that such person knows to be false, shall be fined not more than $2,500. 17 USC § 506(c).
Countdown until her handpuppet mystery man grants permission starts now
ReplyDeleteSo true. That says it all.
DeleteIt's funny how she mentioned spring maybe April or may. I suspect that more will follow if the DNA paper is out by then. I read in a Robert lindsay post that maybe it would come out around then. I would bet that people are gearing up for this and some people have gotten the ball rolling already.
DeleteHovey also mentioned April or May?
DeleteI must have missed the memo where God appointed Alex King of everything and Mister Know it All. He is a liar through and through. Shawn he is a BIG part of the problem with the bigfoot community. You need to stop covering people like this who do so much damage to the group as a whole!
ReplyDeleteFasano takes a break from video taping his local apartment pond jungle and big face to make a comment.
DeleteIs what he says a lie or the truth? That is what matters here - not your opinion of him.
DeleteAwsome Mr Walker, I totally agree wiht this, finally someone with the cojones to say it. You must be related to me, need to check my family tree :).
ReplyDeleteI commend him for putting her in her place on the matter. It's not hers to dictate what happens with the photo because she never should have released it and she doesn't own it. Bravo Alex MW
ReplyDeleteFor the Anon's on top of me. stop talking the poop is hitting me from above, Ahhhhh!
ReplyDeleteIm soiled :(, I should have been the first post, Shawn can you move me above them please ;D
Anon right above me, I did not mean you.
DeletePhoto Blahhh!
It's Alex Tomas. Not Alex Walker. This guy has done nothing but run his big mouth and pick on other researchers and wants to be GOD of Sasquatch.If you don't believe in his theories then he will have no respect for you. This troll should be avoided!
ReplyDeleteHey Fasano, the two street bums called and they need $20 more bucks to keep following you around. You're behind on your payments. Cheeseburger cheeseburger.
DeleteWhat about what he said! Yeah, just ignore the truth of the message and attack the messenger. Pathetic.
DeleteFor a troll he is making sense to me, I am looking into that copyright thing just to educate myself, i think we need to educate ourselvs on things like these, so the playing field can be equal.
ReplyDeleteShe doesn't own the copyright to the photo, there's no such thing as "copyrighting" - when you produce a creative work, you automatically get the copyright. This wasn't true prior to 1977, but now the US works like the rest of the world - make a creative work, you automatically get the copyright.
DeleteThe author of the photograph may own the copyright. Alternatively, it's possible a court would decide an automated camera doesn't have sufficient creative input to be copyrightable. A quick search doesn't reveal any precedent, but IANAL.
But there's no point in asking her to lift the copyright - she doesn't own it, so she can't do that anyways. Indeed, if she did, the actual owner of the copyright (i.e., the photographer) could still sue anyone who used it if they wanted to, since they own the copyright, and everything Hovey said is just posturing.
But reporting her to the Copyright and Patent Office is probably fruitless. Falsely asserting copyright is industry standard in just about every industry that deals with media. Museums often falsely assert copyright to art, stock photo centers to old photographs, etc.
Thanks Anon, for the info, still will read up on it,not that i do not trust you, im just anal like that, need to see for myself, but i will take your word for it until i see the actuall rules, thanks.
DeleteNo worries - if you were going to do anything with the photo, you would be wise to be as well informed as possible. I'm just self-taught to deal with images used on Wikipedia (where proper use of copyright is a big deal.)
DeleteOf course, if Hovey faked the photo, then she pretty unambiguously does own the copyright to it, since it's her creative work. So one must indeed be careful.
I think she is full of Bolony to even say she has copyright, I mean if your gonna talk about moralaty and trust.
DeleteHow can you put your societies name on
something that you stated from the get go is not yours, Im not the smartest of the bunch, but man I would never put my name on somethign like that and then parade around in different places and also try to punk people and say I will sue you for something that you from the get go said is not yours, just does not seem right.
Anon is correct. Copyright is a series of rights that arise from a creation of a work. The rights vest in the original author/creator. The only big exception is the "work made for hire" doctrine, where the rights will vest in the person or company that commissioned the work. The best example of that is the employer-employee relationship. In that case, the employer is actually considered the author. So unless she got an assignment of the copyright from the original author, or she is in fact the original author, her claim to the copright is just as good as mine. In fact, it was her group that reproduced and published a work copyrighted by someone else. In an ironic twist, that could make make her vulnerable to a charge of copyright infringement.
DeleteThis guy doesn't want anybody to know his last name Shawn. He doesn't want anybody to know he owns a business and has been in court for shafting his clients. Fasano is right. It's Alex Tomas! Post his real name! Post his real name! I'm tired of these idiots on YouTube hiding behind their user names.
ReplyDeleteAre you sure? It links right to his facebook page which is listed as Alex Munoz.
DeleteHe is lying! Fasano and Tcs was in a brawl with this guy years ago and then I guess Fasano got a PI to investigate and found his true identity. If you search hard enough you can find info on his company and pictures of him with his work team. Alex Tomas is his real name.
DeleteFasano got a PI to investigate...what a joke. No such info exists and he's going to piss all over himself when he realizes what his big f'n mouth did this time. He's damn luck that I don't go down to Tampa and knock his ass out. Only reason I don't is that I wouldn't want the legal trouble.
DeleteI hate to ponder what Fasano might have bartered for this alleged PI work, since he as hell didn't have cash...... maybe autographed wife-beaters?
DeleteThe initial comment and the second falsely corroborating comment will be named in the lawsuit. When you state false accusations against someone's character, it is defamation. Add a business under that person's name and you have serious damages. I'll find out who you are and I intend to ruin each one for their purposeful actions and false statements against my good name. This will be like shooting fish in the barrel. You scum bags are going to be accountable for your trash talking unprofessional mouths.
DeleteShawn, I'll be requesting IP's for all these posters and personally suing them. I suspect Fasano and one other person. Mark my word that lawsuit will come and I've pdf'd your comments. Big f'n mistake ass wipe. Defamation of character for something that is absurd and untrue.
ReplyDeleteKind Regards,
Alex
Oh and Fasano and whoever else it may be, you'll be hiring a lawyer in my backyard because I am that damaged plaintiff. Get ready to pony up min $5k
ReplyDeleteGo away Alex Tomas............ We know your real name now you idiot. Shawn don't be afraid of this troll ! He tried the same crap with tcs and fadsno and both them dudes shot him down in flames
ReplyDeleteYou made a big mistake. When you used Midnight Walker, I couldn't sue you because it's not a dba I've registered. Now you've used my name, connected it to the pseudoname which makes all the other crap that you've written admissible under a defamation lawsuit. Fat boy, I am going to teach you a lesson. I am not someone that you f with.
ReplyDeleteThe IP's will be subpoenaed from blogspot.com so Shawn you won't have to get in the middle of it.
ReplyDeleteYou said the same shit to tcs and Fasano. I saw the emails directly from your account according to your IP address Mr Tomas. You ran away and crawled under a rock when they revealed your true identity. Don't you remember that?
DeleteLike I said, a clear mistatement was made about me and it is untrue just like everything else big boy says. He is now going to pay libel and slander or whoever wrote it will. If you choose to write something about me connecting me with something that you don't have proof you saw, expect to join in that exercise. I'll have all the pertinent IP's. And you will be retaining a GA attorney (probably $5k I am guessing) to defend you in this civil lawsuit. My name is gold and it's never been involved with any of the garbage written in this page. Keep posting false comments and you'll be right there with big boy and his cheeseburger minus a lot of money including legal fees.
DeleteDam it sounds like you been drinking again Mr Tomas. Your always wanting to sue somebody for something and your big words don't scare anybody here. Get real dude!!! Go record some birds on audio and then force your followers into believing its a Sas.
DeleteDear Shawn,
DeleteWTF?! If there's one rule about blogs and forums, it's that anybody who "outs" another by full name is booted and banned. End of story. Have some scruples here.
Stating your real name is not a crime you moron. :) Mr Tomas your clients are pissed at you. Haha
ReplyDeleteYou'll be named in the suit as well...I'll be requesting IP through legal today. Your statement is erroneous and slander. You guys have no idea what you're playing with. Alex
DeleteLeave the law to me piss ant. It's what I know and am very good at. I'll make sure Mr Fasano is paying lots of legal retainer fees to defend his ass for his lies. Now he will pay.
ReplyDeleteI think it goes without saying that this woman pulled a picture out of "nowhere" from "no one" and put it online, got a lot of excitement and is now trying to protect the rights. So, when did Biscardi get a sex change?
ReplyDeleteOh! my dear AtumnForest I have been waiting to see your comments on here, always refreshing and quite correct I smell a Biscardi in female clothing.
DeleteWhat a shame for the decent woman of this country, but atleast we have you Autumn, you bring a pleasing calm to my anger on this photo.
Just can't help yourself when it comes to putting people down missy. Maybe you can put an up to date avatar then run your mouth.
DeleteSome people. Fake hair, fake nails and fake eyes too.
well i gues you must be either Mellissa H or one of her female cronies, begong witch, do not ever dare bother Autumn, the she is not the one that has commited the breaking of the law of trust and confidentiality, Hovey said I do not what to gain nothing out of this, I am trying to clear this up.
Deletewell hovey flung the poop in the fan so now all bigfooters had gotten dirty, she is parading around, as a guest on diffeent places, radio, FB Bafoons talk to her so now they are also soiled by one photo.
She needs to stop and go away and rethink her Bigfooting and stay quiet for aleast a year or two.
Myabe more.
LOL "...when did Biscardi get a sex change?" Hey, you know the rules -- what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. (If only Biscardi would)
DeleteNot Sure, but why is Shawn even calling it the Melissa Hovey photo? Come on Shawn, show the respect to the actual property owner that he or she deserves.
DeleteDid Melissa Hovey take this photos?
Did she have permission to use it?
My understanding is she used someone else's photo after they asked her for her opinion only?
Then she gave people permission to use it for purposes of discussion and education, but chastised Sally Ramey for doing so?
Quote "Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Commercial copying, hiring, lending is strictly prohibited."
- Melissa Hovey"
No Offence but that's granted by the first amendment in America and re-enforced by The Fair Use Doctrine of International Copyright Law as educational material without benefit of financial gain.
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
So not only was her use for the picture completely against the owners wishes and thus not covered by what I above quoted and linked to; she then granted that use to others. Which she had no right to do. If you believe her story...
DeleteAlso Copyright is implied automatically on anything, even if unpublished:
http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html
This guy is just one of those sensitive liberal jackazzes like Michael Newdow who tried to take "under God" out of the Pledge of Alligance.
ReplyDeleteLmao!!! Good one!
DeleteI agree completely!
DeleteThat's rich. Now he's "Un-American" because he's citing Federal law......
DeleteAlex. You sound retarded. Go away
ReplyDeleteAlex decides to attack the "bigfoot community" for their sniping, childish behavior while insulting a woman with no claim to expertise. Nice work. Melissa Hovey is no more an expert in copyright law than Alex is nuclear physics. People badgered the crap out of Hovey to get a look at this photo, then crucified her for its content. Now this pyschopath has decided she also needs to be held accountable for patent laws. Find something constructive to do, Alex.
ReplyDeleteAwesome!
DeleteAlex you're right. It makes it difficult to trust your story or material with anyone.
ReplyDeleteThese people exploit anything they can get their hands on to make a name for themselves
DeleteQoute
ReplyDelete"Shawn, I'll be requesting IP's for all these posters and personally suing them. I suspect Fasano and one other person. Mark my word that lawsuit will come and I've pdf'd your comments. Big f'n mistake ass wipe. Defamation of character for something that is absurd and untrue.
Kind Regards,
Alex"
Comments like this only show us your not worth our time. We all need to ignore this guy and all over a picture that doesn't prove a thing to anyone.
BLA BLA BLA!
DeleteBigfoottracker.com
BTIRO llc
Mike Miller
1110 W Chambers CT
Claremore, OK 74017
918-608-5466
This is exactly what was talked about in the previous post about bullying. All Alex did was have the balls to call someone out. So what if he doesn't use his real name he has a professional life to keep separate from this field. At least he has the balls enough to speak his mind, use at least his first name and his face and not hide behind an anonymous name like so many other PUSSY'S. Sure his views may be different than the main stream but who really can stand anyone that is just another pathetic weak minded follower that doesn't have the back bone to stand on their own. Sometimes he gets a little over the top but most folks do that are passionate about a subject like he is with Bigfoot. But where I was getting to is everyone else started jumping on him before he got pissed.
ReplyDeleteCan't wa all just get along???
DeleteAll very good points, James. All it takes is one quick look around the characters labeling themselves "honest researchers" to see who the self-promoting ho's are out there, all trying to build an audience to make ad $$$ off YT and FB. I haven't seen Alex selling Midnight Walkers t-shirts, have you?
DeleteMy fear, James, is that what Alex and others are doing is exactly what is damaging the veneer of the bigfoot community to the rest of the world. The community is inhabited by thousands of people without a single contribution to their name, simply waiting around for someone to present anything at all just so then can be the first person to call bullshit and laugh in their faces. And to add insult to injury, they question motives, make personal attacks and even make veiled threats. That's the sort of behavior we should expect from the know-it-all lost boys outside the bigfoot community, and let's stop doing it to each other.
Deletemaaaaaaaaaaaaan alex is an ugly man
ReplyDeleteMmmmmmmmmmm... but he has an extremely sexy voice ;o)
DeleteHovey claimed she would enforce the copyright. Sure, sweety. You're gonna bring a lawsuit costing 50,000 bucks against someone you can't find and has no money, to defend the copyright that doesn't belong to you and has no monetary value. I love these people who threaten to sue. It's a marker for lunacy.
ReplyDelete"I'm gonna turn you in"! This is what the bigfoot world is full of! bla bla bla
ReplyDeleteMike Miller
Tracker VP
Dude looks like what the rest of the world thinks of bigfooters. Sitting in mom's basement in your underwear railing against the Bigfoot world in between World of Warcraft raids and friending junior high girls on facebook. Get a life.
ReplyDeleteSure sounds like you know what your talking about, could it be that you Anon@ 05:11 live in your moms basement and exactly do what you know so well. Words can sometimes be a reflection of ourselvs :)
DeleteMy office dumbass. Not all of us have to dress up in uniform and go work at Chili's while we say dude to our fellow servers. I have a pretty darn good life but thanks.
DeleteI appreciate Mellisa sharing the photo with everyone and I understand why she put a copyright on the photo.
ReplyDeleteUnless the photo was given to her by the photographer,or she paid for the photo, she cannot copyright it. The photographer has to give up any claim to the picture and transfer ownership to Mellisa if she wants to legally copyright the photo mentioned.
I'm basing my opinion from Canadian copyright laws, and those laws may differ from American copyright laws.
Alex does have valid points, but I think the only one who could lay a claim against Ms. Hovey would be the photographer of the photo.
Incorrect Sas, any one can disputed the validity of a copyright, i did some research on it, specially if the originating party stated on news souces and other mediums, that they are not the owner of the the photo publicly, like the Hovey lady admited herself.So you or I even anyone else can dispute that.
ReplyDeleteNo disrespect Sas, i think your awsome always and love your comments on here :).
Oh, I wasn't aware of that, thanks for letting me know.
DeleteI certainly didn't take offense to you correcting me:)It's always good to learn something new.
I was looking in to copyright laws vs trademarks awhile back, That's how I came upon my own info.
Cheers
It's pretty simple really. For example, let's say I take a photo of the Grand Canyon, and I file a copyright for that photo, then send a copy of it to someone with no explanation as to where it came from or who it belonged to. This would not give the receiver any position to file a copyright or to provide an information copyright notice to claim the image. That's not how copyright works.
ReplyDelete"I received a wheel in the mail as a gift, so now I own the patent for the wheel!" It just doesn't work that way.
The fair use clause in the Berne Convention agreement on copyright law allows for copyrighted works to be utilized for the purposes of education or parody, so if you want to teach someone something and you borrow an image, fine. If you want to Photoshop the face of a politician onto it, fine. None of that gives you an exclusive copyright as is expressed in such a notice bearing the symbol and name of the rights holder.
Hey Alex why dont you mind speak the US patent & trademark office ? might save you money for lawyer fees
ReplyDeleteAnd this is why I will never share my habituation data with anyone other than my immediate family...not in it for money or fame. They do exist!
ReplyDeleteOpps wrong blog, I was looking for the Horder blogs,...sorry
ReplyDeleteok that's funny as hell. My kitchen does have a stack of business receipts to organize for taxes. I'll graciously accept that comment. LOL Alex
DeleteAlex please wear another shirt and get better lighting...other then that your good.
DeleteMike Miller shouldn't you be somewhere putting road kill in a costume. All this i am sueing you, your so sued lmao.Reminds me of Tom Cruise on the 200th episode of south park.
ReplyDeleteDid you know that Rick was really on SP...lol funny but true
DeleteR Ridley Some people on forums and other blogs seem a little surprised that I would so easily take the word of Karl over Melissa’s source. There’s one simple reason I put more value in Karl’s claims over her source’s claims. I know Karl’s name. He’s attached his name to his claim that this is the costume from his movie. Melissa’s source has chosen to conceal his name, and he has every right to do so, but in my mind, it gives him less credibility. It shields him from inquiry and tough guestions. I understand he doesn’t want to be labeled a crazy person, but if he wants this image to be taken seriously, he has to do one of two things; produce the other images, or come out of hiding. Both would be preferrable
ReplyDeleteWhat just happened?
ReplyDeleteUntil we know who shot it, where, and other details that photo is next to worthless anyhow. It looks cool, that's about all one can say. It is by no means any type of convincing evidence without further info. How do we even know the story of how she got it is true?
ReplyDeleteLol I really love this blog, some nights i get lots of chuckles... Squatchladypa
ReplyDelete