Can I Publicise A Legal Action That I Am Taking Against A Third Party?

Question

I am taking action against a company that has ripped me off (fact, I have the proof, afidavits etc).

I want to tell the local paper about it and warn others about the same thing potentially happening to them.

They have filed a defence, which frankly doesn't stack up and we are waiting for a date for the hearing.

Can I tell the local press about the legal action?

Without prejudicing any legal proceedings, of course.

Answer 1

Ask your solicitor - remember if you tell your story to the press they will have to ask the other party as well to verify details before publishing anything so this could work against you depending on what statement they give. I wouldn't recommend it until you have won your case - then you can publicise all you want.

Answer 2

First of all, there isn't any "third party". Based on your description, the only two parties to this legal action are you and the company you are suing. I don't mean to nitpick, but, in legal actions, it is extremely important - especially when a person is acting "pro se" (without benefit of an attorney or other legal advice) to be concise and correct in the language you use. Otherwise, your credibility can be affected negatively, as well as the patience of the Court. Most people mistakenly beleive that if they go into court without a lawyer, that the court will be all warm and fuzzy, helping the person if they stumble. It has been my experience that the court doesn't like people who come in without an attorney, as the person's inexperience with legal matters slows down the proceedings. Anyway, regarding your question: unless you feel confident that putting your information out to the public - and into "the court of public opinion" - would directly benefit your case, then I would NOT notify the media while the case is ongoing. If your only motive is to "protect" others from potential damage, then wait until your case has been decided. A judge may feel that your action (of notifying the media) has compromised the defendent and may even find that there is evidence of slander and/or libel, and you will not benefit from an annoyed bench, I assure you. Save your soapbox for after the decision. Do your homework on every single tiny aspect of your action. Good luck!

Answer 3

What ever you do , do not go to the press yet !
this could do your case more harm than good as the company in question could say that they could not have a fair chance of defending their case as it has been biased by the fact it was in the press !
And it would be promptly thrown out of court !
even when you win / if you win the case , as part of the settlement you may have to sign a declaration that you will not go to the press after the hearing , depending how bad it would be to the company in question !
If however an agreement is not made then you can shout it from the rooftop`s But only After the case or any appeal has finished !

Answer 4

Yes you can. However before you take legal action, you should write a polite letter to whomever is using your photo and explain that they are using it without permission and you are sending an invoice for payment. Don't take legal action unless they refuse to pay. Unfortunately, by not registering the copyright on your images, you are severely limited in what you can expect to collect. When you register, you can sue for the actual licensing price, up to $150,000 in statutory damages, and your attorney fees. Without registration you can only sue for your licensing fee plus your attorney costs. Your licensing fee would probably only be $100-$200 per use. The copyright watermark makes no difference in terms of your ability to sue. However, when you actually register it increases the amount you can sue for. The law limits copyright owners to $35,000 when infringement is unintentional, meaning the infringer did not know that the image was copyrighted. When you watermark the images it would prevent this defense, and allows you to automatically sue for the $150,000 allowed by statute. Since you didn't register the image, it doesn't matter if you watermarked them or not. Edit: I wrote my answer before reading the other responses, but I can assure you they are all wrong. Without a contract the copyright lies solely with the photographer. A contract might have granted certain rights to the the restaurant, but with out a contract it is assumed that no rights are granted. In intellectual property cases, it is up to the person using the photo to prove that they have permission from the copyright owner to use it. It is not up to the photographer to prove that the person didn't have permission. What the other people are saying is basically if someone stole a car, they could say, "The owner didn't have a contract with me to say I couldn't use the car, so I assumed it would be alright."

Answer 5

Don't say a word to the press before the case, or it could be thrown out of court. Just inform the press that it would be informative for them if a reporter was present at this case.

Answer 6

I would do nothing except keep quiet while the court case is pending and throughout it and then go to the local press for a story once you have a result. Good luck with the case, may justice be done.

Answer 7

you can talk to the press unless a injunction says other wise. However i would talk it over with your lawyer before hand to cover exactly what you are going to say to the press.
you may also find that the press may sit on it until the hearing in any case.

Answer 8

You can tell anyone you want, unless there is a gag order in effect. You might want to keep quiet though, as you will only arm them with all your EVIDENCE and they can then prepare a better defence of your action. I say why arm the enemy?

Answer 9

id of thought publicising details during the case could make the case collapse. wait for the verdict before going to the paper