Just got this mail yesterday and don't know what to do. And before you guys tell me how I should focus on WH and don't do PPD, I know. I'm trying, but it's a lot harder for me to do when there is not much money to begin with. Anyways, I live in Europe and my country is in Europe Union. I got this yesterday in my mail yesterday - they used my WHOIS email. Last time I got something like this was a DMCA notice and it came from my domain register, but this one came to my email. My hosting is in France and they ignore DMCA. Please advise what should I do and should I be worried? My site is nothing more, but generating fake coupons, that's it. And please don't hate me because of that. Everyone needs to start somewhere in this crazy IM world. All advice are appreciated. My plan is just to remove the domain and be done with it, but I wanna hear what you guys have to say.
Is this site a game review site? Reviews fall under fair use in the USA, they can't sue you for that. Anyway, the good old advice is applicable here : find yourself a real lawyer.
It's honestly getting irritating how everyone lately is just wanting to be funny instead of actually giving OP advice on what to do about his issue.
Just gone through their website and the attorney's profile. They are real! Are you earning something from this domain? If not then just remove the website and reply them back. I am not an experienced person in this scene but that's what I could do if it happened to me!
You won't get in trouble imo, if you are scared, just remove the domains and that's all. Don't reply to the mail imo. But make sure you erased everything on your domain completely.
I must echo the sentiments of others. You don't need advice when you receive such a detailed legal notice which is easily verifiable as real. Further, you know whether your site in fact violated their copyright. If it did, then you should probably hire an attorney. If you made no revenue from the site, you could simply shut it down, and reply to their notice with all the information they requested, i.e. you could comply and note that you never made any money. However, this may conceivably open you up for either a civil or a criminal infringement suit, therefore the best advice is ... Ask/HIRE an attorney.
Thanks yogi. I am earning with this domain. In EU, as I already said. I don't wanna say what country, but I know there is no laws like that here. Thanks! I will remove the website and fucking forget about that niche. Never do that again. I will send them an email and tell them that I didn't make any money only collecting emails and I will tell them that I removed all data collected. That would hopefully be it. Another thing I have to mention - last time (5 months ago) the actual owner of the game contacted me about using only their logo! I removed the logo and I was good. And now this. Damn.
As i told to other users in BHW... stop using illegal methods to earn money... what you and other guys doing is: You use deception to earn money And its ofc suetable! What you can do now, firstly get a lawyer. Secondly dont SIGN the letter (wait for the advice from your lawyer).
First step is to verify if the email is legit. Call the phone, and send an email to the number and email listed. If it is legit, get a lawyer.
OP, just drop the domain and move on. I doubt that they would pursue you on the criminal side but there could be civil liabilities that would really suck... depending on who it is they could really make your life uncomfortable. Drop the domain. Start another project. That happens in IM. I would not give them any financial information though... I would just kill the domain/hosting and let them know. If you get anything else from them I would be making a call to an attorney though.
How much are making with this niche/domain? Is it high 3 figures a day? Is this highly competitive? From my experience if your answer to both above question is YES, then there is a chance its fake and sent by competitor. But if not, just take down the domain and move on.
Guys... stop saying bullshit. We are not in India or Asian Countrys.. The Law in EU is very strict, especially in western EU. They can confiscate your full bank account if they wants to.
I am contacting them right now. I'm about to do that in a few minutes. It's $$ per day and it's not that much competitive. My videos are ranked high on YouTube and the site ranked itself on page 1 on Google. Thanks for the input man.
Don't reply them as it will confirm that you have received the letter. Just remove the site and forget it. If they want to sue you they will do it anyway you reply or not, but if you reply to them you are basically confirming that you were operating the site and they could use that against you.
It's late now. I told them that the website has been removed and all data deleted. We'll see what will they respond.
Have you ever worked in competitive niche? In OP's case, its real dmca i guess, if its not that competitive and he should give up on that domain. But in competitive niches, you will receive many fake dmca and stuff from competitor, like I did many times. Dmca doesn't always mean its from real company. You should give up on that domain and move on. Its probably from real owner.
