|
|
Home | Articles | Employment | ISO 9000 | Contact Us |
|
The Sale of "Planet Java" Movie Scripts on ebay.com A Criminal Case of First Impression Before a Federal Court
The following report is based upon an actual case but the names of the victims and suspects are fictitious. For the sake of brevity, hyperlinks to exhibits and other sources have been disabled. Many of the exhibits on this disk are stored as Portable Document Format (PDF) documents. These documents are viewed with an Adobe Acrobat Reader, a free program distributed by Adobe. Because PDF formats are widely used to transfer information, many computers have this program installed. However, if clicking on a link results in the appearance of a box asking which program should be used to open the PDF document, then Acrobat will need to be installed. Should this occur, click here to install Adobe Acrobat 4.0 on your computer.
Bob Smith, Director of Corporate Investigations for the Really Big Studio Corporation, conducted this investigation. He wrote the report that follows in the third person tense. Smith's address is 300 S. Mallo Vista St., Burbank, CA, 91505. (818) 970-1234. Smith is a State of California, licensed private investigator, license number PI-13696. This investigation is the subject of a RBSC Report with the following DR Number: RBSC1020.
This report contains information about PAUL CHRISTY and how he used eBay.com and the US Postal Service to sell copyrighted scripts from the (2004) copyrighted RBSC production of Planet Java. The investigation found that CHRISTY may have been working with RBSC employees in this endeavor. In a fictitious business statement filed on 8/5/1997 in Los Angeles, Dizzy Williams, 2919 Gramaldi St., Los Angeles, CA 90039 and Chauncy Woolheist, 3859 Crest, Palmdale, CA 93550, are both listed with Paul CHRISTY as owners of Filmstar Films, with a business address of 2919 Gramaldi St., Los Angeles, CA 90039. www.filmstar.com is the URL (web address) where CHRISTY posted the photos for his auctions on eBay.com. A check of RBSC employment records found that Dizzy Williams was a Propmaker with Local #44. In the following information provided by RBSC Labor Relations, note the match to the Filmstar Films business address with the home address for Dizzy Williams.
Dizzy J. Williams The crew list for Planet Java listed a "Meredith” Woolheist, as a teamster driver for the production. His personal information obtained from RBSC Labor Relations follows.
Chauncy J. Woolheist
SOURCE OF THE INVESTIGATION www.lotc.tripod.com/news.html is an unofficial web site about the Solar22 production of Planet Java. It is not administrated or endorsed by RBSC or Solar22 Productions. On 2-13-03 the site posted a news item about pchristy@lol.com selling Planet Java scripts on eBay.com, item number 14093335. See page 4 of the following document for the 2-13-03 entry and strings that follow. EXHIBIT #1 In response to the postings about CHRISTY found on www.lotc.tripod.com/news.html, David Grubman of Solar22's production office, began corresponding with CHRISTY via e-mail in an attempt to determine the nature of what CHRISTY was selling on eBay.com. On 2-12-03 CHRISTY responded to a pervious e-mail from Grubman who had asked about a "secret code" imbedded in the script and weather it was legitimate to own the script. CHRISTY responded that all scripts say copyright and that there had been a code digitally removed. On 2/15/03 Bob Smith received a phone call from Janice Sample, Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs for The RBS Corporation. Sample informed Smith that someone on eBay.com by the name of pchristy@lol.com was selling copyrighted blue prints and scripts from the RBSC production of Planet Java. Sample stated that RBSC did not authorize the sale of this copyrighted material. Sample wanted to identify the source of the material inside RBSC and shut down the sales. On 2-16-03 CHRISTY again responded to David Grubman and identified Grubman as working for Solar22's office. CHRISTY stated he had paid a crewmember a lot of money for the script and would gladly stop selling the script if the studio would pay his costs. He also made a veiled threat to post the script on the internet. EXHIBIT #2 Using the preliminary information provided by the Sample and Grubman reports, Bob Smith initiated an investigation into the sale of RBSC intellectual property by the suspect pchristy@lol.com.
The purpose of the investigation was to learn the identify of the people selling RBSC intellectual properties through the eBay.com online auction service. The objective of the investigation was to stop the sale of RBSC intellectual properties and determine if there were violations of the following laws:
The following Department of Justice analysis of the criminal aspects of copyright violations was obtained from the D.O.J. web site. The document states: There are four essential elements to a charge of criminal copyright infringement. In order to obtain a conviction under § 506(a), the government must demonstrate:
(1)
That a valid copyright exists; These four elements are described in greater detail in the exhibit. EXHIBIT #3
Title 18 US Code, Postal Laws The following section of the US Code directly address the actions of CHRISTY described in this report as it pertains to the use of a US Postal Box: Section 1341. Frauds & swindles Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, or to sell, dispose of, loan, exchange, alter, give away, distribute, supply, or furnish or procure for unlawful use any counterfeit or spurious coin, obligation, security, or other article, or anything represented to be or intimated or held out to be such counterfeit or spurious article, for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice or attempting so to do, places in any post office or authorized depository for mail matter, any matter or thing whatever to be sent or delivered by the Postal Service, or deposits or causes to be deposited any matter or thing whatever to be sent or delivered by any private or commercial interstate carrier, or takes or receives therefrom, any such matter or thing, or knowingly causes to be delivered by mail or such carrier according to the direction thereon, or at the place at which it is directed to be delivered by the person to whom it is addressed, any such matter or thing, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. If the violation affects a financial institution, such person shall be fined not more than $ 1 million or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both. EXHIBIT #4
PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION Using the eBay.com seller name of pchristy@lol.com and the URL information provided to him by Sample, Bob Smith visited the eBay.com web site and found the auction for the Planet Java blue prints referred to by Sample. The blue prints were offered by username pchristy@lol.com. The auction was listed as item #14076365 and had closed on February 8th, 2003 at 10:20 am. EXHIBIT #5 When reviewing the blue print auction listed by pchristy@lol.com, Smith found a thumbnail image of the blue print offered for sale. Smith pulled up the full image of the blue print photo from the auction page. The title of the movie listed on the blue print was "LOTC" and the director was listed as Solar22. According to Bill, the early working title for Planet Java was "LOTC". EXHIBIT #6 Right clicking the mouse while holding the cursor over the image, Smith discovered the source where the image was being hosted, on a web site located at www.Filmstar.com. EXHIBIT #7 Smith then went to www.Filmstar.com and discovered that the home page listed the following administrative information:
"PAUL CHRISTY p.o.box
7805 Santa Rosa, ca 95407-0885 (707) 555-6666" The administrator of the web site www.Filmstar.com, PAUL CHRISTY, seemed associated by name with the eBay.com user name pchristy@lol.com. EXHIBIT #8 To further identify the owner of the web site www.Filmstar.com, Smith conducted a WHOIS lookup search at www.networksolutions.com and found that the registrant and administrative contact for www.Filmstar.com was Sue CHRISTY. The e-mail address listed for Sue CHRISTY was pchristy@lol.com, the same user name selling the Planet Java material on eBay.com. EXHIBIT #9 Smith then conducted a WHOIS lookup search at www.networksolutions.com for Sue CHRISTY and Paul CHRISTY and found they shared consistent matching P.O. Box address information. EXHIBIT #10, EXHIBIT #11 Also of note was a link found on the www.Filmstar.com home page to www.cinema-celebrities.com. This web site was in the business of obtaining and selling entertainment industry memorabilia. EXHIBIT #12 To further identify the owner of the web site www.cinema-celebrities.com, Smith conducted a WHOIS lookup search at www.networksolutions.com and found that the administrative contact for www.cinema-celebrities.com was Tracy Right. The e-mail address listed for Tracy Right cinemastar@earthlink.net. (At the time of this report a link between cinema-celebrities.com and RBSC had not been established). EXHIBIT #13
FACT FINDING pchristy@lol.com auctions bid on by Bob Smith At the same time he was trying to identify pchristy@lol.com, Smith began bidding on all of the items listed under that seller name. The bidding was undertaken under the following eBay.com identities, Meredithh@relaypoint.net, silviaz@mediaone.net, and george@opticalelectrohouse.com. These are usernames that Smith has used in the past to participate in eBay.com auctions and identify stolen RBSC property. Direct communication between pchristy@lol.com and Bob Smith was established following the end of each bidding activity. The following eBay.com activity and direct correspondence demonstrates that transactions took place with a person self identified in the emails as "Paul CHRISTY". "eBay item number 1410059188 - "Planet Java-SCRIPT-"
2/15/03 - 20:26 PM EXHIBIT #14
2/16/03 - 22:03 PM EXHIBIT #15 The e-mail also stated, "see samples at http://www.Filmstar.com/LOTCscript.html." This is the URL where pchristy@lol.com had posted his auction photos for the Planet Java blue prints. EXHIBIT #16
2/20/03 - 17:34 PM EXHIBIT #17
2/20/03 EXHIBIT #18
2/26/03 - 22:03 PM EXHIBIT #19
3/7/03
3/8/03
EXHIBIT #20 EXHIBIT #21 Smith opened the pouch and found one script inside. It was titled Planet Java by Solar22. EXHIBIT #22 On the cover page of the script was the ownership statement, "Property of The RBSC Co., 500 S. Buena Vista St. Burbank, CA. 91505 along with a copyright statement. At the bottom of the script were the words, "COPYRIGHT 2000 THE RBSC COMPANY. NO DUPLICATION WITHOUT RBSC'S WRITTEN CONSENT." EXHIBIT #23 Also included with the script was a yellow 8.5 X11 piece of yellow paper on which Paul CHRISTY offered for sale 84 story board pages from the Planet Java. The price was $30.00. EXHIBIT #24 eBay Item Number 14103776 - "SCRIPT of Planet Java"
2/15/03 - 20:46 PM EXHIBIT #25
2/15/03 - 20:48 PM EXHIBIT #26
2/15/03 - 22:11 PM EXHIBIT #27
2/19/03 - 12:42 PM EXHIBIT #28
2/21/03 - 20:43 PM EXHIBIT #29
2/27/03 - 13:55 PM EXHIBIT #30 Investigator's Note: It appeared that both the auctions offered exactly the same script. This raised a question. If both auctions sold the same script why would buying-today bid on both auctions and pay $102.50 and $152.50 for each identical script? Another question raised was why CHRISTY was willing to sell the scripts for the two auctions for $50.00 each prior to the auctions ending? Why not wait and get the highest bid possible. This lead Smith to believe that CHRISTY was really user name buying-today and bidding on his own auctions to bump up the final sales price. (Smith) silviaz@mediaone,net did not pay for this script even though he had been offered it prior to the end of the auction. eBay item number 1411039885 - "Planet Java - Script - RARE!"
2/19/03 - 08:38 AM EXHIBIT #31
2/23/03 - 23:40 PM EXHIBIT #32
2/19/03 - 13:39 PM EXHIBIT #33
2/20/03 EXHIBIT #34
2/20/03 - 20:27 PM
EXHIBIT #35 EXHIBIT #36
2/24/03 - 08:37 AM EXHIBIT #37
2/25/03 - 08:16 AM EXHIBIT #38, EXHIBIT #39, EXHIBIT #40
2/26/03 - 22:00 PM EXHIBIT #41
3/14/03 EXHIBIT #42 Closer examination of the Priority Mail pouch revealed that it was postmarked MONTG VILLAGE STA, SANTA ROSA CA. On March 5, 2003. Postage stamps of $4.00 were displayed on the pouch. EXHIBIT #43 Smith opened the pouch and found one script inside. It was titled Planet Java by Solar22. EXHIBIT #44 On the cover page of the script was the ownership statement, "Property of The RBSC Company, 500 S. Buena Vista St. Burbank, CA, 91505 along with a RBSC 2000 copyright statement. At the bottom of the script were the words, "2000 THE RBSC COMPANY. NO DUPLICATION WITHOUT RBSC'S WRITTEN CONSENT." EXHIBIT #45 Also included with the script was a yellow 8.5 X11 piece of yellow paper on which Paul CHRISTY offered for sale 84 story board pages from the Planet Java 2003. The price was $30.00. EXHIBIT #46
ACTIONS TAKEN TO IDENTIFY pchristy@lol.com Using information contained in the e-mail correspondence between the suspect pchristy@lol.com and web site information found at www.Filmstar.com, Smith pieced together the following identifying information associated with pchristy@lol.com. Paul A. CHRISTY, P.O. Box 7805, Santa Rosa, Ca. 95407-0885, (707)555-5555. Smith then gave this information to the independent private investigation firm of J.R. JONES and Associates and requested background information on the subject. 2-22-03 - 12:30 PM - Wendal Jones of J.R. Jones and Associates, provided the following identifying information pertaining to the suspect, PAUL CHRISTY.
From:
"W Jones" Hi Meredith, I wanted to let you know what I've come up with so far. I've identified him as Paul Anthony CHRISTY with social security number 455-55-5555. That social was issued in Iowa and I'm also showing another individual by the name of Nikki L. Matt with addresses in Iowa who is associated with this social also. So I don't know if it's really his or not. Paul CHRISTY's date of birth is 1/14/1955, and his California driver's license number is C6230788. His most recent address appears to be 4397 Home Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95404. However, I'm still working on confirming that and will let you know as soon as I hear back from a source. It looks like he might have a wife named Sue and possibly children, John and Ashley. He's got a civil judgment filed 1/2/93 against him in the amount of $3,600 from the State of Calif. Employment. He's also got a 1988 State Tax Lien filed against him and a company named Satellite TV Center, 10009 W. Redwood Ave., Fort Bragg, CA. In Sonoma County Superior Court, one criminal case was identified listing him as the defendant. This is Criminal Case #TCR32845 for an offense which occurred 10/7/98. We confirmed his name and date of birth, however, they will not provide further information such as charges and disposition over the phone but we can request that information in writing, which we'll do right away. I'll update you as soon as I confirm the address. Thanks, Wendal 2-27-03 - 4:07 PM - Wendal Jones of J.R. Jones and Associates, provided the following identifying information pertaining to the suspect, PAUL CHRISTY.
From:
"W Jones"
wjones@ARealPI.com The telephone number (707) 555-3454 is listed to a company by the name of Signus Inc. located at 333 Cherry St., Santa Rosa, CA 95404. At this location, there appears to be an office building and possibly condominiums too. The address I provided in my last email of 4307 Home Ave., Santa Rosa appears to be the most recent residential address, however, I have not made any contacts with the subject or neighbors to confirm this for the security of this investigation. It appears to be part of a duplex or triplex with the front unit having the address of 4395 Home Ave. I have an address for the owner of the building, Thomas Redwood (707) 555-6789. I'm still waiting for information to come back from the courts on the criminal case I found. Thanks, Wendal
3-2-03 - 3:16 PM
From:
"W Jones" I received the information back from Sonoma County. The complaint was filed on 10/9/98 for vehicle code 20002 (a) leaving the scene of an accident where property damage is involved. He was convicted on 8/31/99 and sentenced to $100 restitution, $900 fine and 10 days work release, which was completed. Wendal
3-9-03 - 9:25 AM
- Wendal Jones of J.R. Jones and Associates, provided the following
identifying information pertaining to the suspect, PAUL CHRISTY. Hi Meredith, I found a fictitious business name filing filed 8/5/1997 in Los Angeles County. The business is Filmstar / Lonestar Films, 2919 Gramaldi St., Los Angeles, CA 90039. The owners are listed as Paul CHRISTY, 4307 Home, Santa Rosa, CA 95405, Dizzy Williams, 2919 Gramaldi St., Los Angeles, CA 90039 and Chauncy Woolheist, 3859 Crest, Palmdale, CA 93550. Thanks, Wendal CONNECTING pchristy@lol.com TO RBSC 3-9-03 - 12:22 PM - Smith contacted Janice Sample and informed her of the fictitious business name filing found on Paul CHRISTY. He asked Sample if any of the names in the filing matched any names on the Planet Java crew roster. Sample confirmed that the Planet Java crew roster listed a Chauncy Woolheist in the transportation section as a driver. 3-9-03 - 3:03 PM - Smith contacted Wayne Wingtips, VP of RBSC Labor Relations. Smith provided Metcalf with the following information found in the fictitious business filing: Fictitious Business Name Filing: Filed 8/5/1997 in Los Angeles County Business Name & Address: Filmstar Films, 2919 Gramaldi St., Los Angeles, CA 90039 Business Owners: Paul CHRISTY – 4307 Home St., Santa Rosa, CA 95405 Dizzy Williams - 2919 Gramaldi St., Los Angeles, CA 90039 Chauncy Woolheist - 3859 Crest, Palmdale, CA 93550 3-9-03 - 5:43 PM – Wayne Wingtips contacted Smith and provided him with the following matching information found on the union rosters:
Dizzy J.
Williams
Chauncy J.
Woolheist
PAUL CHRISTY The RBSC and CHRISTY Connection Summary EBay.com user name, pchristy@lol.com is PAUL CHRISTY, 4307 Home, Santa Rosa, CA 95405 who is www.Filmstar.com who is Filmstar Films, 2919 Gramaldi St., Los Angeles, CA 90039 who are Owners, Dizzy Williams, propmaker local #44, 2919 Gramaldi St., Los Angeles, CA 90039 – Paul CHRISTY, 4397 Home, Santa Rosa, CA 95405 - and Chauncy Woolheist - 3859 Crest, Palmdale, CA 93550 who is Chauncy Woolheist, listed on Planet Java crew roster as a driver.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Smith became aware of the www.lotc.tripod.com/news.html web site and David Grubman correspondence after he had completed most of his investigation. As a supplement to his main report Smith visited the www.lotc.tripod.com/news.html web site and conducted a web site search for the term "Christy". He found several matches. EXHIBIT 47 Following some of those results, Smith located a message board inside a web site called www.caribbean-travel.com/wwwboard/messages. Reading the correspondence Smith determined that the subject referred to in the postings was in fact the Paul CHRISTY he had identified on eBay.com. This connection was made by references to www.Filmstar.com and pchristy@lol.com. The topic of all correspondence had something to do with Paul CHRISTY using numerous names and e-mails in an attempt to deceive the people he was corresponding with. This stemmed from a bad business deal between CHRISTY and the people in the postings. Because of this information it is unclear if Paul CHRISTY is who he says he is. The complete string of postings follows:
EXHIBIT#48 EXHIBIT #50 EXHIBIT #51 EXHIBIT #52 EXHIBIT #53 EXHIBIT #54 While bidding on the scripts, Smith received an e-mail from Zaius53@lol.com offering to sell Planet Java material from previously copyrighted movies, television shows and other media. At the time of this report Smith did not try and establish a link between CHRISTY and Zaius53761@lol.com. EXHIBIT 55 After Janice Sample became aware of the possible connection between CHRISTY and one of the production driver's, Chauncy Woolheist, he placed a call to Ralph Win, one of the Planet Java producers, and informed him of the preliminary findings. Win told Sample that he believed Woolheist had a girlfriend named Kim Rina who worked for the A.S.P.C.A. and was assigned to Planet Java. She was not a Planet Java employee. (It has not been verified if Kim Rina was in fact Woolheist’s girlfriend). CONTACT WITH POSTAL INSPECTOR
4-3-03
4-9-03 OPINIONS Title 17 USC Reviewing the facts of this case it is clear that the elements described by the DOJ as being necessary for a criminal conviction on copyright infringement charges under Title 17 USC § 506(a) are present and can be proven. To obtain a conviction for copyright infringement, it must be shown:
(1)
that a valid copyright exists; (1) It is clear that RBSC has a valid copyright on its materials and takes care to ensure that its ownership rights are protected. This is demonstrated, in part, by the appearance of explicit claims to copyright protections on the title pages of its scripts. The most striking evidence of this was provided by the suspect himself. On the title page of the Planet Java scripts CHRISTY sold to Bob Smith was the RBSC copyright notice. (2) It is clear that the suspect infringed several of these copyrights through the sale of Planet Java scripts. This has been established through extensive documentation. The promotion of these properties on eBay, the negotiation for sale of these items via email to Bob Smith, the agreement to sell the items, the acceptance of money for the items, and the delivery of the items to Bob Smith through the US Postal System all establish infringement. (3) The willful character of the suspect's actions is also clear. As described above, the copyright notices affixed to the cover of RBSC scripts being sold by the suspect expressly prohibited the actions, which were being undertaken by the suspect. This notice appeared on the scripts the suspect sold to Bob Smith. Additionally, CHRISTY sent an e-mail to David Grubman stating that if RBSC paid his costs for buying the script from a crew member he would stop selling it. (4) And finally, the suspect's financial motivation is unmistakable. The scripts were sold on eBay.com to make money. The intellectual properties he was selling were fetching up to $150.00 per script and at one point CHRISTY was offering to sell 100 scripts at a time. There is no question that the sale of these RBSC intellectual properties has been a source of income for the suspect, and that this financial gain thereby constitutes an essential motivating factor underlying the suspect's actions. Title 18 USC
Assuming the suspect’s
actions were illegal under Title 17 USC, he also violated Title 18 USC §§
1341 pertaining to mail fraud and illegal activities conducted through the
US Postal Service, i.e. the sale of stolen RBSC intellectual property. CONCLUSIONS PAUL CHRISTY violated provisions of Title 17 USC § 506(a), copyright infringements and Title 18 USC §§ 1341, mail fraud and illegal activity through the mail.
RECOMMENDATIONS Union members Dizzy Williams and Chauncy Woolheist should be interviewed to determine if they were involved in the theft and sale of the Planet Java scripts. Chauncy Woolheist possible girlfriend, Kim Rina, who worked for the A.S.P.C.A. on Planet Java, should be interviewed to determine if she was involved. END OF REPORT 4/9/03 SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT 05/10/03 On 5/10/03 Smith visited www.eBay.com and searched for additional auctions held by suspect Paul CHRISTY under the seller name pchristy@lol.com. Smith found seven auctions by CHRISTY started between April 6, 2003 and May 8, 2003. The auctions and the properties of their photos are listed as follows. Current and Recent Auctions by pchristy@lol.com Smith found the recent auction-listing page for CHRISTY. EXHIBIT #56 "eBay item number 14223035 - "Solar22 - Planet Java-SCRIPT-2003" This was a Dutch Auction, which started on 4/6/03, offered 5 Planet Java Scripts for sale at $45.00 each. According to the auction, which ended on 4/13/03,CHRISTY sold no copies. EXHIBIT #57 "eBay item number 1422302685 - "Planet Java 2003 - SCRIPT- Solar22" This was a Dutch Auction, which started on 4/6/03, offered 5 Planet Java Scripts for sale at $45.00 each. According to the auction, which ended on 4/13/03,CHRISTY sold no copies. EXHIBIT #58 "eBay item number 1425007678 - "Solar22 - Planet Java 2003 - SCRIPT- 2003" This was a Dutch Auction, which started on 4/18/03, offered 5 Planet Java Scripts for sale at $44.95 each. According to the auction, which ended on 4/25/03,CHRISTY sold 2 copies to the following bidders, gwen.osborne@bubblefactory.com and sharon@shanerichie.com. EXHIBIT #59, EXHIBIT #59-A "eBay item number 14263824 - "COSTUME PROP of "Planet Java 2003" This regular auction, which started on 4/24/03, offered a costume piece from the Planet Java, alleged to have been worn by Johnnie Depp. According to the auction, which ended on 5/1/03, the prop sold to tedmc@webtv.net for $361.66. The auction listed a photo of the costume. EXHIBIT #60 Right clicking the mouse while holding the cursor over the auction image of the foot, Smith discovered the source where the image was being hosted, on a web site located at www.Filmstar.com/johnnie.depp.jpg EXHIBIT #61 "eBay item number 14274204 - "Solar22 - Planet Java - SCRIPT- 2003" This Dutch Auction, which started on 4/28/03, offered 3 Planet Java Scripts for sale at $44.95 each. According to the auction, which ended on 5/5/03, CHRISTY sold 1 copy to pappy81963@hotmail.com. EXHIBIT #62, EXHIBIT #62-A The auction also displayed the trademarked Planet Java logo and copyrighted photos from the movie. Right clicking the mouse while holding the cursor over the auction images, Smith discovered the source where the image was being hosted, on a web site located at www.Filmstar.com/LOTCbanner.jpg "eBay item number 14294889 - "Solar22 - Planet Java - SCRIPT- 2003" This Dutch Auction, which started on 5/7/03, offered 3 Planet Java Scripts for sale at $44.95 each. According to the auction, which ended on 5/14/03, CHRISTY sold 0 copies. EXHIBIT #64 The auction also displayed the trademarked Planet Java logo and copyrighted photos from the movie. Right clicking the mouse while holding the cursor over the auction images, Smith discovered the source where the image was being hosted, on a web site located at www.Filmstar.com/LOTCbanner.jpg EXHIBIT #65 eBay item number 1429689266 - "Planet Java 2003 Blueprints - Solar22" This regular auction, which started on 5/8/03, offered an "ORIGINAL" blueprint from the LOTC movie. According to the auction, which ended on 5/15/03, the blueprint sold to tedmc@webtv.net for $30.00. This was the same buyer that purchased the ape costume foot earlier. EXHIBIT #66 The auction also displayed a photo of the blueprint. Right clicking the mouse while holding the cursor over the auction image, Smith discovered the source where the image was being hosted, on a web site located at www.Filmstar.com/blue003.jpg EXHIBIT #67
5/29/03 On June 1, 2003 Mello would recover the stolen costume recently sold by suspect Paul CHRISTY on eBay.com. Mello said that while investigating the case, he came across another case involving the theft of six Planet Java costume masks valued at approx. $30,000.00. The masks were stolen in Feb. 2003 while filming on location. (This theft was not previously reported to the production office or corporate security). Mello said he would be looking into filing charges against CHRISTY for these violations or he will pass he case onto Santa Rosa Police for possible filing. Inspector Grunspan said that the U.S. Deputy Dist. Attorney in San Francisco has filed charges against CHRISTY for criminal copyright infringement involving the stolen scripts sold on eBay.com. A search warrant has been issued for CHRISTY's home in Santa Rosa. The search warrant will be executed in the next few weeks. Inspector Grunspan said the U.S. Deputy Dist. Attorney is very excited about the case and wants to proceed. According to Grunspan and the Dist. Attorney, there has never been a criminal copyright case filed involving this fact pattern. This may be a case of first impression in Federal Court. Inspector Grunspan and the U.S. Deputy Dist. Attorney requested a copy of our copyright certificate covering the Planet Java script. They need this to establish one of the elements of the copyright violation. After the meeting Smith called Janice Sample from his cell phone and requested the certificate. She said she will forward it to him.
|
|
Setting the Standard in Security Since 1876 |
||
|
Avenel, NJ
|
Baltimore, MD |
Cape
Canaveral, FL |
Dania
Beach, FL |
Galveston,
TX |
Jacksonville, FL |
||
|
|
||
|
Copyright © 2010 Guard Smart, LLC & McRoberts Protective Agency, Inc. | California PPO 11534 |
|
|
