Legal:DMCA/Nicholas Alahverdian

From Wikimedia Foundation Governance Wiki
From: legal@nicholasalahverdian.com
To: legal@wikimedia.org
Date: January 11, 2021 at 16:28:00 UTC
Subject: URGENT DMCA NOTIFICATION
Content: File:Nicholas Alahverdian and Andre Dubus III.jpg File:Vice President Mike Pence and Nicholas Alahverdian.jpg

DMCA NOTICE Date: JANUARY 11, 2021 I certify under PENALTY OF PERJURY that: I, John Bauman Esq., am the authorized copyright agent for The NicholasAlahverdian Trust (hereinafter referred to as "We"), owner, author, andcopyright holder of content in question on your website which was notuploaded by any of our employees, agents, affiliates, or otherwise anyindividual or group associated with the Trust. The following information serves to assert the rights of The Nicholas Alahverdian Trust and request removal of infringing web content under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The following is a report, in good faith, of alleged copyright infringement. I am contacting you as the designated agent for the site upon which the infringing work currently appears. This letter is a Notice of Infringement as authorized in §512(c) of the U.S. Copyright Law. This correspondence relates to webpages, articles, and photographs owned and authored by The Nicholas Alahverdian Trust, which, in addition to other responsibilities, acts as copyright holder for the intellectualproperty of the late Nicholas Alahverdian. Two copyrighted photographs owned and authored by The Nicholas Alahverdian Trust remain publishedat wikimedia.org (hereinafter referred to as the "Infringing Website")without permission or license in violation of the law and Wikimediapolicies, specifically at the following links: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nicholas_Alahverdian_and_Andre_Dubus_III.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vice_President_Mike_Pence_and_Nicholas_Alahverdian.jpg The original works were created by employees and/or volunteers of TheNicholas Alahverdian Trust while they were employed by the Trust andwere fully aware that any works created would be the intellectualproperty of The Nicholas Alahverdian Trust. The users of these Wikimedia accounts did not have permission to use the images, and these imageswhich had originally been hosted on several platforms and websites havenow been deleted from our website at www.nicholasalahverdian.com and Flickr.com The Nicholas Alahverdian Trust created the content listed above, and we are the owner of intellectual property, namely, the photographs, webpages,articles, and other media. This content was created for the purposes offurthering our mission of preserving Mr Alahverdian's legacy ofreforming and improving foster care, child welfare, and to encourageproductive public policy dialogue surrounding state and federallegislation that improves the lives of children and families, as well as similar legislative initiatives around the world. Our founder, Nicholas Alahverdian, passed away on February 29, 2020. We assert that The Nicholas Alahverdian Trust is the sole author and copyright owner of these photographs for all legalpurposes under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and common law. We hereby assert that we have an exclusive right being infringed,specifically including but not limited to copyrighted photographsremaining published on the Infringing Website when we are the sole owner of the intellectual property and have not licensed this material forthird-party use. We have a good faith belief that the use of the material in the mannercomplained of is not authorized by the Trust as copyright owner, itsofficers, or the law. The information and assertions in thisnotification are accurate. I acknowledge that under Section 512(f) ofthe Digital Millennium Copyright Act any person or entity who knowinglymisrepresents that material or activity is infringing may be subject toliability. We understand and are aware that only the copyright owner oran authorized representative can file a DMCA Infringement Notice on thecopyright owner's behalf, and we reiterate that we are the solecopyright holder. INFORMATION First name: John Last name: Baumann, Esq. Company name: The Nicholas Alahverdian Trust Copyright holder you represent: The Nicholas Alahverdian Trust COPYRIGHTED WORKS Identification and description of the copyrighted works: Photographs of the late Nicholas Alahverdian (1987-2020), taken by our employees,contractors, and freelancers AND that are the exclusive work product and intellectual property of THE NICHOLAS ALAHVERDIAN TRUST, located at the URLs below. Articles andwebpages written by employees, contractors, and freelancers working onbehalf of The Nicholas Alahverdian Trust and for which ownership andcopyright is not disputed. One photograph is of Mr. Alahverdian in a red tie and a man and and woman, and the second photograph is Mr.Alahverdian standing next to U.S. Vice President Mike Pence. They arelocated at the URLs: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nicholas_Alahverdian_and_Andre_Dubus_III.jpg and https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vice_President_Mike_Pence_and_Nicholas_Alahverdian.jpg Declaration of ownership: I hereby assert and swear under penalty of perjury that The NicholasAlahverdian Trust, and its writers, employees, or freelancers thereof,are the authors of the photographs located at the URLs below and thatthe Trust is the sole owner of the aforesaid photographs. The Infringing Website users who unlawfully publishing the content have not been granted permission to use any of the articles, photographs, orwebpages nor will they be granted permission if such permission issought. I hereby assert and swear under penalty of perjury that The NicholasAlahverdian Center and The Nicholas Alahverdian Trust, its subsidiariesand related entities, including the writers, employees, and freelancersthereof, are the authors of the webpages, articles, and photographslocated at the URLs above. The website hosting the infringing content,at wikimedia.org, allows users to upload content and make declarationsabout its copyright status, however on this occasion these photographsare from a copyrighted website, nicholasalahverdian.com, or anotherrelated website (internal or external), and are wholly owned andoperated by The Nicholas Alahverdian Trust. It is our request that the relevant files be deleted as these twophotographs, consisting of our intellectual property, have not beenproperly licensed for use on wikimedia.org or any "Wiki" website. My contact information is: John Baumann Esq, PO Box <redacted> Cambridge, MA 02138 legal@nicholasalahverdian.com https://www.nicholasalahverdian.com I have a good faith belief the use of the above reference copyrighted work(s) that appears on the website for which you are the designated DMCA agent is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or by law. I declare, under penalty of perjury, this notice is true and correct and that I am the copyright owner entitled to exclusive rights which I allege are being infringed. SIGNED UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY: John Baumann, Esq. DATE: January 11, 2021 __________ Confidentiality notice: The information in this email from The NA Trust is confidential and may be legally privileged. It has been sent by a representative of The NA Trust and is intended solely for the addressee. Access to this email by anyone else is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution or any action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this email in error please forward the message to administration@nicholasalahverdian.com