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mastermindreader 1949 - 2017 Seattle, WA 12586 Posts |
Piracy Alert-
Alberto [last name redacted] sent the following to innumerable e-mail addresses, including representatives, friends, fans, and professional associates of the legal copyright holders of the pirated works offered. Thanks to the many of you who notified me of this. If you are or know any of the other authors whose works he is attempting to illegally trade, please feel free to contact me and I will provide you with the needed info to take appropriate action. My response to him appears afterwards. ____________________________________________________________________ Quote:
____________________________________________________________________ My response: To: Alberto [last name and email address redacted] Dear Alberto - Why didn’t you send the request for copies of my material to me, rather than everyone else? Oh, that’s right, you’re a thief and you want to trade pirated eBooks (many of which were never even issued as ebooks but illegally copied from printed editions.) You know that’s a criminal offense, right? (The irony is that you sent your criminal solicitations to several attorneys who do mentalism as an avocation - and at least two are experts in international copyright law. “International” includes Mexico, you know. Hope you were smart enough to disguise your email servers and location properly, but it appears that you didn’t do that very well either. ALL if the authors on your list are being contacted and this message will soon be all over the Internet. Hope you seriously weren’t considering a career in mentalism or magic. You have really, and irreparably, messed with the wrong people. We don’t suffer thieves or fools lightly. And you, sir, are both. BUT - In the highly unlikely circumstance that you are just an idiot and didn’t realize that what you were doing is highly illegal, I suggest you contact me IMMEDIATELY. Otherwise you will receive no further notice prior to the filing of legal proceedings. You’ll have to do your explaining to the lawyers, prosecutors and appropriate law enforcement agencies. Bob Cassidy NOTE: Since you have used a third party email serice (GetResponse) in addition to your hotmail address, a copy is being forwarded to them for appropriate action as you are in direct violation of their terms of service: 6. Prohibited practices, content and industries You are not allowed to use the Service in a manner that, either intentionally or unintentionally, violates any applicable local, state, national or international laws, good industry practice, these Terms of Service and our Anti-Spam Policy or any copyright or other right of a third party. To see what practices we regard as particularly abusive or illegal, please click here. See: http://www.getresponse.com/legal |
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Dr Spektor Eternal Order Carcanis 10781 Posts |
You might not get a response because he may have died of fright from that email!
"They are lean and athirst!!!!"
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mastermindreader 1949 - 2017 Seattle, WA 12586 Posts |
Too bad I didn't attach the large version of my new avatar to my email.
He'll probably see it here, though, because it's very likely that he's a Café member. But if anyone happens to know this guy, do him and me a favor by advising him to get in touch with me immediately. I was kind enough to redact his identifying information for the time being. He may, after all, just be an idiot who doesn't understand the illegality of what he's doing. But if he'd rather that I provide his complete info to the entire international mentalism community, including every mentalist and creator I know, as well as the ethics boards of the PEA and all other national and international magic organizations that he may one day wish to be associated with, I'd be happy to accommodate him. This kind of crap is slowly killing our art. And if we don't at least do something to fight back, we will be complicit in its demise. I don't accept the oft heard argument that serious students of magic or mentalism should be allowed to "share" because of their personal financial situations. I have never ignored a request for my own material by a genuinely serious and motivated student simply because of his/her inability to pay. It's really just a matter of respect for the secrets of our art. |
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Tom Jorgenson Inner circle LOOSE ANGLES, CALIFORNIA 4451 Posts |
Amazing. I just don't understand that whole thing. Any single one of those books he lists is enough to keep you employed for the rest of your life. Surely he hasn't r ead them, and sure as h*** hasn't performed 1% of them. What's the point? Collecting collections?
We dance an invisible dance to music they cannot hear.
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Randwill Inner circle 1914 Posts |
He doesn't say he is selling the stuff he has listed. He says he wants some of Bob's (presumably legitimately published) stuff and wants to trade some stuff he (presumably) legitimately owns. Not taking sides or trying to ruffle feathers, just trying to understand the issue.
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IAIN Eternal Order england 18807 Posts |
Its the internet equivalent of Top Trumps...
I hope the person is traceable via facebook too...
I've asked to be banned
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Randwill Inner circle 1914 Posts |
I had to Google "Top Trumps" and it seems to be a card game.
So the theory here is that this person doesn't really want to trade something from his list for some Bob Cassidy material another person owns. Rather he wants to...? is what I'm asking. Oh, I now see that Bob believes that some of the books this person has listed as ebooks for trade have never been legitimately issued in ebook format. Now that is pretty clearly not kosher. |
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Tony Iacoviello Eternal Order 13151 Posts |
Thank you Bob!
I received an unsolicited email request from this gentleman at my day job and contacted many of the people who publish the materials on the list. My concern was, several of the items by their description are identified as pirated. Some of the items listed in a particular format were never released on the media listed. One of the publishers informed me that he has had a multi-year battle with this gentleman selling pirated copies of his products on eBay. Every time the items get removed, he relists them and begins selling them anew. We are dealing with a thief trying to add additional materials to his pirate wares. Tony Iacoviello |
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Randwill Inner circle 1914 Posts |
Oh, okay, so this guy isn't new to you folks. That clears it up for me.
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mastermindreader 1949 - 2017 Seattle, WA 12586 Posts |
Quote:
On 2014-01-02 20:56, Randwill wrote: You're not taking sides? Really? I have to admit I was surprised to see what you wrote. MANY fellow professionals, PEA members, etc. received this email. And the fact that he used a private mass email service to send it out is interesting, don't you think? But the law here is clear- it is ILLEGAL to copy OR TRADE eBooks. PERIOD. And he has many of them listed. Nor can you trade COPIES of DVDs, CDs, or printed materials. Many of the so-called "ebooks" he is offering were NEVER put out in eBook form and, therefore, must be illegal digital scans. If all he was doing was asking to trade original DVD's or CD's it would be a different story. The Q&A and Seance materials of mine that he asked for are eBooks and media files. I, and many other creators, have come to realize that it is hardly worth putting ANYTHING out anymore, for in only a matter of hours digital copies will be offered for trade. (In the long run it would probably be better for the art to limit releases to performers we know personally or have been vouched for by others we trust.) But like I wrote earlier, if this guy is just ignorant of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and national and international copyright laws, his best bet would be to contact me ASAP so we may at least attempt to resolve this amicably. Otherwise this is probably going to get ugly. I should also note that, in view of all of this, and the continuing trivialization of the art, I plan on devoting most of my future on-line time and contributions to my private workshop. I've given a lot to this forum, and others over the years, and this whole incident tells me that may have been a serious mistake. Posted: Jan 2, 2014 11:14pm Just saw your last post, Randwill, so I apologize if my response to you was a bit harsh. I probably should have been as clear as Tony was. We KNOW who this guy is. (And I don't seriously think that he will respond to me.) Quote:
On 2014-01-02 22:37, Tony Iacoviello wrote: Thank you, Tony! Jheff forwarded to me a copy of the email you sent him. I had already received notices from several other guys about this. When I saw yours I started steaming. And when I went to the private PEA site and discovered that many members, all good friends of mine, also received it, I punched a hole in my office wall and went ahead and deleted a new piece I was working on. Screw it, I'll keep in in my own act for another couple of years. I'll earn more from it that way. I'm calmer now, though, and it is interesting that this guy is still, apparently, selling pirated stuff on eBay. Lot more legal notices to send out, though. And, funny enough, a very old friend of mine is a federal prosecutor in Mexico. He loves mentalism and am sure he'll be happy to provide some guidance here. |
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Randwill Inner circle 1914 Posts |
Quote:
On 2014-01-02 23:09, mastermindreader wrote: I initially missed that some of the ebooks had never been published in that form, even though you clearly say that in the OP. I was also unaware that this individual had a history of illegal dealings that you knew about. I get it now, Bob. Let me up I've had enough!! |
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mastermindreader 1949 - 2017 Seattle, WA 12586 Posts |
Okay. You can get up now.
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Ray Bertrand Inner circle Ottawa, Ontario 1452 Posts |
Bob you are to be commended for taking immediate action. I really enjoyed your lecture at Penguin. People should be honorable and have integrity in all their dealings. Keep up the good work. You are respected.
Ray
Mentalism in Ontario.
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Tom Jorgenson Inner circle LOOSE ANGLES, CALIFORNIA 4451 Posts |
Ah. Selling on Ebay, that's the motive. Trade to collect to sell. Got it.
We dance an invisible dance to music they cannot hear.
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Sean Giles Inner circle Cambridge/ UK 3517 Posts |
Bob, it's good to see someone actually take action against this behavior. I paid good money for some of those books and it's more than annoying to see them being given away by some little scumbag armchair mentalist!
I just don't get what motivates him though! He surely can't be using all those books and it looks like he's just collecting stuff, but what's the point? I love to collect actual physical books on magic and mentalism, books that I can see and feel on my shelf, but where's the fun in having a load of efiles on your computer... If I can assist in any way, I'd be glad to. best Sean |
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Jon_Thompson Inner circle Darkest Cheshire 2404 Posts |
Don't redact his name. Publish it as widely as possible.
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gypsyfish Veteran user 383 Posts |
John Riggs has stopped selling his DVDs because of this behavior. I hate to say it, really hate to say it, but not publishing your work is the best way to deal with it, and I say t his as a guy who wants to learn from people like Bob and John.
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Sicnatius Veteran user Connecticut 396 Posts |
It's definatly shocking, I was checking the other day for things on a****a.com and I found out by accident, that on a****s.com high priced mentalism pdfs are sold for prices like 4$ and below by asian companies. I'd never use such a service but it makes me, as an honest buyer, angry that people can read things like Voodinis Midnight side of the mind for 3$.
After an afterthought I censored the pages urls. If any of the writers of great pdfs here is not familiar with those asian sites, please drop me a line as PM and I give you the complete URL. |
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Gumar Oz DuBar Loyal user 244 Posts |
Quote:
On 2014-01-03 05:07, Sicnatius wrote: I'm pretty sure I know what site you're talking about, as I literally just found it (along with pirated material from....everybody, including Bob's works selling for mere dollars). I wasn't even looking for this type of stuff. I read the OP and thought how the h*ll did Stuart Cumberland make DVDs? Then I googled it, and came to the site (I believe) you're talking about. Also, for the record, if anyone else was in the dark, apparently there's a mentalist named Blair something who changed his name to that of Cumberland's. Don't know why he'd take a dead man's name, perhaps a fan? Either way I'm getting off point here. The fact that people can just download or illegally buy/trade ****es me off as a legitimate purchaser and mentalist. Also the fact that it can be found so easily and by accident is what is most surprising to me.
I write and edit text.
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JanForster Inner circle Germany ... when not traveling... 4190 Posts |
Quote:
On 2014-01-03 04:44, Jon_Thompson wrote: I totally agree, do so! Jan
Jan Forster
www.janforster.de |
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