Have you received a demand letter from New York-based Sanders Law Group with a template draft of a Complaint attached therewith? If so, then you are one of many people who have received such correspondence. We have been sent these types of communications from plenty of individuals who are concerned when they read that Sanders Law Firm is demanding tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars based on an allegation of copyright infringement. Some people who receive these letters just go ahead and pay whatever Sanders Law Group demands, but we are here to help those who do not succumb to the very lofty requests and we either negotiate a fair resolution or cause the law firm and its client to go away altogether.
If you happen to find yourself in the position of reviewing one of these letters that may include a draft complaint, then feel free to contact us with the specifics about your issue. We do not charge for an initial consultation and we promise to keep all communications, even prior to being officially retained, completely confidential.
Sanders Law Group is one of many law firms that are in the business of drafting demand letters and sometimes even initiating litigation with the foundation of these cases being copyright infringement. The firm often represents individual photographers, such as photographer Colin Thomas, who sometimes have valid copyright registrations attached to their photographs and, at other times, do not. If you or your company may have used a photograph belonging to somebody else, whether it be on your website, social media, or elsewhere, then Sanders Law Group will modify its template letter and Complaint and send it off to you with dollar figures intended to scare you.
Even though you should not necessarily be scared by this type of letter, you should absolutely not ignore it. If you do, then Sanders Law Group is likely to initiate a lawsuit against you and/or your company, and it may cost you a lot more money to defend against the litigation. By being proactive and hiring counsel early, such as Heitner Legal, you may ultimately be able to save yourself a lot of money.
A letter from Sanders Law Group typically starts by identifying that the purpose of the letter is to inform you that there has been unauthorized use of at least one copyrighted image and then to explain who the client is that the firm is representing. It will usually proffer that there has been a violation 17 U.S.C. 501 and that if it is innocent infringement, then the liability is somewhere between $750 to $30,000, whereas if it is deemed to be willful infringement, then damages can escalate to as high as $150,000 per infringement. Sanders Law Group will also seek to scare you by informing you that there is the possibility that it is awarded reimbursement of its legal fees and costs if it is forced to litigate the matter. Of course, it purposefully does not identify any applicable defenses you may have, such as fair use or de minimis use, which is why it is so important for you to consult with a lawyer who is seasoned in copyright law.
Again, do not ignore these letters. We are here to help guide you through the process of responding and reacting to Sanders Law Group and other similarly situated law firms. Feel free to take a look at our Google Reviews, which highlight many happy customers who have retained Heitner Legal to assist with this specific type of copyright concern.