Vondran Legal Hour

Bittorent Illegal Movie Download Cases - January 2017 Updates for Mr. Church (Cook Prodictions, Inc.)The following is general legal information only and not legal advice.  In this episode of Vondran Legal Hour, Attorney Steve the Copyright Lawyer discusses Cook Production, Inc. lawsuits.  If you receive a notice of suboena, or were served a federal summons and complaint (for example cases have recently been filed in Hawaii, Illinios, Washington) and need to discuss your legal options, call us at (877) 276-5084.You should also visit our website at Torrent Defenders.More information about subpoenas can be found here.Motion to Quash subpoena information can be found here.  Support the show

Software Audit - What you need to know about the Autodesk Audit LetterIn this episode of Vondran Legal Hour, copyright lawyer Steve Vondran discusses a general overview of the Autodesk letter.  What happens when you get this letter?  Here are some of the common questions we get from clients who received this letter.1.  Is this a scam?2. How did Autodesk find out about our installations of software?3.  We were using a "student" or "academic" version, I though this was legal?4.  Was this an "informant" case (ex. disgruntled ex-employee)?5.  Are there criminal penalties for copyright infringement?6.  Can we really owe up to $150,000 for willful copyright infringement under the statute?7.  Can officers and directors of the company be held personally liable for software piracy?8.  What are the common defenses to copyright infringement?9.  How much will this case to settle the case?10.  How much does your law firm charge to handle the settlement negotations and negotiate the terms of t

Satellite and Cable Pay-Per-View PiracyOur firm handles intellectual property cases and we can help you if you reveived a infringement notice or demand letter from Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. or other company such as Direct TV, or G&G Closed Circuit.  In this podcast, Attorney Steve, Intellectual property counsel discusses some of the ways your bar, restaurant, tavern, sports bar or atheletic club might be found out (possibly through the use of a private investigator) and some of the causes of action that may be filed in federal court such as violations of:1. 47 U.S. Code § 553 – Unauthorized reception of cable service2. 47 U.S. Code § 605 – Unauthorized publication or use of communicationsYou may be hit with a huge demand letter, and I have seen court cases asking for in excess of 6 figures.  So these letters need to be taken serous.   For a free initial consultation call us at (877) 276-5084 or visit PiracyCounsel.com for more information.  Support the show

P2P Illegal Movie Download LEgal Cases Updates - 2016 [Septembers of Shiraz]Welcome to another exciting episode of Vondran Legal Hour with "Attorney Steve." This is general legal information only and not legal advice.If you received a notice of subpoena from your internet service provider, (for example Cox, Verizon, Comcast, AT&T) mentioning that your IP address may have been sued or named in a federal court lawsuit over illegal movie downloading, call us to discuss your legal rights, and potential defenses.  We offer a no cost initial consultations to persons who have received a notice of copyright infringement, cease and desist letter, summons and complaint, or ISP subpoena notice discussing motino to quash and other items.  We can help you sort this out and decide how you want to proceed.  Call (877) 276-5084 or visit our Torrent Defense Supersite at TorrentDefenders.comSupport the show

Software Licensing Compliance Tips - Dealign with the lack of dated proofs of purchase and receiptsIn this episode of Vondran Legal Hour, Attorney Steve discusses what happens when you cannot find all the receipts you need to proove you have paid for each installation of software that you have installed on your company servers, laptops, and PC's and Macs.  If you don't have the proofs, you might be treated as a "software pirate" or wilful copyright infringer and could face steep penatlites and fines to get your case settled.For more information go to our software audit supersite at SoftwareAudits.net.  Call us at (877) 276-5084 for a free initial consultation.  This is general legal information only and not legal advice or a substitute for legal advice.  We have helped many companies large and small across the United States.  If you are facing charges of illegal downloading software through a torrent site go to our legal supercenter at TorrentDefenders.com Support the show

Bittorrent Defense Law Firm - Mr. Church Movies at IssueThis episode of Vondran Legal Hour discusses Mr. Church, the Eddie Murphy Movie from Cook Productions, Inc., in Los Angeles.  Attorney Steve, the copyright torrent lawyer discusses potential defenses, and a general legal ovierview of what you can expect if served a lawsuit or notice of subpoena from the ISP such as Cox, Comcast, or Verizon.We know it can be a stressful time, so we offer a NO COST intial legal evaulation. Call us at (877) 276-5084.  We believe we are the best torrent defense law firm in the Country.For more information visit www.TorrentDefenders.com to go to our general legal information SUPERSITE!We look forward to working with you to get your case settled anonymously and for the least amount possible.- Attorney Steve Vondran, Esq. -Support the show

Software Infringement Vocabulary - The Software Troll ExplainedIn this exciting epiosde of Vondran Legal Hour we discuss software audit demands that can amount to being labelled a "software troll."  We have Copyright bullies, Patent Trolls, and now we are going to add to the terms Software Troll which will apply whenever a software publisher (ex. Microsoft, Adobe, Autodesk, Siemens, CNC Mastercam, or other software company, or their intellectual property lawfirms exhibit any of the following behaviours which we often see:1. Oerly aggressive2.  Demanding you delete software you paid for in good faith3. Failing to disclose the "informant" and source of the audit4. Failing to idenity what they (ex. Business Software Alliance, SIIA, Software Compliance Group), believe to be out of compliance (ex. "what is your issue" maybe there is a quick fix)5.  Demanding ridiculous sums of money to settle a simple case lf "missing receipts" or "using Home Office for business purpose

Microsoft Software Auditing Tips - Using student Software to run your business can be costly!In this exciting episode of Vondran Legal Hour, Attorney Steve the Software Audit Attorney describes what a EULA is, and how those terms of a software licensing agreement need to be followed.  In other words, if software (Like Microsoft Office Suites) are desginated and limited to "Home and Student" uses (not commercial business activity), then exceeding the scope of the license could lead to a "software auidit" by the Software Alliance.  This can result in financial devastation to many small and mid sized companies.For more help, visit our Audit Resources Supercenter (with blogs, podcasts, videos and more).  We believe it to be the best and most comprehenisve information website for companies dealing with compliance issues regarding end-user license agreements for companies like Microsoft, Autodesk, Siemens, Vero, CNC Mastercam, Solidworks and others.Support the show

FRCP Rule 65 Injuctions Overview by Attorney SteveWhen you are dealing with another company or inidvidual that is infringing your federal copyrights and trademarks it is important to understand how to seek an injunction in federal court if the perpetrator is ignoring your cease and desist letter or copyright infringement notice.  In this episode of Vondran Legal Hour, I explain in general terms what the process is to obtain the injunction (either mandaotry or prohibitory) and I explain the difference between TRO's (temporary restraining orders) and the preliminary vs. permanent injunction.  The process can be very technical, so if you need help call us at (877) 276-5084 or visit FRCP65.com.  Filling the lawsuit and the application for TRO and preliminary injuction will be closely scrutinized (especially if you try to go "ex parte") so these general tips should be helpful.We accept federal copyright and trademark infringement cases nationwide, subject to local rules.- Attorney Steve -Support the

Software Audit Settlement Agreements - What you need to know!Attorney Steve, the software lawyer, explains the 9 most common terms you may find when you are negotiating your final settlement agreement with the business software alliance or its regional law firms like Klemchuk, Troutman Sanders, The Venable, Weir-Johnson and others.  This is general legal information only and NOT legal advice or a substitute for legal advice.For more information about software audits, copyright infringement and sample settlements visit our tremendous resource page at SoftwareAudits.net  We can be reached at (877) 276-5084.  We handle federal copyright software cases nationwide and have helped many companies deal with SIIA, BSA, Microsoft and Autodesk audits. Support the show

Illegal Movie Download Defenses - Will the lasuit be settled anonymously?Attorney Steve the copyright atty, talks about bittorrent and utorrent movie download cases dealing with movies such as Malibu Media adult ographic movies.  This company protects its trademarks from illegal copyright and reproduction and if you find yourself involved in one of their "John Doe" lawsuits you will probably want to know if you will be able to settle the case confidentially and with an ability to remain anonymous.This podcast provides a general legal overview (not legal advice) as to what happens when the torrent lawsuit is filed against your I.P. (internet protocal) address, and the ISP is served a notice of infringement and subpoena.  They will in turn forward this to the subscriber who will have a chance to try to settle the case (or file a motion to quash or motion for protective order).  During this process, it is possible to reach out to the opposing intellectual property lawyer for the adult o company and try

Software Law Essentials - Understanding the Legal test for InfirngementIn this episode of Vondran Legal Hour, Attorney Steve provides general infromation regarding the legal test for software infirngement.  Basically, in software audit cases, the Plaintiff (or should be say the auditing company that sent you an audit demand letter - ex SIIA, Autodesk or BSA), must show:1.  Valid and current copyright registration in its product and2. Unauthorized "copying" of their software (meaning installation on one or more computers, laptops, and/or servers.If they can do this, the burden shifts to the defendant to show they have a license (affirmative defense), by showing proof of purchase, or other valid right to use the software (ex. Microsoft gave away free copies of the software at a trade show for example).This is basically the legal test for infringement in a nutshell. Of course, there are other defenses to copyright infirngement.If you need help call us.  We have helped small and medium sized businesses

Software Infringement Law Firm discusses the Software Compliance Group (SCG) letterCopyright Lawyer Steve Vondran ("Attorney Steve") discusses the difference between the business software alliance ("BSA") and the Software Compliance Group ("SCG").  You may see both of these entitites referenced if you received a copyright infringement notice or audit demand letter. We help companies nationwide defend against these claims of copyright software infringement.If you need help, call us at (877) 276-5084,  We offer a free no cost consultation to business owners across the United States.For more information visit our Software Law Resource Center.Click here for a more detailed article about the Software Compliance Group.Support the show

Software Licensing & Infringement Law Firm - when Compliance is on the line, we can help!!Top FIVE reasons to hire our firm instead of your "corporate" or "business lawyers."1.  We have knowledge of the "tricks and traps" of the software audit process2.  In many cases we have pre-existing relationships with the copyright lawyers for the BSA, SIIA, Autodesk, etc.3.  We have day to day experience negotiating deals (in the trenches).  While many lawyers may claim to be great negotiators we do it EVERYDAY not just now and then.  We are constatnly working on getting deals done.4.  We offer low flat rate legal fees (no surprising or shociking hourly legal bills where two or three lawyers may be "billing" on your case with an incentive to drag on the process which does you no good.  We hvae a predictable legal fee that in most cases will be far less than your own corporate attorneys would charge.5.  We have Avvo reviews (the proof is in the pudding folks).For more informat

Software licensing litigation - the EULAIn this pocast episode of Vondran Legal Hour, Attorney Steve is joined by his fabulous wife Frontline Lisee (office manager at the law firm) and they discuss software end user licensing agreements and whether a breach of the agreement could result in a federal copyright litigation case (with potentiial for $150,000 damages for willful copyright infringement) or a simply breach of contract action for failure to keep the promises made (i.e. "covenants") in the EULA agreement.  If you need help with a software licensing issue, responding to an audit demand letter, or engage in federal copyright litigation, arbitration or mediation, give us a call at (877) 276-5084.  We have helped many companies nationwide survive software licensing issues.For more information go to our Software Audits Defense page. Support the show

Software Audit Tips - What is a font license audit?In this exciting episode of Vondran Legal Hour, Attorney Steve, the copyright lawyer, talks about business software alliance audit demand letters that may be requesting your company to engage in a "voluntary" software audit of all fonts used across your enterprise, company or organization.  This can be stressful where you have no clue what you have installed on the various servers, computers and laptops, and you are not sure if you have any proof of licensing. Our IP law firm can help you best understand your legal options, and help you respond to legal demand letters, or lawsuits alleging willful copyright infringement.Call us at (877) 276-5084.For more information about font audits go to our blog post at FontAudits.com.For general infromarion about software audits in general go to our software audit resource centerFor infomration on illegal torrent download (movies, music, software), go to our Bittorrent resource center. Support the show

Malibu Media Lawsuits explainedIf you received a notice of copyright infringement or legal demand letter (or notice of subpoena from your ISP such as Comcast), you might want to listen to this podcast.  In this episode of Vondran Legal Hour we discuss how some peopel feel when they realize they might be named in a John Doe lawsuit (usually filed in Federal Copyright Court, example in the 9th Circuit) and how our copyright law firm can potentially help you.Click here for more resources on Bittorrent Defense LawSupport the show

Software License Compliance Essentials - Understanding the "voluntary audit."In this exciting episode of Vondran Legal Hour, Attorney Steve - fresh from the software trenches - discusses the so called "volutnary" audit demand which usually comes with a not-so-subtle threat of a federal copyright lawsuit and $150,000 in monetary damages, plus attorney fees.  Are these audits really voluntary?  Can you just "opt out" and not respond?  What happens if you do?  If you received a demand letter from a law firm asking you to engage in a company wide audit of all laptops, servers and computer workstations, make sure you call us first to make sure you know your legal rights.  If you decide to engage, you will be negotiating with experienced commercial collection attorneys with a strong working knowledge of the federal copyright laws.Call us at (877) 276-5084 to speak with an intellectual property lawyer, or visit our tremedous Audit Resource Center at SoftwareAuditLawyers.com   Support th

Anti-SLAPP law overview - appealing an adverse ruling on CCP 425.17 "commercial speech exemption."  In this episode of Vondran Legal Hour "Attorney Steve" explains the difference between a WRIT and an APPEAL.  An appeal may be taken as a matter of right unless the judge denied the motion on grounds that commercial speech was at issue.  In those circumstances, filing a "writ" or petition to review the lower court ruling is the avenue to pursue per case law.  Keep in mind, most writs (approximately 90%) are summarily denied as they can result in piecemeal litigaiton and "cut in line" for cases properly up on appeal.  So there has to be really good grounds to file a writ or they will be denied (i.e. they are "discretionary").For more information about California litigation, arbitration and mediation in business, real estate, software, and intellectual property law go to our law firm website at www.VondranLegal.com.  If you need legal representation, contact us at

Software Audit Essentials - Buying and Selling a business and taking over their softwareOur firm was recently retained on a case where one company purchased another company and they took over all the existing computers, laptops, servers, and other infrastructure.  Both the selling company and the acquiring company were represented by counsel.  However, even so, nobody bothered to ask any questions about whether or not the software on the computers (ex. Autodesk Autocad or Revit Architecture, Adobe Photoshop, or Microsoft Office, for example) were properly licensed or not.  Fast forward a few years later, the company receives a "software audit letter" from the business software alliance and next thing you know they find out the software they received and had been using was not properly licensed.  This leads to a precarious situation where the company now faces tremendous legal liability up to $150,000 per infringing title of software.  This could literally bankrupt a company and expose officers and d