Re: Ford Radio Display Fix and Threats from a Phony Lawyer

I agree, I got a bit carried away. Just peeved that he chose the route he did.

Billy

before I go asking a bunch of questions, what is the going rate for hourly internet help?

Ummm.... a gazilliod dollars a minute sounds pretty fair....

Supply and demand... someone offers something... someone else feels that this "something" has value and pays for it. The first someone is happy. A third someone figures stuff out and offers up the same knowledge for free. The first someone is pissed 'cause his cash cow developed BSE....

For my own part, I just enjoy being a self-righteous pr*ck.... 8^)

My 2 cents:

• Dude wants to charge for information. No problem.

• Dude sends a fake letter to someone distributing same info for free. The letter implies he is a lawyer and that he has a client that has suffered significant loss as a result of free info. If he is not a lawyer and no such client exists, IMHO, he is a scumbag.

The information itself is in the public domain; there's no loss to anyone for distributing the information. What *may* be copyrighted is the *format* the info is presented in. If the info is simply lifted, including formatting, there *may* be a problem, but if the lifted info is only given away, any legal challenges would be problematical. I'm not a lawyer, not even on TV.

I came in on the tail end of this and can't see (or read) the original post, but it also sounds a little like the unauthorized practice of law (which is frowned upon in most states as criminal conduct). Fax the State Bar a copy of the letter.

wabbitslayer