A person composed of multiple facets, akin to the attorney who manages both serious criminal law cases and copyright takedowns for an esteemed law firm in Arizona.
Receiving a copyright notice from a law firm regarding an image on your personal or hobby website can induce immediate panic. Having settled a news service-licensing matter previously, I can relate to the urgency of resolving such issues promptly.
In such situations, a unique approach like the one Ernie Smith, the inquisitive writer of the Tedium newsletter, encountered can appear both conspicuous and potentially effective. In late March, Ernie received a “DMCA Copyright Infringement Notice” from “Commonwealth Legal,” representing the “Intellectual Property division” of Tech4Gods, concerning the use of a keyfob image from Unsplash in a post about an unusual Uber ride he experienced. The firm requested an immediate credit addition within five business days, emphasizing that merely removing the image would not suffice. Failure to comply could lead to further actions under DMCA 512©, which offers relief if the website owner promptly removes infringing material upon notification. The email also directed Ernie to review “past usage records” on the Internet Archive.
Upon scrutiny, several issues with Commonwealth Legal’s request surfaced, as highlighted by Smith and 404 Media. Notably, Commonwealth Legal, purportedly based in Arizona (not a commonwealth), likely does not exist. Despite displaying a copyright date of 2018 on the website, the domain was registered on March 1, 2024, with a Canadian IP address. Moreover, the firm’s listed address does not align with the physical location indicated on the website.
The questionable nature of Commonwealth Legal is further underscored by the stock images prevalent on their website, particularly evident in the AI-generated faces of the listed attorneys. Reality Defender, an AI detection firm, identified AI generation in the attorneys’ images, likely produced by a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) model.
Additionally, the attorneys’ bios exhibit superficial competence paired with peculiar narratives. While some claim to have graduated from prestigious law schools like Harvard and Yale, others seem to have obscure academic backgrounds. For instance, Sarah Walker specializes in “Copyright Violation and Judicial Criminal Proceedings,” a unique combination of legal focus areas. This unusual blend extends to handling both artists’ rights and high-stakes criminal cases, showcasing a diverse skill set that may raise eyebrows.
The motivation behind fabricating a law firm using NameCheap, stock imagery, and AI-generated profiles to issue quasi-legal demands to website owners boils down to backlinks. Backlinks, crucial for search engine optimization (SEO), serve as links from reputable sites to boost the ranking of the linked site. Despite search engines’ evolving algorithms, assessing backlink quality and relevance remains a challenge, prompting some site owners to resort to purchasing backlinks.
The owner of Tech4Gods disclosed to 404 Media that he had procured backlinks for his gadget review site, featuring “AI writing assistants.” He denied owning the disputed image and hinted at a possible attempt by a former contractor to sabotage his site’s ranking with spam links.
As the situation unfolds, we await updates on Ernie Smith’s interaction with “Commonwealth Legal” following the stipulated five business days and will provide further information accordingly.
