HONR Network, “Lenny Pozner” Fall Silent On Copyright Infringement Claim

On March 22, 2015 an individual identifying himself as Lenny Pozner of HONR Network filed a copyright infringement claim under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act with Memory Hole Blog Internet Service Provider for MHB’s January 2, 2015 reproduction of an image of his alleged son, Noah Pozner, who according to official reports was killed in the December 14, 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. The image in question appeared in the aftermath of the December 16, 2014 Peshawar Pakistan school massacre and was widely circulated via a BBC news report.

Upon notification of this complaint by MHB’s ISP James Tracy issued a request to Pozner on March 30 for evidence to further corroborate Pozner’s identity, his relationship to Noah Pozner, and his actual ownership of the image in question. As of May 3 Pozner has yet to respond with any materials that would warrant his infringement claim. Proof of Pozner’s receipt of the request and the text of Tracy’s March 30 correspondence is reproduced below.

The unfulfilled request for documentation is noteworthy because Pozner has successfully used DMCA infringement claims to silence numerous alternative media outlets in an effort to thwart continued research of the Sandy Hook massacre event.

(On April 2, 2015 Pozner’s “Agent” signed for the USPS certified letter.)

James F. Tracy
__________________
Boca Raton, Florida

March 30, 2015

Lenny Pozner
HONR Network
261 South Main Street
Newtown, Connecticut 06470

SENT CERTIFIED MAIL / RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED: 7014 2870 0000 1783 3476

Dear Lenny Pozner

I am in receipt of electronic notification as of March 26, 2015 via my internet service provider Automattic concerning an alleged copyright infringement complaint under [512(c) of the Digital Milleneum Copyright Act filed by you on March 22, 2015 for an image purportedly owned by you and used alongside commentary and analysis in the following post that appears on Memory Hole Blog:

The specific image may be found here:

As proof of your alleged ownership of the image in question, you have provided the following url:

As you know, in addition to its broad circulation following the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre event on December 14, 2012, this image was published by British Broadcasting Corporation and received similar worldwide circulation following the December 16, 2014 Taliban attack on the Army Public School and Degree College in Peshawar Pakistan.

You have provided your electronic signature under penalty of perjury that you are the copyright holder of the above referenced image and have accordingly requested that it be removed from Memory Hole Blog.

I have voluntarily removed the image in question on March 30, 2015. However, given that numerous similar copyright complaints made by you against parties that have publicly questioned and analyzed the Sandy Hook massacre event, I have reason to doubt the good faith nature of your March 22, 2015 DMCA copyright infringement claim. An action with such potential weight to stifle free speech needs the utmost scrutiny. I am therefore requesting written evidence of the following from you:

1. Proof of your identity via copy of a government-issued document, such as a state driver’s license or passport.

2. Proof of your relationship to the deceased party, Noah Pozner, whose alleged photograph appears in the image in question referenced above.

3. Proof of your ownership of said image via a signed and notarized statement from a qualified and licensed forensic expert substantiating your legal ownership of said image, including the date and time of the image’s capture.

Please send the above information via regular mail to myself and Automattic no later than 10 business days from your receipt of this correspondence. Automattic’s mailing address

132 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94107

Thank you for your attention to the above.

Sincerely,

(Signed)

James F. Tracy

Professor James F. Tracy is an Associate Professor of Media Studies at Florida Atlantic University. James Tracy’s work on media history, politics and culture has appeared in a wide variety of academic journals, edited volumes, and alternative news and opinion outlets. James is editor of Union for Democratic Communication’s Journal Democratic Communiqué and a contributor to Project Censored’s forthcoming publication Censored 2013: The Top Censored Stories and Media Analysis of 2011-2012. Additional writings and information are accessible at memoryholeblog.com.