For the third time Pixsy have insisted upon payment for the past non-commercial use of one image on the Church and State website. We're still waiting for Peabody Trust's final decision letter for the Housing Ombudsman to investigate the appalling new terms of tenancy on offer
11/11/20
The more I look at this the more inclined I am to say ignore it and see what they do next. You stated your actions and your limited financial condition and if they want to pursue a likely not rich entity they may well decide not to.
If they do then we can seek help but small claims would seem to be not something they may want to pursue.
Ignore for now as these people are scammers in my view.
I have gotten so many great responses to my last op ed!!!!!!!!!!
Donald A. Collins, Sr., publishing colleague
Our Church and State website has no less than 59 Nobel Laureates on it despite the never-ending assault on our email; see paragraph 2 under "Church and State" on this blog's sidebar (updated today).
Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms formulates what is the core of free speech. "Everyone has the right to freedom of expression." In an important interpretation of this article, the European Court of Human Rights in Handyside v. UK (1976) indicated that this "freedom of expression" should be construed as follows. It "is applicable not only to 'information' or 'ideas' that are favourably received, or regarded as inoffensive, or as a matter of indifference, but also to those that offend, shock or disturb the State or any sector of the population". Such are the demands of that pluralism, tolerance and broadmindedness without which there is no "democratic society" (see Cliteur, 2010).
DJ Ruth Fine orders Declan to pay £1,850 in costs
The Central London County Court is based at the Royal Courts of Justice.
Heavey v St Mungo's (2020)
Application hearing for strike out held by conference call before the Central London County Court on 30 June 2020.
What the issue in these court proceedings boiled down to was whether the Court would decide that Declan and I should live in a destabilised tenancy that poses a threat to his life and inhibits our ability to exercise our rights, simply because the Mayor of London-commissioned St Mungo's Tenancy Sustainment Team in North London (TST North) would not even take a phone call to confirm that we are clients of theirs. Declan argued that this was not proportionate and lawful. But District Judge Ruth Fine agreed with counsel for St Mungo's that TST North was not obliged to take such a phone call and ordered him to pay £1,850 in costs. Declan had asked the Judge to take into consideration that St Mungo's had clocked up exorbitant legal fees without mentioning this phone call in their application for strike out.[1] Less than a week later, TST North had agreed to take the phone call for us both. But our landlord Peabody Trust will not renew our tenancy like for like as twice before, thereby preventing us from engaging the Mayor's TST service due to the ongoing destabilisation of our tenancy (Housing Ombudsman ref: 202002510).
30 June: District Judge Ruth Fine orders Declan to pay £1,850 in costs. St Mungo's are under no obligation to even vouch over the phone that we are clients of the Mayor of London-commissioned St Mungo's TST programme (WITH UPDATE 08/11/20)
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[1] On 23 June Batchelors Solicitors sent Declan a £3,407.50 bill of costs. St Mungo's counsel asked the Judge for this exact amount even though, at the time of submitting these costs to the court before the hearing for strike out, St Mungo's had never once mentioned the phone call that was the essence of Declan's claim against this taxpayer-funded charity. In 2017/18, St Mungo's turnover was £89.6 million. Declan's debt to them was cleared by a publishing colleague within 24 hours of my blog post above. Having averted bankruptcy, we now consider that to seek pro se (in person) access to justice in the courts has become far too dangerous for us.
The Central London County Court is based at the Royal Courts of Justice.
Heavey v St Mungo's (2020)
Application hearing for strike out held by conference call before the Central London County Court on 30 June 2020.
What the issue in these court proceedings boiled down to was whether the Court would decide that Declan and I should live in a destabilised tenancy that poses a threat to his life and inhibits our ability to exercise our rights, simply because the Mayor of London-commissioned St Mungo's Tenancy Sustainment Team in North London (TST North) would not even take a phone call to confirm that we are clients of theirs. Declan argued that this was not proportionate and lawful. But District Judge Ruth Fine agreed with counsel for St Mungo's that TST North was not obliged to take such a phone call and ordered him to pay £1,850 in costs. Declan had asked the Judge to take into consideration that St Mungo's had clocked up exorbitant legal fees without mentioning this phone call in their application for strike out.[1] Less than a week later, TST North had agreed to take the phone call for us both. But our landlord Peabody Trust will not renew our tenancy like for like as twice before, thereby preventing us from engaging the Mayor's TST service due to the ongoing destabilisation of our tenancy (Housing Ombudsman ref: 202002510).
30 June: District Judge Ruth Fine orders Declan to pay £1,850 in costs. St Mungo's are under no obligation to even vouch over the phone that we are clients of the Mayor of London-commissioned St Mungo's TST programme (WITH UPDATE 08/11/20)
__________________________
[1] On 23 June Batchelors Solicitors sent Declan a £3,407.50 bill of costs. St Mungo's counsel asked the Judge for this exact amount even though, at the time of submitting these costs to the court before the hearing for strike out, St Mungo's had never once mentioned the phone call that was the essence of Declan's claim against this taxpayer-funded charity. In 2017/18, St Mungo's turnover was £89.6 million. Declan's debt to them was cleared by a publishing colleague within 24 hours of my blog post above. Having averted bankruptcy, we now consider that to seek pro se (in person) access to justice in the courts has become far too dangerous for us.
Last Friday Declan received a third email from Pixsy. Once again they insisted upon payment for the past non-commercial use of one image on the Church and State website. I found the image at https://www.bygonely.com/london-1976/, and didn't know it was copyright-protected and needed a license. I removed the image within minutes of Pixsy's first contact with us on Tuesday of last week. Declan has been advised by a top copyright lawyer here in London that if Pixsy are so aggressive that they actually take proceedings against us, then he should "dig in", contact the Law Society pro bono unit, and at the first opportunity have this case transferred to the small claims part of the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court to limit our liability. He has yet to speak with a pro bono lawyer. He has to wait for a claim letter from Pixsy to do that. This was his reply last Wednesday to their second email in as many days:
James [surname withheld]
Case Management Team
Pixsy
120 High Road
London
N2 9ED
11 November 2020
Use of image by Klaus Hiltscher 002-110889
Dear James,
Thank you for your email.
I have discussed this matter with my wife and she is quite satisfied that she could not have possibly known that the image was copyright-protected and needed a license. I have stated our actions and our limited financial condition.
We do not understand why you would feel that you must receive a license fee from me even on a payment plan and we must state that any proceedings which you intend to issue will be strenuously defended.
Yours sincerely,
Declan Heavey
Managing Director
Network for Church Monitoring
11 November: Pixsy tell Declan this evening that he will pay £249 for the past non-commercial use of one image on the Church and State website and we dig in for their claim letter. Peabody Trust miss yet another deadline to respond to his complaint about appalling new terms of tenancy
Metropolitan Police Crime Reference No. 5330050/20. On 16 October, our flat door was vandalised by two thugs with a crowbar. Declan and I were in the flat at the time and fortunately our double locked door held firm. It's my opinion that they just wanted to break the door lock but didn't have enough time. The communal door lock downstairs wasn't broken. On 11 November, the communal door lock was changed and on that same day we were informed that a carpenter will complete the repair to our flat door on 1 December.
8 November: Part 1: Housing Ombudsman Service. Declan has complained to Lyn Brown MP about this statutory service. Our flat door has been vandalised (crime reference no. 5330050/20). And ISAF's letter to Facebook's COO in September has gotten no results
We have perfect reception on free view channels using our aerial, but seldom with our second BT YouView box. Today is no exception. The screenshot above was taken on 21 October and lasted six days despite a strong internet connection throughout the period. This month I have recorded the same wipeout on free view channels for two days in a row.
"I do not wish to have a fourth BT engineer in my flat. Nor do I believe that a third YouView box will make the slightest bit of difference. I have spent an extraordinary amount of time over the years dealing with BT on this issue and internet cuts."
- Extract from an email of Declan's to BT Executive Level Complaints on 28 September 2020
1 November: Day 2: Will we ever know a good BT TV service? We now pay the British telecom giant over £800 a year. The Police have closed their investigation into crime reference 5330050/20 for want of evidence
We're still waiting for Peabody's final decision letter
13 November: Will we receive Pixsy's Claim Letter against our Church and State website before Peabody Trust's final response letter to enable the Housing Ombudsman to investigate their appalling new terms of tenancy?
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan
13 November: Will we receive Pixsy's Claim Letter against our Church and State website before Peabody Trust's final response letter to enable the Housing Ombudsman to investigate their appalling new terms of tenancy?
Our list of 287 Honorary Associates includes 17 Nobel Prize laureates, 11 US National Medal of Science laureates and 12 knighted professors notwithstanding the excessive targeting of these three categories of emails in particular.
http://churchandstate.org.uk/honorary-associates/
"Let me recommend an important web site churchandstate.org.uk. Operating out of London this well-designed and exciting web site covers church-state, population, climate change and other issues. Check it out." Edd Doerr (1930-2020), (then) President, Americans for Religious Liberty
