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Andre Alves (Aware Bear) misuse of the DMCA against my blog post

This is getting to be prime time entertainment if you ask me. For those of you that have read a previous post of mine on the theft and infringement on my copyrighted material committed by Andre Leite Alves (operating a business under the name Aware Bear in Rochester, New York), there is a new development that I would love to share with you all.

Andre Alves has attempted to misuse (abuse) the DMCA in order to get my story of his fraudulent actions removed from the internet. In order to attempt that this little Aware Bear sent a DMCA complaint to a domain registrar where stefandidak.com, my domain, is registered. Unfortunately it once again shows that Andre Leite Alves has no clue about the law, in any way shape or form, and had no legal assistance in the process of writing that DMCA complaint (the plethora of errors and missing words in there is very similar to his hasted reply after I first confronted him with a demand he immediately stops using my material for his personal gains and business activities). It is starting to be clear that Andre Leite Alves is an amateur in every respect.

Andre Alves modifying and stealing an image from my site

What Andre Alves also hadn’t realised is that I have dealt with DMCA situations in the past and am even on record in a policy report by the Brennan Center for Justice of the NYU School of Law, regarding a very similar case with a professional con-artist I had exposed. That con-artist also attempted to abuse the DMCA for what it was never intended for as you can read in the report.

I believe that Andre Alves of Aware Bear Computers is not too happy with me showing the derivative work he illegally and without authorization created from my copyrighted work. And again it becomes clear that Alves has no legal assistance because they would have informed him that it was his mistake that caused the circulation and that now it allows me to use it under the fair use clause of the copyright act. Of course, we all know that Andre Alves doesn’t care about the image and copyrights, if he cared about copyrights he would not have done what he did and would not have spent the past days removing OTHER material from his site and replacing it with generic images instead. All Andre Alves cares about is not getting exposed. Well, bud, it’s a little too darn late for that.

Notice how Andre Alves also commits perjury in his DMCA complaint by stating that my website is operated an on anonymous basis. Funny he can find the contact details of the domain host but not my contact details that are right there alongside it. Contact details he already had in the first place as is already on record from our previous communications. Again, it shows typical low-life behavior of a petty amateur because he believed he could get away with filing a DMCA that way. What Andre Alves should do, if he feels strongly about copyright infringement and believes that the fair use clause does not apply, is file suit against me and leave it up to the courts (he already knows where to find me to file suit and even if he didn’t it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out with a simple lookup). I would welcome him trying that. For one, if he makes a personal appearance in court (very unlikely since he’s running and hiding from being served with my case that’s now hanging as a thundercloud above his head) we can serve him easily. Notice how he failed to provide a valid address on the DMCA (a requirement) :-)
Anyone who can provide me with the whereabouts of Mr. Andre Leite Alves at a specific point in time can expect a generous reward once we can serve him his summons.

Anyway, for your enjoyment and education I present to you the DMCA complaint as it was sent to the domain registrar. Needless to say, all the errors and mistakes are verbatim and by Andre Alves. I wonder if he will attempt to claim copyright on his DMCA complaint too now. :-)

Andre Leite Alves
Rochester, NY 14618
(585)473-7035
(585)473-7035 FAX

November 12, 2008
“Take Down Notice” Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act 17 USC ? 512
[name of domain registrar]

Dear Sir or Ma’am:

This letter is formal notice to you under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 17 USC ? 512. that you are maintaining materials on your servers that infringe on the copyrights of my personal work. Accordingly, we hereby request that you take down or remove this infringing content from your servers.

1. Identity Of The Copyrighted Work That Has Been Infringed. My own the copyright personal photograph, which have appeared and have been published over the years in, among other places, web sites owned by me and in literary and marketing materials in several types of media distributed to the public. Below are just a few examples of the items of content that have been copied and pasted into this website.

2. Identity of the Material That Is Infringing My Copyrighted Work. The website StefanDidak.com currently contains pages infringing content. The search queries, and the search results containing web pages that infringe on my own rights, are attached as Exhibit B. We can provide a digital copy of this Exhibit B if it would be helpful to you.

3. Contact Information for Andre Leite Alves. Please send all correspondence on this matter to:

Andre Leite Alves
Rochester, NY 14618
(585) 473-7035
(585) 473-7035 Fax
solutions@awarebear.com

4. Contact Information for Owner/Administrator of the Web Site Containing Infringing Material. The individuals who operate the website www.stefandidak.com do an anonymous basis. The email that they provide on their website is: stefan@stefandidak.com.

5. Good Faith Statement & Affidavit. Please see the affidavit attached as Exhibit A.

If you have any questions about this notice, please contact me at (585) 473-7035or at solutions@awarebear.com

Thank you,
ANDRE LEITE ALVES

Exhibit A
AFFIDAVIT

I, Andre Leite Alves, declare the following:

1. I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials described in the attached letter, that appear on the allegedly infringing web pages as described in the attached letter, is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.

2. I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in this notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the, owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of New York that the foregoing is true, and correct.

Exhibit B
Link1
Link2

I would like to thank Andre Alves for providing this DMCA complaint under penalty of perjury because he has now incriminated himself even further than he had already done. Thanks Andre! You have just declared that you have used the stolen material that appeared and have been published over the years in, among other places, web sites owned by me and in literary and marketing materials in several types of media distributed to the public”. So it’s been used even more than we already can prove with the hardcopies of the brochures, judging from his words. You’re going to not be too happy in court but please do continue to incriminate yourself and declaring so under penalty of perjury. Maybe, Andre, it is time you get an actual attorney instead of trying to play one yourself. You end up making a clown out of yourself this way.

What Andre Leite Alves also hadn’t grasped is that by not having proper legal counsel it can become a very painful situation that backfires (which, once again, it has for him). For example, he has not understood the DMCA at all (then again, there does not seem to be much he understands other than that he needs to hide and run from a legal suit that is likely to impact his life in a very negative way), and as a result has not understood section (f) of the DMCA in which it states that it makes the sender of an invalid claim liable for the costs involved, including legal fees.

Of course, I can’t complain because his clowning around works in my legal advantage. :-)
I operate my website on an anoymous basis? Gosh, this Andre Alves must be a certified moron if he thinks anyone with half a braincell believes that. A 2-year old can easily prove that is not the case. It is, of course, entirely within the realm of possibilities that I overestimated Andre’s IQ. With the US credit crisis going on, perhaps that IQ is also a negative number.

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  1. CommentWendy wrote on November 12, 2008 at 11:00 am

    Is this retard for real?
    He claims your office and its pictures are his?

    Whats he smoking up there in Roachester, must be some really awful stuff.
    I am rolling on the floor laughing my cute little ass off.

  2. CommentHenk vd Laan wrote on November 12, 2008 at 12:08 pm

    When do you think this poor excuse for a thief Alves will learn that his underhanded slimeball action of filing an unintelligent DMCA claim only leads to increased exposure of those actions?

  3. CommentJeff Munn wrote on November 12, 2008 at 1:12 pm

    Poor Alves isn’t just pathetic. He’s also desperate. And it shows. :-)
    When you get his ass in court can you take a camera along because I would love to see that footage. In particular I want to see the judge laughing his ass off. Please tell me you can do that. It would be an even funnier case than with Hans Reiser.

  4. CommentRon B. wrote on November 13, 2008 at 3:05 am

    In my experience, people that use fake home or business addresses and are hiding or running usually do so for good reason. Maybe he is also hiding from creditors or other businesses that pursue him over any wrongdoings. It takes considerable effort and experience to keep hiding. Could be that it is the only thing he’s an expert at.

    Hiding and moving from home to home is typical behavior for criminals and debtors. Alves could very well be living in his car for all we know.

    Stefan, you could be one of many and at the back of the line.

  5. CommentShane Berger wrote on November 13, 2008 at 6:00 am

    He aims!
    He shoots!
    He… misses by a hundred miles!

    Clown is too kind a word for an idiot like Andre.

  6. CommentPeter wrote on November 13, 2008 at 1:10 pm

    Holy smokes! Andre Alves, for all your self-incrimination services!

    “appeared and have been published over the years in, among other places, web sites owned by me and in literary and marketing materials in several types of media distributed to the public”

    How bloody stupid must someone be if you write that and then sign it swearing under penalty of perjury. Any lawyer he goes to for help in the case you’ve got against him will tell him goodbye because that case is over before it starts. He’s dug his own legal grave and probably doesn’t even have a clue that he did! How cool is that if your opponent in court is that deranged. Maybe he can plead insanity? :-)

  7. CommentStefan wrote on November 13, 2008 at 1:52 pm

    Peter, you’re right. :-)
    The first thing we did when that DMCA complaint arrived was laugh our collective behinds off. And the first thing that was clear was the shabby nature of the complaint, the inaccuracies (and lies), and of course the fact that Alves incriminated himself and provided what is essentially a full admission (and then some!) of guilt. I should actually thank him for that.

    The second thing we did was get a full certified validation from the registrar that received the notice to determine the validity of the sender’s source and got that confirmation within minutes. Aware Bear is going to be sorry they didn’t get legal counsel but hey, such is life for those who dabble with the law while lacking every level of understanding of it.

    What is even funnier, when I offered Aware Bear to leave all this to our respective attorneys they asked for the contact details of mine so they could provide it to theirs. I provided that and then they said they would only deal with a “Board Certified Attorney”. This was a very clear indication these Alves clowns were hopelessly clueless because that particular organization certifies attorneys in areas of business bankruptcy, consumer bankruptcy and creditors rights.

    That being the case, Aware Bear must only have legal experience with bankruptcy issues, creditor issues, and such. Makes you wonder why that “business” is always using fake addresses, eh? They’ll learn what a Bar Association attorney is, in court. Maybe it’ll be an education after which Aware Bear might very well need a Board Certified Attorney for the aftermath of their financial demise.

  8. Commentjimmy wrote on November 14, 2008 at 9:17 am

    I live in Rochester. How much is the reward if I lure the guy to my house for a computer repair job?

  9. CommentElliot Adderton wrote on November 14, 2008 at 10:24 am

    I thought that sad excuse of a man could not get any lower… Boy I was a very wrong.

  10. CommentNortricide wrote on November 14, 2008 at 3:54 pm

    I thought the Genesse river was overflowing because of climate change.

    Now I know it’s just the gallons of sweat produced by Andre’s fear! :-)

  11. CommentMcCallan25 wrote on November 15, 2008 at 5:40 am

    The fool can’t even write coherent sentences. That notice reads like it was pieced together from samples and edited by a toddler, using crayons.

  12. CommentThe PC Repair Boy wrote on November 15, 2008 at 8:31 am

    One one of the other sites of Aware Bear Computers he has an image with “Voted #1 in Rochester for affordability, exceptional service and reliability”.

    Voted by who? Voted by what? Anyone here in Rochester? NOT.
    Just like the other fake awards he attributed to himself.

  13. CommentKar wrote on November 15, 2008 at 11:33 am

    Stefan, you know where to find Andre.
    You called him a clown.

    Think about it.

    He IS one!

    Working with a traveling circus.
    That’s why he doesn’t have a real address!?
    Hehe.

  14. CommentColin Foley wrote on November 16, 2008 at 8:13 am

    I voted for Andre “Aware Bear” Alves in the contest for the Biggest Liar(tm) Awards. Now there’s an award he deserves. Finally a real award–or is that REWARD–he doesn’t need to fraudulently claim he has repeatedly been awarded the people’s choice award from the Democrat & Chronicle.

  15. Commentsharebear wrote on November 16, 2008 at 4:13 pm

    He tried to do that???
    And he thought it would work???
    Not just a thief but a clueless one. The funniest kind!
    He sure picked a good name for the scam with Aware Bear because awareness is now rising.

    By the way, I’m in love with your new setup! Andre should have waited so he could steal the new images and use them for more of his shitty Aware Bear ads.

  16. CommentWalter wrote on November 17, 2008 at 9:06 am

    I nominate Aware Bear for the Clown of Rochester award.

  17. Commentxf2k5 wrote on November 24, 2008 at 6:42 am

    never read any ridiculous story b4…. thx for this great entertainment…. you did a great job, stefan!

    best regards, andy (germany)

  18. Commentdiscomeats wrote on December 5, 2008 at 2:16 pm

    Wow, I mean *WOW*

    my reaction was WTF O_O and that was when I read the first page about the initial blatant copyright violation with demonstration and admission of no due dilligence and clear acceptance of liability (and that’s being diplomatic I suppose).

    Then DCMA notice for you violating the copyright of your own copyright? AAARGg my poor brain just fired a spring out of my ears

    That’s some serious deluded entitlement there.

    That day in court’ll be interesting :D but, like another commenter has said, I suspect you are in a queue of folk who’ve had to deal with this individuals activities.

  19. CommentKent Rasmussen wrote on January 10, 2009 at 2:40 am

    LOL He claim to be a Web designer, and uses thumbnail of Templates from Templatemonster on his promotion pic on his site awarebear.com/design.html

    From the picture behind :-)

    templatemonster.com/website-templates/17078.html
    templatemonster.com/website-templates/17065.html
    templatemonster.com/website-templates/16998.html
    templatemonster.com/swish-templates/16869.html

    Well On the Last template it says RESPECT!

    I don’t know if this guy can read, or in any other way have Respect for anything, specially the Copyright law.
    But WTH, maybe he sue TM for stealing his designs to :-)

    GL Stefan i hope you get this dude.

    BTW i LOVE your office, can i print out a image of it and hang it om my wall, jut to have something to aim for? :-p

    Kent From Land of the Vikings * Norway * :-)

  20. CommentRob wrote on March 11, 2009 at 4:30 pm

    This looks like the type of guy who thinks he is always pulling a fast one over people because he knows a touch more then the average joe about fixing computers. I have seen this type before. They get so angry when someone like you exposes them for what they are…..nothing.

  21. CommentRaiulBaztepo wrote on March 28, 2009 at 2:38 pm

    Hello!
    Very Interesting post! Thank you for such interesting resource!
    PS: Sorry for my bad english, I’v just started to learn this language ;)
    See you!
    Your, Raiul Baztepo

  22. CommentPiterKokoniz wrote on April 7, 2009 at 3:18 pm

    Hi !! ;)
    I am Piter Kokoniz. oOnly want to tell, that your posts are really interesting
    And want to ask you: will you continue to post in this blog in future?
    Sorry for my bad english:)
    Thank you!
    Piter Kokoniz, from Latvia

  23. CommentEddie Saunders wrote on May 10, 2009 at 1:27 am

    Hi Stefan,
    only just saw your site via a link from Whirlpool.com.au that only linked your
    office page.

    This clown (Andre) made me laugh so much I nearly fell off my chair today
    I have not had such a good laugh for a long time.

    Love your setup, and your views on credit cards mirror my own I do not have any and I pay cash for everything I buy (is annoying when hosting Co’s & domain registaries want a credit card). My setup is not as large but I sill have 6 machines running here
    24/7 and a few that are used by guests.

    I use winXP, debian and other linux OS’s on my machines, love Mac hardware but not the inflated prices they have on their equipment, I repair PC’s, Mac’s and servers and provide IT services to community organisations here in Australia for free.

    Keep up the good work and let us know more about this “clown”

    Cheers Eddie
    Perth Western Australia

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