silly putty

[Greg Broiles]

>	Would anyone be interested in 50 pounds of silly putty? A
>friend of mine would be grateful if I could help him get rid of 50
>pounds of silly putty. It would be $500.

Dear Mr. Parekh:

I represent the Comic Publishers Association, a trade group formed to
combat the illict theft of our members' intellectual property. Your message
has come to the attention of our "flexible media" section, which licenses
the duplication of our  members' creative efforts in flexible media, such
as Silly Putty (tm). Many people do not realize (or, more likely, merely
pretend not to realize) that the duplication, even in mirror image, of
portions of protected comic strips in  flexible media infringes upon our
members' exclusive rights as granted by the Copyright Acts of 1909 and
1976, 17 USC 101 et seq.

Further, the irresponsible distribution of this flexible media by
fly-by-night retailers and distributors compounds this problem. Many of the
wrongdoers who violate our members' rights do so as part of an informal
social framework, utilizing aliases like "Junior", or common first names
such as "Billy" or "Tommy". You can imagine our members' frustration when
we must enforce our rights against six and seven year old defendants known
merely as "Jimmy" or "that big kid from soccer practice".

The fact that flexible media can be used to make illicit copies of visual
art is well known; in fact, it is one of the selling points used when
flexible media is sold at the retail level. It is our position that
distributors and retailers selling flexible media do so knowing full well
that their juvenile purchasers intend to irresponsibly flout the Copyright
Act; and that such sales constitute contributory infringement. Sellers of
flexible media are the linchpins in the deadly chain of comic book
copyright infringement via "Silly Putty (tm)". 

We realize that some retailers do not wish to be complicit in this serious
injustice. Therefore, we have drafted the "flexible media code of conduct",
which we are asking sellers of flexible media to sign. We are asking you to
sign this code of conduct as a demonstration of your good will and
responsibility towards copyright owners worldwide. If you do not sign our
code of conduct we'll make some stuff up and then sue you and send out lots
of press releases. 

 ---

FLEXIBLE MEDIA SELLER'S CODE OF CONDUCT

As a seller of "Silly Putty (tm)" flexible media, I agree to:

1.	Maintain records of the first name, last name, parent(s)' names,
school's name, teacher's name, and grade level of every purchaser of
flexible media.

2.	Present an educational program which will sensitize my customers to the
grave responsibilities that the Copyright Act imposes upon each of us.

3.	Police my customers' use of flexible media, including but not limited to
in-store use of flexible media, simultaneous purchases of flexible media
and comic books such that illegitimate use can be inferred from the
circumstances, and the structuring of transactions to obscure what would
otherwise be simultaneous or contemporaneous purchases of flexible media
and comic books.

4.	Cooperate with the Comic Publishers Association by providing customer
lists and transaction detail logs so that suspicious purchase patterns at
multiple retail location may be tracked by the CPA.

5.	Agree to allow the CPA to audit my records and record keeping
procedures, at any time, without notice or right to refuse. 

 ---

Please print out a copy of our agreement, sign it, and mail it to me via
postal mail by the close of business tomorrow. Flexible media copies are
not acceptable. If you don't, we'll kick your ass. 

Have a nice day. 

/s/ L. Itta-Gator (#65535)
for DEWEY, CHEATHAM, & HOWE, P.C.
Counsel for Comic Publishers Association