Copyright violation

Jim "Captain Zoom" Campbell, U S Aviator's editor/publisher copied this
photograph of mine from my web page and printed it in US Aviator Magazine
without seeking permission, offering to pay any royalties, or even giving me credit.

This is the photo that Zoom stole from me.

Here is the photo exactly as it appeared on my web page in May, 1998. Note the copyright notice and the permission for personal use statement. Scroll to bottom to see thumbnail and caption of the photograph.

US Aviator Magazine, November/December 1998, page 66. Do you think it's the same photograph?

My comment: Captain Zoom should be afraid of the pen in Tony's hand and not the piece of plastic pipe.

One would think that the Editor and Publisher of a magazine would be well aware of the ethics and the proper procedure for using the property of another person

In the November/December, 1998 issue of US Aviator, page 7, this notice appears:

"US Aviator (ISSN: 1060-9091) is published bimonthly and in
keeping with scheduled special events. All contents are copy-
righted with all rights reserved, and are the licensed prop-
erty of Areo-Media USA, Inc.

What Jim Campbell did was take my photograph which was clearly identified as my copyrighted property, erase my name and my copyright notice, and print it in his magazine -- which had a copyright notice claiming it was HIS property.

Perhaps this is considered "fair use" or "freedom of the press" by Jim Campbell, but most others, and I hope a court of law, call it 'unauthorized use'. I did a superficial search on the Internet about Copyright law and found this:

Copyright law provides you with certain rights to your original content the moment it's put into a tangible form. These rights, however, are limited. In order to get full protection under copyright law, which includes the right to sue for infringement and receive statutory damages, you must register your work with the U.S. Copyright Office within three months from the date of first publication or prior to the date of infringement.

Since my work wasn't registered (After all, I'm not going to pay $20.00 each to register photographs that are not newsworthy), I believe that Jim Campbell used my photograph after three months had passed since I posted it, thinking that he had slid through a loophole. However, that loophole may not be as wide as he thinks. While the actual money I lost from not receiving any royalty for the use of my photograph is small, the issue is a big one for me.

I was once a fan of Jim Campbell and US Aviator. Much of what Jim writes and says is true. And thats probably responsible for most of the support that Jim still has. However Jim has lost my respect, and that of many others, -- even though we still agree with some of the things he writes -- because of his complete lack of journalistic ethics and his pattern of retaliation against those who disagree with him. I recommend that you just remember that everything you read in US Aviator is only Jim Campbell's version of the truth.

Campbell printed these comments about my web page in the November/December, 1998 issue of US Aviator, page 65.

"[Pucillo] was recently pictured on an Internet website, hosted by another antagonist, that is riddled with falsehood, mis-statements and other errors in fact, as well as the ever-present, illegal use of our copyrighted property (outside that which would qualify as "Fair Use", IMO)."

I believe that there are no falsehoods on my web page. Jim Campbell has only contacted me once -- to try to convince me that SE-4661 was a forgery, and has never attempted to correct any inaccurate information or request that any copyrighted property be removed.

In the same editorial::

"One particularly bizzare photo (shown in this story) shows Pucillo holding what appears to be a long-barreled firearm with a caption that suggests that I am the target of such a weapon."

Jim Campbell has copied this photo from my web page out of context (without my permission) and printed it with comments that are different than the caption that it has on my web page, i.e, "Attorney Tony Pucillo is prepared to defend the RAH 15."

Campbell also printed the following comments about my web page as a letter to the editor from "Gary" (rest of name withheld at reader request) in the November/December issue of US Aviator, page 68. I think that the writing style sounds much like that of Captain Zoom himself.

"I saw that "I Hate Zoom" website some nut on (sic) Oregon put up (one nasty fellow, huh?)."

I am from Oregon, but I am definitely not a nut, just as those who are critical of Jim Campbell are not "terrorists". I am a former journalism major who is concerned about Jim Campbell's irresponsible journalism. Read some back issues of US Aviator and note how many times a company that has ceased advertising in US Aviator is suddenly given a "Not Recommended" rating. Note how many times that positive reviews are given to present advertisers.

Read all of my web page, then read of Jim Campbell's diatribes and then decide for yourself who is really the nut.

From US Aviator, November/December, 1998, page 67:

"And, in my opinion, you've been cheated, most of all, by guys like Pucillo, Troyer, Robie, Slusarczyk, Miles/Mihaylo, Wanttaja, Bill (Badwater) Phillips, and Riley (and others in this little gang of self styled terrorists, harassers and stalkers)."

Hey Zoom, are you afraid to give me a little credit?

In his editorial diatribes, Campbell frequently mentions his critics by name -- except for me. He repeatedly mentions Tony Pucillo, and also mentions Walt Troyer, Bill Robie, Chuck Slusarczyk, Happy Miles, Ron Wanttaja, Bill Phillips, and Richard Riley.

Why don't I get identified by name? I feel left out. Perhaps it is because if he named me in his magazine then his few remaining readers might google my name, find my website and learn the truth about Jim Campbell.

Back

updated 07-05-99