Max and Dick,

If there is any way to help, I will.

It does seem perverse that HFA will not tell you what their specific complaint is until they file a suit. One way to document your conversation with them is to send them a letter outlining what you understand their requests to be and the response that you have offered and the stonewalling with which they have replied.

Telephone conversations, even taped ones, are less effective evidence in a court than are written conversations.

Of course, any advice I might offer has no legal validity other than I think it to be a good idea. I am not a lawyer and I am not giving you legal advice.

I just think they will be more wary of a paper trail and may temper their requests. Clearly, if they thought you were in violation, they could quickly check the thousands of songs on the DT and verify it. So your letter should give them the means of accessing the DT as a reply to what is on your web-site.

GG of course, is trying to make a point that echoes his own desires. I hope that GG is aware that if things have to go, the only thing that clearly stands up to legal review are the BS threads that contain no music content at all and the PD songs. But I'm sure GG has not thought that one through.

I suspect HFA is asking about both the Forum and the DT. They have one concern. They want to protect their publishers ownership rights (copy rights). The problem they have is this: If they allow violations of their copyrights, they, in effect, lose credibility that they can guarantee any protections. They cannot selectively press their rights. So they are going after internet sites, knowing they are shooting fish in a barrel, one at a time (saves on legal staff). That is why they won't go to the DT or the forum search and look up lyrics. With 20,000 publishers with 100's of songs each (maybe), they have more to protect than they know. They may have a list, but it probably is not easily searchable.

For the publicity hounds, I should note that OLGA had a little publicity, I think it made the AP. Its public cause sank like a stone. Everyone says that they are closed. On the face of it they are, but I search there regularly and go to their shadow sites and get whatever I would have gotten before. Some kind of closing. But the notice that they have closed goes on and on.

Keep it in writing. Keep it friendly (on the face of it) just as they are.

Good luck, Max.

Roger in Baltimore