Inspired, perhaps, by this wonderful recent response to a “ham-fisted” cease and desist letter, US lawyer Andrew Delaney has penned what tech bloggers are dubbing the “best response to a copyright threat ever”. The letter, written in reply to a demand by international law firm Covington & Burling to modify a website, features, amongst other things, references to the Spice Girls, lollipops and an extremely sarcastic set of footnotes…
First, the key extract from Covington’s cease and desist letter, sent on behalf of the American Bankers Association (ABA) by partner Nigel Howard. It strongly urges a techie called Greg Thatcher to remove a feature from his website that publishes bank routing numbers in an easily searchable form online. The ABA publishes, via an entity called Accuity, a book entitled the ‘ABA Key to Routing Numbers of the American Bankers Association’, which is a directory of all the routing numbers assigned to banks.
Acting pro bono for Thatcher, Delaney, who practises at a small Vermont law firm, issued this response. NB. It can be enlarged by clicking here or on the “+” and “-” buttons below.
Response to ABA Copyright Demands