Fed Up With Stephen Doniger's Quest to be King of the Copyright Trolls

On Friday September 10, 2021 I told Stephen Doniger, lawyer for August Image in their lawsuit against Anne of Carversville and me personally for image copyright infringement, that I would rather ride with the New York mafia than with Doniger. This statement is not hyperbole on my part.

Having dealt with the New York City garment center mafia in the 80s, I will say that the experience was lightening years more professional than dealing with copyright troll Stephen M. Doniger of Doniger | Burroughs, located in Venice, California and Brooklyn, NY.

The New York City Mafia Is a Step Up IMO To Stephen Doniger

Nothing was ever said to me directly back in the 80s, but when my huge corporate beauty client told me that I would be splitting the next project with another vendor, we exchanged locked eyes. She explained that these guys had become close friends of the EVP of marketing.

There was no doubt that money was exchanging hands — a practice never engaged in once by me — but very common in the 80s. Clearly, my honesty and above-board business style was now a problem. My client’s eyes locked on mine told me everything I needed to know. They said: “I can’t help you.”

This beauty industry titan also expected me to assist the mafia dudes in getting all the product specs worked out seamlessly. Because I did everything at platinum level of expertise and attention to detail, the new guys needed to meet my standards.

I had done some investigating and knew these guys were into money-laundering. The chances of my own business survival were suddenly low. When you are making 500,000 units of any garment for one client your pricing is sharp and razor thin.

Simply-stated, on round one, they eliminated the profit margin, knowing that I would have to do the same. It’s then that I saw the handwriting on the wall with the New York mafia taking over my business, and knew that I needed another career position. My company would not survive.

Enter Victoria’s Secret and a 10-year ride that was golden. In a way they did me a huge favor — these mafia guys. No blood was shed; no threats were made; we shook hands; and I was off to see the world.

Personal Insults Are Doniger’s Greatest Weapon and the Reality of Federal Copyright Lawsuit Costs Is Very Intimidating

Unlike Stephen Doniger, these New York mafia guys didn’t insult me, didn’t call me a thief, didn’t tell me that I have no talent and that I’m basically a mooch who exists on the creative efforts of others.

That is Stephen Doniger’s view of me, and this is how he wrings money out of people, who are standing up to him. When I reached a point of being insulted one too many times in December 2020, I found my backbone and basically told him to go to hell. I cannot afford a federal court attorney for copyright; few people can. We will review those facts in the coming days and weeks.

I’ve lived in fear of Yolanda James and her copyright troll attorneys since 2016-17, because I knew life could come to this point.

Avoiding copyright trolls became a draining, debilitating situation that was crushing to me financially. As many long-time AOC readers know, the roof really fell on my head in 2014 with the death of my partner. Although he died of a virulent cancer, he was clearly in a state of early dementia, a condition advanced enough that he made mincemeat of our finances. I will only say that things got really bad, and this was the darkest period of my life.

Literally, I was finally getting my bearings again when James appeared. Our first encounter would not be our last one.

I was very aggressive and went straight to the well-known photographer, as she was dinging me — like $20,000 for this fashion story; $30,000 for another — during our first encounter, leaving me shell-shocked. The photographer stopped her pursuit of me — although I understand now that photographers basically sign away their rights to intervene in these contracts with companies like August Image.

James was furious with me and I saved her message before trashing my phone with water years ago. It was blistering, and I knew she would not rest until I paid dearly for resisting her.

Fast-forwarding to November 13, 2020, I share this short email — not because it is uniquely important, but because they were actually sent in a moment when Doniger and I were searching for a solution. I had proposed that we tackle some of these issues publicly, that we could discuss the reality of our conflict from all points of view. I would not censor Doniger’s commentary and he wouldn’t censor mine.

Doniger knew that I was contacting photographers with work on August Image, asking them if them wanted me to remove their work from AOC. One agent said ‘yes’ in an apologetic tone. That was it. I asked the actual photographers on behalf of whom August was suing me and Anne of Carversville if they wanted their images off the website. Their response was not “yes” and they remain well-represented on AOC.

The more contact I had with photographers, the more I read about copyright law and the more I read about copyright trolls compared to legitimate intellectual property lawyers, the more I thought there was a reasonable way out of this crisis for me.

It’s important to understand that August Image did not seek any financial compensation from me or AOC, although I did not know that fact on Nov. 13, 2020. When you read Doniger’s comment about August not trusting me or “locking me out”, I had told Doniger that I was trying to understand just how many “conflicting images” [I paraphrase} existed between AOC and August. I offered to remove any conflicting images on a quick timetable, if that’s what August Image wanted.

At every turn in what is now a battle between two strong-willed people — Stephen Doniger and Anne Enke — Doniger had to win in his heavy-handed, opponent-reducing way of dealing with people. I can only say that we would have kicked Stephen Doniger’s butt to kingdom-come in my corporate world. And I admit that handling personality’s like Doniger’s is not my forte.

Selective Image Copyright Prosecution Is Legal and So Is Targeting

What I also didn’t understand is the legality of selective, targeted prosecution in image copyright law. When James first contacted me, I sent her pages of other websites who had the same images. Was she threatening all of these people, too?

When I dealt with Victoria’s Secret trademark enforcement as the fashion director and head of product development, it was an all or nothing action. Everyone selling one of my ripped off designs heard from our attorneys.

This is not the case in image copyright enforcement, much to my surprise. The day I understood that Stephen Doniger is under no obligation to sue all the people who have allegedly violated the same image copyrights, I was clear-eyed about his business operation for the first time.

You see, this is a money game for Doniger, and I look like I have it. In addition, I never talk about my age, not that I pretend to be a young woman. But AOC has edge and a voice that is modern and progressive. It has a high aesthetic. I also am a US citizen. Kaching; kaching; kaching.

Unknown to me before I finally got an attorney I can afford and NOT a federal court copyright attorney, I am old enough to have certain federal law protections around my finances. I am not the golden honey pot that copyright trolls and their colleagues think me to be. There is a guardian at the door called the US federal government and often, even stricter state protections.

Once I learned this information from my attorney last December, she helped me understand that even though I couldn’t afford to go to federal court [few can], Doniger would have to deal with her to collect any money. She’s been on retainer ever since and will handle Yolanda James in the future.

Stephen Doniger and the Friday Afternoon Surprise

To conclude this new post, it’s Doniger’s refusal to deal with my attorney, even though I threatened to get a restraining order against him last January, that infuriated me on Friday afternoon, Sept 10th. He does not copy her — it’s as if she does not exist. Late Friday I was informed that the Doniger crew is in court today, Monday, getting their judgment. That court is in Philadelphia, where I haven’t lived since July,2014.

It’s Anne who is in the crosshairs of Stephen Doniger’s scope of interest.

I am physically afraid of Stephen Doniger and he knows it. I was not afraid of the New York mafia guys — which is not to ignore the fact that they burned down the jazz club of a friend of mine. The New York mafia treated me very well and did not represent a danger to me.

I’ve told Doniger that he scares me, and August Image knows that fact. The reasons why will become clearer in the next post.

Suffice it to say that I’ve been in police protection for a year with a crazed right-winger determined to kill me over Planned Parenthood. I have been hunted and confronted physically in a hideous moment in my life when I didn’t care if I killed this dude flying over my windshield on a cold October night.

The Plot Against AOC

There is no doubt that unknown people were trying to take me down last May -- when Doniger filed his lawsuits -- in a deeply unsettling series of events that went on until early July, 2020.

This all smells like one very stinky coincidence in my playbook. Ironically, the plot failed because I do not have a large social media presence except for Pinterest. Doniger goes on and on about trashing his clients’ images on my social media accounts, but like most lies in his court documents, I have a very low profile — deliberately. And image search is set to “off” on Pinterest. If Doniger did any homework before suing me in the wrong state, he would know these facts. But then, facts don’t matter to Stephen Doniger. He’s about “The Art of the Deal.”

Make no mistake, I can think of several groups of people besides James, Doniger and August Image working together to take me down.

Add 1) the Arab world where I am dead on arrival for my international women's rights work. I can never go back again; 2) A bunch of Trumpers; 3) Putin's people for my love of Hillary; and open disdain for Putin; 4) Right-wingers worldwide including the Catholic Church.

The Plot to Take Down AOC and Me Likely Came from Fashion Industry Insiders, Not Political Opponents

It was the gig itself -- which you will see because I've never written about it, but I have all the emails and the AOC posts-- that went on for three months that points in one direction. If it came from groups 1-4, they hired the best graphics people around to take me down. Fake magazine covers; fake fashion editorials; a fake Vogue editor . . . this sting didn't come out of Khartoum.

The most likely folks dreaming up this poison fashion stew for Anne were industry insiders imo. When you see it all laid out, you will think it's a fashion industry/photo industry inside job, too. Someone studied me very, very, very well with revenge on the brain.

Now who the heck could that be, who would want to portray me as a totally dishonest thief who stole the artwork of a Black artist and posted it on AOC under another name.

I can’t prove anything without boatloads of money. But I am entitled to my own opinion on what you will agree is a very intimidating summer 2020.

Like I said, I would rather ride with the New York Mafia, than with Stephen Doniger and his clan. IMO, when it comes to everyday shakedowns, they — the mafia —are definitely more principled, and they don't insult you while they are drawing blood. To be continued . . .~ Anne