July 20, 2007
Copyright = evil
A group of inmates came up with a rather ingenuous plot to spring themselves from federal prison. They declared their own names to be copyrighted and then demanded payment to the tune of several million dollars from the warden for using their names without permission. Payment not being forthcoming, they filed liens against the warden's property, including seizure of vehicles and changing the locks on his house. After they'd initiated the forfeiture process, they sent letters demanding to be released before they would return the warden's property.
Unfortunately for this quartet, the agent they hired to effect their asset forfeiture happened to be an FBI agent. Needless to say, the warden is still driving his car.
The inmates and an accomplice have been indicted for conspiracy to impede the duties of federal prison officials and sending threatening letters with intent to extort. I'd throw on misuse of copyright just for good measure, but I gather that IP precedent really isn't something that's on the top of BoP's list.
