Academyof Motion PictureArts and Sciences Threatens Legal Action against Fan

November 24^th 2009Academy demands Oscar© fan hand over Statue purchased on eBay

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences legal General Counsel Quinn Emanuel is threatening legal action to compel Oscar fan and collector Tim Nyhus to hand over a faux statuette bearing the likeness to that of an Academy Award of Merit. In February of 2009 Mr. Nyhus purchased the faux statuette from the creator/manufacturer of the statuette on eBay. In November of 2009 Mr. Nyhus attempted to resell the faux statuette on eBay.

The Academy put a stop to the November auction via the law firm of Quinn Emanuel halting the auction laying claim via eBay’s VeRO (Verified Rights Owner) program. As a seven year veteran of eBay in excellent standing Mr. Nyhus took the VeRO auction violation seriously and cooperated with eBay by refraining from any future attempted sale of the statuette.

A day after the eBay auction was halted Mr. Nyhus received a three page letter via electronic notification from David Quinto of the law firm Quinn Emanuel citing six demands being made on behalf of the Academy.

The demands included delivering up to the Academy for destruction the Statue in his possession. Mr. Nyhus promptly responded to the Academy with full disclosure of how he came into possession of the item clearly indicating the item had been purchased via an eBay auction. Mr. Nyhus offered proof that the item was purchased legally on eBay and assured the Academy’s counsel that as a fan of the Academy it was never his intent to commercially infringe on the intellectual property of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

Mr. Nyhus further agreed per the demands of the Academy that he would refrain from any future attempts to auction, sell or otherwise transfer items that infringe on the Academy’s intellectual property rights. Mr. Nyhus added in his reply to Quinn Emanuel that he had only attempted to auction the item due to the down turn in the current economic situation and that since the item had been legally purchased on eBay without dispute or notification of any such intellectual copyright infringement he believed the statuette could be re-sold on eBay.

On November 23^rd Mr. Nyhus received a subsequent email from David Quinto of Quinn Emanuel. In the email Mr. Quinto acknowledged the compliance of the agreement pertaining to Mr. Nyhus refraining from any future attempts to auction, sell or otherwise transfer the item. However Mr. Quinto in his communication further compelled Mr. Nyhus to immediately deliver up to the Academy the Statue for destruction, and requested that Mr. Nyhus provide the contact information for the original eBay seller of the Statue and proof of payment to the eBay seller by the close of business November 30^th 2009.  Mr. Quinto communicated to Mr. Nyhus should he not comply, the Academy would have no choice but to pursue legal options.

Mr. Nyhus a resident of Washington State has stated “This is clearly a case of bully tactics; the Academy knows I do not have the resources to stand up to them on principal in this matter. I am a working class fan of the Academy not a manufacturer of faux statuettes, these actions seem very heavy handed and unfair.  A very wealthy power house organization is asking me to forfeit an item I legally purchased at a complete monetary loss.  If the policing of the Academy’s owner rights pertaining to eBay auctions were fair and consistent I would have never been able to legally purchase this statue to begin with.”

**On November 24th 2009 a similar if not exact item sold on eBay

Item #160380915630 Oscar Award Statue Statuette Replica

Mr. Nyhus is presently reviewing his options and the legalities presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.