Piracy: A Silent Plague on Ufology (A Knell Exposé)

[Frank Warren]

Greetings Forumerions,

Dennis Balthaser recounts his recent experience and "proactive stance"
with criminal Bill Knell, after learning that that he too was a victim
of DVD piracy:

To quote a Chinese Proverb: "When someone shares something of value with
you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it
with others", which is what I'll try to do in this article.

I have been working closely with my Webmaster, researcher Frank Warren,
www.theufochronicles.com and Aztec researchers Scott and Suzanne
Ramsey for the past 12 years, on various UFO cases, highly respecting them for their honesty and thorough
investigations. We have dealt with debunkers, skeptics and critics of
all sorts, and have even welcomed their comments, if and when, the
information they presented was factually worthy of review.

There is another, quieter element in Ufology, aside from debunkers,
skeptics, and critics. They are the hucksters who use other researcher's
work without doing their own; those who take from others' research, or
articles, and publish the work as their own (plagiarism). Then there are
still other scoundrels who market or sell researchers' works, such as
DVDs of lectures, books, or documentaries, without permission or
financial arrangements made with the researchers (piracy). I have
recently found that I am myself, a victim of piracy, and this is what I
feel a moral obligation to share with my readers . . .

The rest of the story here:

Piracy: A Silent Plague on Ufology

Cheers,
Frank

 

[dusty]

Thanks for the heads up Frank,

It's such a shame you have to devote precious time to dealing with shitheels like Knell. He truly is the lowest of the low and in keeping with what he's up to I think he should be made to walk the plank.

Sooner or later he will get nicked, but in the meantime does anyone remember the name of that guy who set up the "Stop Sylvia Brown" thing, maybe we should get some tips and set up a site along those lines to pinch this loaf once and for all.

Yuck,

Mark

 

[Frank Warren]

Hi Dusty,

Thanks for the heads up Frank,

It's such a shame you have to devote precious time to dealing with shitheels like Knell. He truly is the lowest of the low and in keeping with what he's up to I think he should be made to walk the plank.

Sooner or later he will get nicked, but in the meantime does anyone remember the name of that guy who set up the "Stop Sylvia Brown" thing, maybe we should get some tips and set up a site along those lines to pinch this loaf once and for all.

Yuck,

Mark

"Knowledge is indeed power," which is why we're trying to inform all the victims of the crimes against them; however, it's null if victims remain apathetic, which is one reason why Knell has been able to get away with this for so long.

Case in point: Knell has been pirating "Out of The Blue" for years; when I became aware of Knell's criminal activities (last year), James Fox was one of the very first persons I contacted. At that time we were following the lead detective's instructions to file complaints locally (then forward them to him), James said he would. This never happened, even though I've reminded him many times.

Since nothing seemed to be happening via the lead detective, upon advice from some law enforcement friends, we took it up a notch and contacted the FBI; a formal complaint was then immediately filed by victim Scott Ramsey (who has been the liaison for "all" the victims to the authorities); accordingly, the energy is now focused at the "federal level" with the IC3 who handles such matters.

When this took place (months ago), I again contacted James, and told him a complaint needs to be filed there--at IC3. Again, the response was "I will," but to date, nothing, zilch, zero nada!

Now, I don't mean to pick on James specifically (as he isn't alone in his apathy); however, he is a big target for Knell, and his voice would carry weight with the authorities.

The other often times "overlooked" victims in this matter (as we've been focusing on copyright holders) is the presumably thousands of retail customers that have purchased bogus, shoddy, pirated, illegal goods from someone (Knell) that they believe to be "authorized distributors."

Accordingly the damage is twofold, because when the buyer receives the shoddy goods, he initially thinks that the original producer, in this example "Fox," is in business with Knell; for this reason the victim's (copyright holder) reputation takes a hit!!

This was recently evidenced by a retail victim who after failing to get a refund from Knell for his pirated goods, he contacted the copyright holder "assuming it was a joint operation!"

Of course we can only "lead a horse to water" . . ..

Cheers,
Frank

 

[Frank Warren]

Evenin' All,

Disappointed there's not more input . . . I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Did I mention that Knell is a reptilian alien from the planet Reptulon. He only masquerades as a heinous criminal of Ufology as a cover?

Cheers,
Frank

 

[Christopher O'Brien]

Evenin' All,

Disappointed there's not more input . . . I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

People hate to be reminded of how their passion has been compromised by snakes & lizards.

Thank you btw for alerting me last month that I had innocently posted a Knell by-lined article that had been stolen from Angela Joiner, as you pointed out. I had no idea about this guy until you alerted me. What a frickin scuzzwad! I spent years out in the field and never once promoted myself. And a dude like this comes along and rips off hard working researchers and thinks no one will notice! Thank you Frank for outing this dirtbag! Have you figured out why Fox won;t protect his and all of our interests? Kinda weird...

 

[Frank Warren]

Hey Christopher !

Appreciate your two cents!!

People hate to be reminded of how their passion has been compromised by snakes & lizards.

Thank you btw for alerting me last month that I had innocently posted a Knell by-lined article that had been stolen from Angela Joiner, as you pointed out. I had no idea about this guy until you alerted me. What a frickin scuzzwad! I spent years out in the field and never once promoted myself. And a dude like this comes along and rips off hard working researchers and thinks no one will notice! Thank you Frank for outing this dirtbag! Have you figured out why Fox won;t protect his and all of our interests? Kinda weird...

This is exactly how Knell gets away with his crimes; victims are apathetic, time passes and he keeps on truckin'; I would advise folks to listen to the "Knell Interview" here on the Paracast--it says it all!!

Cheers,
Frank

 

[skunkape]

Bill Knell eats puppies. He deserves whatever he gets...and I hope that involves having his balls fed to turtles.
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[Schuyler]

Evenin' All,

Disappointed there's not more input . . . I guess I shouldn't be surprised

What are you looking for, Frank? What are you 'not surprised' at? Would you like to see more outrage? Would you like suggestions on how to nail this guy? Do you want us all to call the FBI? Bear in mind that David & Gene busted this guy almost a year ago. There were a couple of 'outrage' threads back then. Maybe we all had our say back then.

I'm not sure castigating Foxx publicly here is going to gain you any cooperation. But I sympathize. I promise not to buy anything from Knell. Go get 'em. Good luck. What more can I say?

 

[Frank Warren]

Afternoon Schuyler,

What are you looking for, Frank? What are you 'not surprised' at? Would you like to see more outrage?

My apologies to you and our fellow Listers; yesterday was a rather difficult day and this Knell saga has been going on for a year now (for me), which is frustrating beyond words; the post you're responding to was a temporary lapse in character and judgment, as well as an unnecessary outburst on my part.

That said, to answer some of your questions:

Would you like suggestions on how to nail this guy? Do you want us all to call the FBI?

Although the "die has been cast" for the most part to stop him once and for all "suggestions are always welcome; someone came up with the notion of contacting the state sales tax office in Indiana, which hasn't been done, but I think it's a good idea; same for the postal service.

As far as the FBI, I want "all" of the victims of copyright infringement to file a complaint with the IC3, as well as anyone who's purchased his bogus goods.[/QUOTE]

Bear in mind that David & Gene busted this guy almost a year ago. There were a couple of 'outrage' threads back then. Maybe we all had our say back then.

The exposé done last December, which I was a part of was helpful; educating and alerting the public and Knell's victims is part of the goal here; to bust him "in the verbatim" is the ultimate goal!

I'm not sure castigating Foxx publicly here is going to gain you any cooperation. But I sympathize. I promise not to buy anything from Knell. Go get 'em. Good luck. What more can I say?

It was and isn't my intent to "chastise" James, only to cite him as an example of apathy, and one of the main reasons Knell has continued to get away with his criminal enterprises for decades.

Many of the acts of piracy by Knell are dupes of "talks" from various symposia; James is an example of a "creation, a work, i.e., a movie"; accordingly most of the existing precedence for cases like these is primarily involving members of the MPAA; henceforth, his voice would carry some weight. Of course his is not the only movie, film, documentary etc.

In summation: the idea is that there is power in numbers; we've verified over 30 victims of copyright infringement; most are well known figures in Ufology and or "paranormal" tenets, and it's my belief there is perhaps triple that in actual numbers. This of course doesn't begin to address his other crimes. When a complaint is filed via the IC3 it will eventually land on the SAC of the FBI and motivate him to perform his duty.

Moreover, the penalty for the crime is more severe after $2500, so victims X violations X years of activity = ultimate penalties.

Cheers,
Frank

 

[Gareth]

Yeah I was gonna say Frank! This is probably the 5th Knell thread and all the previous threads have had quite a bit of activity. I think we are all the point now where we've said all that can be said, and are waiting for the relevant parties to take action.

It disappoints me greatly that James Fox is apparently not bothered enough to do a thing about it. If it was me in his position I would be making a LOT of noise.

 

[Frank Warren]

Hi Gareth,

Yeah I was gonna say Frank! This is probably the 5th Knell thread and all the previous threads have had quite a bit of activity. I think we are all the point now where we've said all that can be said, and are waiting for the relevant parties to take action.

Yeah, that was me just showing my ass (and frustration), forgive me!

In the beginning of the year we were basically in a holding pattern waiting for the local Lebanon, police department to take action; bear in mind everything was/is place, witnesses, formal complaints, physical evidence, electronic documents, precedence, credit card and monetary receipts, and now even a confession! After months of waiting with a lot of talk and "no action," it was kicked up a notch by involving the FBI; at that point, the feeling was that something was finally going to happen . . . but then again, more feet dragging--all the while Knell is getting bigger and bigger adding more and more pirated DVDs.

When patience ran out the second time, it was decided to make sure that "all" of the potential victims are made aware of the crimes against them and hope fully motivate them to take 10 minutes out of their day, and file a complaint with the IC3.

We saw immediacy results from this latest effort initially, as Bravenet finally did the "right thing" and "suspended" Knell's site; unfortunately this didn't last long as of this morning--it's back up!! All the more reason for "everyone to unite" and shut him down once and for all!

It disappoints me greatly that James Fox is apparently not bothered enough to do a thing about it. If it was me in his position I would be making a LOT of noise.

I am baffled by this as well; in general terms, James has a product; someone is making and marketing counterfeits under the guise of an authorized distributor; in essence his customers are getting screwed right along with him and his reputation is taking a hit--this makes "me angry" as a friend and a colleague--much less the actual victim!!

Again, I don't mean to pick on James, as he's not the only one sitting on their thumbs.

Cheers,
Frank

 

[Double Nought Spy]

OK, I'll put the pitchfork back in the shed, but near the door. It's an old one that holds sharp points well, and if that sorry bastard shows up around here...

Seriously, I feel your pain, Frank, and I applaud your efforts to get something done about the fraud. I must say I am surprised at the behavior Bravenet has been showing. Most such outfits yank the sites at the first whiff of legal action, to the point that it's become a favorite harassment technique of sleazy types who should be sharing a cell with Knell. The behavior of eBay does not surprise me one bit, Amazon maybe a little. It's well known that corporations most resemble psychopaths in their "ethics," of course. It takes all of thitry seconds to go to these sites and look at what is being sold, so it's not like it takes days or weeks of effort to do their "investigations."

 

[Frank Warren]

Hi DNS,

OK, I'll put the pitchfork back in the shed, but near the door. It's an old one that holds sharp points well, and if that sorry bastard shows up around here...

Seriously, I feel your pain, Frank, and I applaud your efforts to get something done about the fraud. I must say I am surprised at the behavior Bravenet has been showing. Most such outfits yank the sites at the first whiff of legal action, to the point that it's become a favorite harassment technique of sleazy types who should be sharing a cell with Knell. The behavior of eBay does not surprise me one bit, Amazon maybe a little. It's well known that corporations most resemble psychopaths in their "ethics," of course. It takes all of thitry seconds to go to these sites and look at what is being sold, so it's not like it takes days or weeks of effort to do their "investigations."

Bravenet's stance is most curious; they've been shown a boatload of evidence and have been made aware of the multitude of victims; quite frankly, as I told Dennis (Balthaser) even though they said the site was "suspended," I really thought it was over . . . at least at Bravenet; Knell's MO of course is to just resurrect himself some where else, but at least it would have stopped him temporarily hopefully until the Feds get off their hind ends and arrest him!!

Accordingly, victims should include Bravenet in the complaint with Knell.

Cheers,
Frank

 

[Gareth]

I just cant believe the nerve of this guy! What an arrogant douche bag!

 

[skunkape]

OK, I'll put the pitchfork back in the shed, but near the door. It's an old one that holds sharp points well, and if that sorry bastard shows up around here...

I was thinking I'd like to punch him in the butt-cheek with the Phillips-driver on my Swiss Army-knife.
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[TClaeys]

I really wonder what can be done about this in general. Even if Knell were to be permanently locked up, someone else would probably sprout in his place. And it seems sometimes one can keep ahead of any trouble by shutting down and springing up new websites or other avenues for sale. This isn't just a problem for UFO or paranormal peddlers, it's a problem for the whole video industry.

I just took a look for "Out of the Blue" and found this site:
http://www.alienzoostore.com/servlet/the-UFO-DVDs/Categories
Who is this?? I have no idea, but it looks like something Knell had done in the past, just lining up DVD's for sale. I wonder if the consumers of such goods would have any interest in knowing they may be buying copyrighted pirated videos?? But my senses tell me they probably wouldn't give a crap, so long as they recieve the thing for a good price and it works. Perhaps the apathy among buyers is even worse which is a shame, but probably generally true.

I think the larger responsibility is on the producers of the film. They first need to be aware of the situation which you have helped with. Then they really need to take some initiative and put an end to it. If they don't then I'm afraid there isn't much else that can be done. We really can't feel sorry for Fox if he isn't going to make a stand against it however slimy the perpetrator is. Like you said, you can lead a horse to water....

It's a pretty messed up situation, this seemingly anonymous internet (black)market. I certainly don't have any answers and I think you are doing as much as can be done to this point. Hopefully enough prompting and pervasive awareness of the problem and it's consequences will demand some tough action.

 

[Xylo]

Yeah I was gonna say Frank! This is probably the 5th Knell thread and all the previous threads have had quite a bit of activity. I think we are all the point now where we've said all that can be said, and are waiting for the relevant parties to take action.

This is kind of where I'm at. We know the guy is crooked. We know he's low. In fact, it doesn't seem that there's any depths to which he won't sink. I'm not sure what else needs to be added here.

 

[David Biedny]

I think it comes down to one thing - money.

Many of the people being ripped off here, like James Fox, could simply not afford to hire the kind of legal assistance to go after thieves like Knell, it would wipe him out financially, with no hope of ever getting any kind of justice. Corporations don't do squat when confronted with individuals, they only fear lawyers. Period. All the justice money can buy, that's how things work, at least now, perhaps it's always been this way. Knell's ISP getting emails from Frank is one thing - they get a Cease and Desist notice from a high-powered attorney's office, and there's definitely going to be a different level of response.

Knell is a low-level crook, and thus, his actions haven't hurt someone willing to bring serious legal consequences to the table. Rip off George Lucas, Steven Spielberg or the Beatles, and you get slammed against the wall and eaten alive. Rip off some independent UFO investigators or documentary makers, and not much will happen.

Welcome to capitalism.

dB

 

[Paul Kimball]

I think it comes down to one thing - money.

Many of the people being ripped off here, like James Fox, could simply not afford to hire the kind of legal assistance to go after thieves like Knell.
dB

David,

It's always a question of a cost - benefit analysis. I don't know if Knell has been pirating any of my films, with the exception of Aztec 1948, and Ramsey gets 90% of the revenue from that, so it's not really worth my time to do anything. And then, as you say, there's the question of cost versus the actual benefit. Most of us move on to new projects, and we just don't have the time to bother with a penny ante crook like Knell. As for consumers, I would encourage them to do some research before they purchase anything. As they say: caveat emptor.

Paul

 

[Frank Warren]

Mornin' TClaeys, David, Et AL,

I really wonder what can be done about this in general. Even if Knell were to be permanently locked up, someone else would probably sprout in his place. And it seems sometimes one can keep ahead of any trouble by shutting down and springing up new websites or other avenues for sale. This isn't just a problem for UFO or paranormal peddlers, it's a problem for the whole video industry.

I just took a look for "Out of the Blue" and found this site:
http://www.alienzoostore.com/servlet/the-UFO-DVDs/Categories
Who is this?? I have no idea, but it looks like something Knell had done in the past, just lining up DVD's for sale. I wonder if the consumers of such goods would have any interest in knowing they may be buying copyrighted pirated videos?? But my senses tell me they probably wouldn't give a crap, so long as they recieve the thing for a good price and it works. Perhaps the apathy among buyers is even worse which is a shame, but probably generally true.

I think the larger responsibility is on the producers of the film. They first need to be aware of the situation which you have helped with. Then they really need to take some initiative and put an end to it. If they don't then I'm afraid there isn't much else that can be done. We really can't feel sorry for Fox if he isn't going to make a stand against it however slimy the perpetrator is. Like you said, you can lead a horse to water....

It's a pretty messed up situation, this seemingly anonymous internet (black)market. I certainly don't have any answers and I think you are doing as much as can be done to this point. Hopefully enough prompting and pervasive awareness of the problem and it's consequences will demand some tough action.

[The Alien Zoo is owned by the UFO Congress, which of course is legit]

The "wondering what can be done" is over; there is a methodology in place, and has been for over a year now. What Knell is doing is a federal offense, the laws are clear, there is precedent.

Specifically to the case there is evidence: electronic, documentive and physical; there are proactive complainants (the smaller majority of the whole) who are carrying the ball for all the victims. There is a historical record of past crimes and repetitive criminal behavior . . . and finally there is now a confession!

The only thing lacking, it would appear is "the will" for the PTB to do their jobs!!!

David wrote:

I think it comes down to one thing - money.

There is no denying the fact that if Knell's targets were Spielberg & Lucas films or any other major player in the MPAA action would been taken long ago; however, it's important to note, that Linda Howe and ABC successfully sued him over 11 years ago for the very same thing and you see how effective that was!!

This is why it was decided that pursuing a criminal course of action, opposed to "civil litigation" was the best way to go; for example some of the biggest busts re DVD and or CD piracy have taken place in the last few years--this is not new ground and there is a boatload of precedence--again the law is clear!!

DVD piracy of course is but one of Knell's criminal enterprises; in this instance we're dealing with piracy and or plagiarism; there are two victims: the authors of the work whose copyrights are being violated and the retail consumer who is purchasing fraudulent goods in good faith, assuming it's from legitimate sources in business with author, filmmaker etc!!!

As I have mentioned earlier, the author, speaker and or film producer suffers not only financially, but takes a hit to their reputation as well. At the top of Knell's site it reads:

"Direct From The Producer Distributor"

When someone buys Out of The Blue or Aztec 1948 for example they believe they're buying it from an "authorized" distributor; henceforth they lump Knell and the respective producers together.

This was recently evidenced when a retail victim reached out for a refund from Linda Howe (after several attempts to Knell failed) for her pirated work. The retail victim's attitude (initially) was that "she owed him!" I enlightened him to Knell's nefarious ways, and in the course of our correspondence he informed me that he had contacted other "copyright holders" to try and get refunds or replacements when Knell wouldn't comply.

Linda of course was livid, but the significance in this example is the fact that the retail consumer doesn't separate the "legitimate creator" of their respective works from the criminal who's ripping them off and tarnishing their good names--so it's a double whammy for the copyright holder!

Back to the methodology: while the authorities seem to be dragging their respective feet the one thing that's been effective IS THE PEOPLE and OR THE VICTIMS!!

A year ago when we got together here at the Paracast and did an exposé on Knell, aside from educating the public in a big way the result was the termination of his web-site!!!

From there the authorities were contacted, whom by the way were already investigating Knell for other crimes, and evidence/information was given; we were told to "be patient and let them do their jobs"; days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months; out of frustration, we took it up a notch and contacted the FBI; the same statements were made, "be patient, let us do our jobs" and again we've reached the peak of frustration.

During this time the authorities have been hearing the one lonely victim's voice of Scott Ramsey when in fact there are over 30 verified victims and we believe 2 to 3 times that many if not more.

David is correct in saying:

Corporations don't do squat when confronted with individuals, they only fear lawyers.

This is why we're trying to reach out to the collective; there is strength in numbers!! There is a detective, state sheriff, and FBI agent assigned to this case the more complaints filed via the IC3 (which will land on the SAC's desk) the more motivation we provide for them to do their respective jobs!!

I recently sent out a letter entitled THE VICTIMS OF BILL KNELL which included the names of over 80 potential victims, one was good friend and colleague Dennis Balthaser; I alerted him to a DVD on Knell's site which I thought was bogus; as it turns out it was! He of course became proactive, which is what precipitated this thread; his added voice helped to shut Knell's site down at least temporarily, so the proof is in the pudding--there is strength in numbers.

Most victims are unaware of the fact that they're being ripped off and their reputations are being tarnished; henceforth the goal is to contact "all" of them and at the very least, have the victims make decisions from an "informed point of view."

Sadly, victim apathy is one of the reasons why Knell has been so successful for so long; much like a critic of one's respective government, yet doesn't vote, we reap what we sew!!

Cheers,
Frank


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