Published: September 07, 2008 10:46 pm            

Local man in online copyright fight

The manager of punk bands The Ramones and The Misfits is suing a Bedford County man, contending he wrongfully distributed copyrighted animation on the Internet.

John Cafiero of New York contends Doug Custer of Osterburg of publicly offered Cafiero’s “The Misfits Re-Animated” on YouTube and MySpace.

A brief clip was shown on an MTV music video in 1997 to promote The Misfits. But Cafiero maintains the work never was presented in its entirety and that “the initial public release of The Misfits Re-Animated program is a potentially valuable and lucrative commodity.”

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Johnstown.

In court papers, Custer, an equipment operator and aspiring comic-book artist, contends Cafiero took his ideas and says his copyrights date to 1994, several years before Cafiero’s.

“Some of your earliest personal achievements were really my personal achievements,” Custer reportedly said on Internet message boards.

YouTube pulled the animation after pressure from Cafiero’s attorneys, but the suit contends Custer then encouraged Internet viewers to contact him to download the file and encouraged them to post it own their own sites.

Custer told The Tribune-Democrat that he was introduced to The Misfits through his artwork and met Cafiero in 1995 at a comic book convention.

“He really used my talents, then elbowed me out,” Custer said, claiming Cafiero “wrongly portrays me as a celebrity stalker.”

Cafiero, who also is lead singer for Osaka Popstar, also accused Custer of defaming him. Cafiero said Custer, under the online name “Doug Evil,” posted images of him in women’s clothing and said he is a “swishy manager slash director slash writer fluff girl.” Cafiero said he isn’t homosexual.

Cafiero is requesting a permanent injunction against Custer’s using his works. He also is seeking unspecified monetary damages for defamation and wrongful use of his animation.

        

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