'Anonymous' Bertelsmann's threat

Now I need to explain the background. Bertelsmann are big investors in Publishers Market. The email was sent to me and BCC'd to the HR Director. Publishers Market, I might add, are a cool German ASP. Everyone there is 100% and the technology is based on open source projects.

This arrived after Bertelsmann had been given a list of the employees, a general list covering our backgrounds, as naturally they wanted to know about the staff they were giving money to.

At this point in the negiotations *NOTHING* was in the public domain, nothing. The deal was secret and the only people who knew were Bertelsmann and my company. Bear this point in mind when you read the section "we are also targeted by your employer", none of Publishers Markets' (potential) users are threattened by MP3 and streaming audio.

Now the deal is in the public. There's reference to it on the German Hot 100 financial info site - http://www.gh100.de, it's a subscription site but if you search ('Suchen' in German) for "Publishers Market" you'll come across a link to a story with the headline :

Zweites Investment des neu strukturierten VC-Arms der Bertelsmann AG. Investition in PublishersMarket mit internationaler Perspektive.

Which according to the fish read's:

Second Investment of the again structured VC lever of the Bertelsmann AG investment in PublishersMarket with international perspective.

If you know of any other site with info on this esp. non registration sites, drop me a line.

Another interesting point is the reference to "bought the main mp3 thief online, to make its technology legal" reference. Who were the first of the Record Companies to drop their law suit against Napster!

I haven't posted this letter until now so not to spoil negotiations, which wouldn't have been fair to Publishers Market.

So, read the letter and make up your own mind

Phil

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Phil, 
you are working for a firm called publishers-market in munich.
According to our intelligence you live at [ my address here ]
in munich.
Furthert our intelligence tells us that you are runninhg a website, 
where you make available how to rip-off, to use your own terminology, i.e. steal copy right protected mp3.
Sadly, we are not only the company that bought the main mp3 thief online, 
 to make its technology legal, (read this Mr Kerr: legal) profítable business, we are also targeted by your 
employer, publishers-market, to adopt its service.  It would, Mr Kerr, behoove you, to either streamline your public not so private life online with the interests 
of your employers, or face the fact, that otherwise you are a liability to your employer.
you know who we are.
so does your employer.


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