Fake AI law firms are sending fake DMCA threats to generate fake SEO gains

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Accessibility and Cost of the Legal System

  • Many argue courts are effectively inaccessible for individuals and small businesses; big companies win via money and endurance.
  • Others counter that small and funded startups can and do use IP law (trademarks, patents) and handle bogus DMCA claims relatively cheaply.
  • Several lawyers note that even for professionals, vetting a competent lawyer is hard; laypeople often rely on weak signals (ads, jingles).
  • Small-claims courts are described as much more accessible and workable without counsel, but not comparable to full civil litigation.

Nature of the Fake DMCA / SEO Scam

  • “Law firms” with AI-generated personas send emails alleging copyright violations.
  • Instead of demanding takedown or money, they demand a visible backlink crediting a client site to boost SEO.
  • Commenters stress these are legally empty threats but psychologically effective, since many people panic at anything “official.”

Responses to Legal Threats

  • Suggested checks: search bar registries, wait to see if real court action follows, or send a firm reply (sometimes via friendly lawyer) to discourage trolls.
  • Some claim to ignore or push back on all such threats with success; others warn this approach would fail in real civil litigation.

DMCA, Copyright, and Trolling

  • DMCA is criticized as asymmetric: huge penalties for infringement, little cost for fraudulent claims.
  • Site operators report frequent image copyright demands, many scammy, some legitimate, and a minority exploiting Creative Commons nuances (e.g., NC or attribution requirements) for settlements.
  • Debate over whether such enforcement is “extortion” or legitimate protection of photographers’ rights.

AI, Crypto, and Scam Ecosystems

  • Multiple commenters see generative AI following crypto: high hype plus easy automation leads to spam, scams, and legal shakedowns.
  • Others note this is partly just capitalism and copyright complexity, not unique to AI.

Fake / Dubious AI Conferences

  • One tangent discusses suspicion about a “GenAI summit” (huge claimed attendance, weak social presence, broken links).
  • Some evidence suggests the event space is actually booked and a smaller prior event existed, but capacity claims (30k attendees) appear exaggerated and confusing.