Dallas Fire Rescue Sued for Copyright Infringement

An EMS trainer is suing Dallas Fire Rescue and two individuals alleging copyright infringement for copying and sharing his training materials. Jon Puryear EMS CE, LLC filed suit in US District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

The suit names Dallas Fire-Rescue, Joseph Piper – who is identified as DFR’s EMS Liaison, and Richard Attar as defendants. The suit alleges “copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. § 501; breach of contract; circumvention of copyright protection systems under 17 U.S.C. § 1203; computer fraud and abuse under 18 U.S.C. § 1030(g); and the Texas Harmful Access by Computer statute.”

Puryear claims that a whistleblower alerted him to the fact that his materials were being shared. The materials included video-based training including a copy of a live 16-hour program. As alleged in the complaint:

• The discovery of the unauthorized distribution of the Curriculum led to a lengthy investigation.
• On information and belief, Defendant Richard Attar originally gained access to the Curriculum pursuant to a limited license, but later, without authorization, Attar circumvented Plaintiff’s security system to obtain unauthorized digital copies of the Curriculum.
• On information and belief, Attar provided the digital copies of the Curriculum to Defendant Joseph Piper, the Dallas Fire-Rescue EMS Liaison.
• On information and belief, Piper was involved in distributing the digital copies of the Curriculum that were handed out to students in November 2022. Piper asked the instructor to provide the flash drives to the students.
• The investigation revealed the Curriculum was copied and distributed to students at least 213 times.
• Defendants have shared the Curriculum with others, and then those individuals continued to share the Curriculum. Fire Department EMS Chiefs have told Puryear they were aware of the infringement, and have advised Puryear to take legal action.
• Puryear has had strangers approach him and admit they used his materials to pass the NREMT exam without paying for the course. These individuals have contacted Puryear stating they already watched Plaintiff’s 16-hour NREMT Prep course without paying for it.
• Defendants have used and freely distributed the Curriculum without permission of Plaintiff, and/or committed contributory or vicarious copyright infringement.
• Defendants, alone or in concert, have circumvented a technological measure that effectively controls access to a protected work.
• Defendants, alone or in concert, breached the license agreement by copying the Curriculum without authorization, and exceeding the terms of the license.
• Defendants, alone or in concert, unlawfully distributed the Curriculum repeatedly and without authorization in excess of the license agreement.
• Without authorization, Defendants, alone or in concert, obtained the Curriculum from a protected computer, a computer which is used in interstate commerce or communication. Defendants, alone or in concert, engaged in the knowing transmission of a program, information, code or command designed to steal the Curriculum in excess of the license.

The complaint seeks damages, costs and attorney’s fees as well as injunctive relieve against the defendants.