Why can't we program our <something> support departments to act on information they're given? Why do we need to program these departments like they're half AI zombies?
For all we know, they DID act on the information given... and sent him down a pointless rabbit hole to prevent him actually taking the correct steps to address the problem. After all, Netflix is in the wrong here... and I don't know of any corporation who will happily assist someone in filing a grievance against themselves. On the contrary, if someone is sending repeated emails about something that could potentially be a lawsuit, I'd guess my lawyer would advise the same thing -- ignore it unless they actually file paperwork.
Think of it like getting pulled over for speeding -- Everyone knows you did something wrong. But when the officer says, "Do you know how fast you were going?", do you respond with "Yes, officer, I was going 31 in a 25. Please give me my ticket now." No, you admit no wrong and hope they don't push it so you get away with it.
Because it is in Netflix best interest if he doesn’t get a laywer. He said the images can easily go up to $600 and I believe this is truly what he would have gotten if they asked. Now since he they took it without asking, he probably could get a lot more (it is after all used as promotional material and there are a lot of ads for it). If Netflix wanted the copyright infringement to go away as quickly, and cheaply as possible, they would just pay him without lawyers on his part who would probably advice him to go to court.
You’re analogy with the police office is a bad one for this example. Image you dumped another can without you realizing that. Fortunately for you, the other person does not call the police immediately. Instead, they manage to track you down and send you a letter asking you to pay for the damages. You can assert that this did in fact happen because their paint is on your car. This is in your best interest. You really don’t want to get charged for a hit and run. You are glad he did not go to the police, pay the damages and send a nice apology letter. Netflix probably did not know about the copyright infringement. It probably was made by a design company. Netflix should have know whom the VGA cassette originates from, but they did not and this is unfortunate but can happen. It is in netflix’s best internet to go away silently.
What I believe had happened is that he was sent to the wrong department. That department saw the email and though it was not authentic/a fake to quickly export money or baseless. A company must get a lot of emails: “you owe me money because xyz”.
> A company most get a lot of emails: “you owe me money because xyz”
That is my point. It is their best interest (although not best ethics, arguably) to ignore and deflect such people unless they take further action to prove they are serious. At that point, someone from their legal department would certainly take a look, and in this specific case, act on it. I agree with your statements once someone has shown they are serious. But a call to CS and a couple emails don't yet put this guy in that category, despite his totally legitimate complaint.
Why can't we program our <something> support departments to act on information they're given? Why do we need to program these departments like they're half AI zombies?