Intellectual Property Law

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Interviews "Spam King" Robert Soloway

By Michael Atkins

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer today ran a great feature arising out of “Spam King” Robert Soloway’s first local interview.

The paper portrayed Mr. Soloway’s story as one of rags-to-riches-to-rags.

He suffers from Tourette’s syndrome and was the unpopular kid in high school. He found social acceptance on the Internet, then lots of money — $700,000 to $800,000 per year once his spam business got going.

As the P-I put it:

“He once thought nothing of jetting to Vegas and tipping a cabbie $1,000.

“But in the year since his May 2007 arrest, he had to find a job and worked for a while in a leather-cleaning factory for $9 an hour. The feds seized his Prada, Versace, Gucci and Armani jackets, forcing him to shop the clearance rack in Macy’s when he needed a winter coat.

“He once owned a fleet of luxury cars, but his last one, a Mercedes SL 500, was repossessed, so he now walks or takes the bus. He eats at McDonald’s. He spends much of his time in the company of his lawyer….”

Despite losing his life in the fast lane, Mr. Soloway says he’s happier than he ever was and that he’s sorry for what he did.

For the most part.

“I’m not minimizing what I did, but the fact is, it is just an e-mail,” he told the paper. “If it does become a nuisance, get a spam filter. You can get them for free.”

STL’s July 22 coverage of the Western District’s sentencing of Mr. Soloway to 47 months in prison here. 

Photo credit: Andy Rogers / Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Full post as published by Seattle Trademark Lawyer on August 05, 2008 (boomark / email).