One of the two Las Vegas daily newspapers, the Review-Journal, said in an editorial on June 1 that the newspaper would not tolerate any blogs that reprint a few sentences of a Review-Journal news story and then link to that story. A few weeks later, it sued at least 80 blogs for copyright infringement. The link to the story itself is not a problem, but the newspaper didn’t like any part of its story being reprinted. Technically the plaintiff was not the Review-Journal itself, but a corporation called Righthaven LLC.
One of the unlucky blogs was Independent Political Report, which was sued for $75,000 on July 8 in federal court in Las Vegas. IPR had printed a few lines of the Review-Journal story and then linked to the newspaper’s full story. Reportedly the suit was settled by IPR’s paying $4,000. That settlement penalty, in BAN’s opinion, is a grossly disproportionate punishment for a very common practice, and a very unjust outcome. It is possible that IPR itself is muzzled from mentioning this outcome because of the terms of the settlement. IPR did not reveal this news to BAN and has not mentioned the incident.
Wow! That IS bad news! $4,000 must be a pretty big chunk of change for IPR.
Here’s an article about this copyright trolling scheme.
So, if a high school student writes and blurb as a current event and then post it on his blog will he be sued? How much of an article can you quote with proper citation before you are in violation?
Here is a link to an article that lists the papers that this organization owns. I suggest that a boycott of all of them as much as possible. http://libertypundits.net/article/no-lawyers-stephens-media-llc-righthaven-llc-and-bloggers/
Richard (and others),
Do you think our friends at IPR would welcome one of us
going over and announcing on one (or more) of their
current threads that something bad has happened to IPR
and that for details they should have a look at ballot-
access.org?
#5- I actually thought the same thing but then figured the Las Vegas Hammer & Sickle Gazette would figure out a new way to screw them if the subject was mentioned on their site. Perhaps Richard can advise…
Richard,
This article was reposted (with link) at http://www.freepatriot-press.com/2010/08/ipr-pays-steep-penalty-for-minor-so.html
Thanks for all these comments. I’m at a loss to know what is good to do. I called Trent Hill twice to ask him what he wants, but he didn’t call me back. I called Darcy Richardson and he hadn’t known anything about it.
U.S. copyright law has a provision commonly known as “fair use”. If what the defendants really did was quote one or two paragraphs, with attribution (and a link to the rest of the article is clearly a form of attribution), then they are protected by federal statute and the suit is groundless. Did they really settle out of fear of losing at trial, or did they settle because of the expense of defending themselves (and defending the statute in the process).
On the other hand, perhaps some of them were sued for quoting passages longer than is permitted under the fair use provision. If I understand the law correctly, that would be more than a couple of paragraphs.
The fair use doctrine does not specify a number of paragraphs that may be used. There are several factors that go into determining whether something is a fair use. One of those factors is the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole. More than a couple of paragraphs may still be fair use, but it depends on the content of those paragraphs, the content and length of the rest of the work, and the other fair use factors.
Here’s a primer on fair use:
http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html
and some usually reliable Silver State sources.
Little of this is first hand information.
The majority is second hand or even third hand news!
As far back as REPUBLICAN official Astin founded THIRD Party News, Constitution Party zealot Cody Quirk was notorious on printing stuff with out his bi line?
Big deal, big scheal? Well yeah. Four decades ago the world’s most renown print media campus and it’s J (ournalism) School told me that a lack of a bi line proclaims loud and clear to the globe that the following verbiage was an official endorsement!
This is not new news. It is not unknown to ‘edumacated’ or ‘with it’ individuals. It is also logical and common scencal!
I am the ‘bad guy’ as I have fought FOR YEARS to have Quirk and others ‘knock it off’! Quirk especially continues the unethical, [and apparently illegal] subterfuge.
I have labeled the ‘world’s oldest living eleven year old’ as an agent provocateur FOR YEARS! Unsympathetic co-conspirators: Lib / Israel First American Zionist Californian Bruce Cohen, Lib / vagabond petition master ‘paulie’ and Louisiana Lib / Constitution Party mole Trent Hill!
Along with Nevadian Cody Quirk, these folks
[a] knew of Quirk’s multi year abuse via both TPW and IPR, and did little or nothing, often heaping abuse upon ‘moi’
[b] knew of [apparently] the strange, illogical jump of strings from the bi lined ‘front page’ (a term I only know from being the former national editor of the Deform Party *sarcasm* monthly print house organ) to resultant viewings.
[c] so even if a ‘front page’ [not my term and a ‘computer term’ that I (having authored and taught various electronic communications) am not familiar with] has a bi line the THOUSANDS of resulting viewing do not!
[d] Quirk is no longer [quite recently] associated with IPR
[e] with the possible exception of the dishonest, unethical sneakie, snide, snarkie remarks on my person and associated organization(s) by some one monikered ‘Don Lake’s Mom’
[f] that sainted lady died in the 20th Century
[g] told ya so, told ya so
Wow…
I shall be more careful…
stick to posting my original often misspelled comments…
and link to orignal article.
Green Party fan, have you had news press releases aimed at you? Have you been sneaky and then repeatedly told to fly right and fly straight?
Like Cody Quirk, we are talking self inflicted wounds! ‘we have met the enemy and he is us!’ —- walt kelly, ‘Pogo’ 1963
Hmmmmmmmmmm, Here one day, gone the next!
Banned Cody Quirk has an Orange County [California] ally named Bill Lussenheide. Former Sgt Lussenheide (USAF), he of the fakey dakey [my opinion] Constitution Party ‘Veterans Association’
Cody ‘Don Lake’s Mom’ Quirk is not longer associated with INDEPENDENT Political Report, and Lussenheide’s commentary is pulled as of today, hours after the BAN and freepatriot commentaries.
……… I’m just saying
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The situation continues to worsen.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/aug/12/righthaven-reaches-settlements-2-cases-over-r-j-co/
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