Posted on 01/06/2011 10:55:27 AM PST by Jim Robinson
Righthaven founder Steve Gibson is going after copyright infringers using the murky legal definition of fair use to power a sue-first strategy. Yet with sharing tools booming online, could clicking a Like button lead to a lawsuit?
Every year billions in wagers are laid down in the gambling halls of Las Vegas. Last spring, however, one local company, Righthaven LLC, started a new game by betting on the unlikeliest of entities in the local courts — print media. By aggressively suing alleged copyright infringers, Righthaven has taken the shooter position in an consequential game of craps that is sure to impact the future of online media, if not the entire Internet. Meanwhile, newspapers, bloggers, lawyers, and civil liberty groups have all flocked to the table to place bets of their own — and see if they can change the odds.
Formed this past spring, Righthaven is the brainchild of CEO and Las Vegas-based lawyer Steve Gibson. Though Gibson declines to elaborate on Righthaven's relationship with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, its first client, the newspaper itself has reported that they invested in and contracted with the self-described technology firm. Righthaven is owned by two entities: Net Sortie Systems, a Las Vegas-based limited liability company owned by Gibson, and SI Content Monitor, an Arkansas-based LLC owned by the Stephens family, which also owns the Review-Journal. "We have a holistic approach to deal with unauthorized reproductions and attempt to strike a balance between the ocean of the infringements out there and what the content owner provides," says Gibson.
(Excerpt) Read more at tech.fortune.cnn.com ...
Bump.....
That alone should be grounds for tossing out every last Righthaven lawsuit regarding the Review-Journal.
See also:
Righthaven Q&A: C&D letters don’t stop infringement
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/01/06/righthaven-qa-cd-letters-dont-stop-infringement/
The solution is simple: loser pays.
Hope they get sued to oblivion.
One thing you have to remember is that you can't copyright facts. The wording yes, but not the information.
If the Review reports Harry Reid slipped on a banana peel or whatever, rewrite the story -- which is not hard -- and you are safe. Don't give them a link. Don't even give them an attribution.
Make it a point with any dino media organization.
The exposure FR gives is a lot more valuable than they would even dream of admitting.
Your idea of rewriting articles is a good one — but, not without attribution. Even better, attribute to more than one source. A link isn't necessary — just something like: “according to ....”
If, for instance, a blogger just paraphrases what's written, he is likely to blow his credibility on day one. Better to paraphrase the article, attribute to the source, and then say something like: “if this is so ....” before opining on it.
LMAO, Righthaven asks people to share their material by giving you a button to click, then turns around and sues them?
LOL. Good point :-)
Your idea of rewriting articles is a good one — but, not without attribution.
OK, "high-ranking sources" :-) Hey, sauce for the goose.
But seriously, that's a good point too. Just cite the source used in the newspaper article: "Harry Reid slipped on a banana peel this morning according to a Las Vegas Police Department spokesman. A spokesman for the senator said that Reid will be filing suit tomorrow against Chiquita Brands Inc., the importer of the fruit."
If you really want to use the name of the pub that shouldn't get anyone in trouble, it just why do them the favor?
Maybe the powers-that-be here can even set it up so they can confirm stories are from a legit source before publishing without the source being seen by the readers.
You can rewrite facts but you shouldn’t rewrite quotes (even though the leftist media has their ways of distorting both).
I see nothing wrong with the way Free Republic and many other discussion board sites do things.
Righthaven is simply trying to intimidate anybody they can with C&D letters and hope they can eventually make money off the ones who refuse to cooperate.
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