We received an email from Ted Rall, the cartoonist who called our war against the Taliban a "genocide" and belongs to the Michael Moore-Ward Churchill school of supporters of the Zarqawi "resistance" in Iraq. Rall also made a name for himself by referring to fallen American war hero Pat Tillman as an "idiot." -- The Editors
Here is his email:
Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2005 7:44 PM
Subject: URGENT: Cease and Desist Notice
Dear Mr. Horowitz:
It has come to my attention that you have, without obtaining written or other permission, posted a publicity photograph of myself, apparently copied from my website, to your site Discover the Network (http://www.discoverthenetwork.org). This photograph is copyrighted material. Your act violates U.S. Copyright Law, which provides for damages up to $150,000 plus attorney's fees.
I therefore request that you take the following actions on or before 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Friday, February 25, 2005:
1. Remove said photograph from your website.
2. Agree to remit the sum of $5,000.00 as payment for your unauthorized use of said photograph, with such payment via money order to be received within three (3) business days at my address in New York, New York.
3. Sign a notarized stipulation agreeing not to post my copyrighted material in the future.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this urgent matter.
Sincerely,
Ted Rall
We are flattered to receive Rall's "cease and desist" notice since he has made no such demand to "American Traitor" where the same photo is posted today. We'll just have to guess why Rall finds being posted in a database on the left more offensive than being called a traitor.
The offending profile of Rall can be read here.
Date: February 24, 2005 2:06:57 AM PST
To: Tedrall@aol.comSubject: Re: URGENT: Cease and Desist Notice
Dear Mr. Rall,
I represent David Horowitz, and am writing to respond to your email below. I am informed that the "publicity photograph" was not copied from your website, contrary to your surmise. It appears to be in the public domain. If you dispute this, please promptly furnish me with a copy of your copyright registration.
Even if the photo is copyrighted, its use in FrontPageMagazine.com appears to qualify as a fair use. The nature and purpose of the use is news reporting and commentary in an Internet publication for nonprofit educational purposes. The very nature of a "publicity photo" suggests that it is ordinarily intended to be used without obtaining permission in advance. Moreover, it does not appear that the effect of the use would be to decrease the value of the photo, which appears to have been widely circulated in many sources. Accordingly, we believe a court would find this use of the photo to be "fair" under Section 107 of the Copyright Law.
Based on the foregoing reasons, your three requests are hereby rejected. We would be willing to consider any further information you care to provide, including a copy of any copyright registration.
Manuel S. Klausner
