Copyright infringement complaint from The Onion

Email from The Onion | 09/19/03 | Sean Mills

[Jim Robinson]

Subject: Copyright infringement

Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2003 16:27:04 -0400

From: Sean Mills smills@theonion.com

To: webmaster@freerepublic.com

Dear Free Republic,

It has come to our attention that you have published a number of pieces of Onion content at:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/keyword/onion

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/k-onion/browse

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/583819/posts

This material was published in THE ONION and the images you are presenting are being served by our servers. The material that you are publishing was published without permission of ONION, INC. Further, the material is copyrighted. You have infringed on our copyright and we, therefore, demand that you immediately cease and desist from any further use of the copyrighted material and remove the material from your website. In addition, you may not use the material in any other manner whatsoever.

Please understand that we anticipate your full and immediate cooperation in this matter. Also, please understand that we do not hesitate to enforce our rights in these situations.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Sean Mills

[inquest]

All the Onion wants is for their work to be read from their website.

And they're going to get a lot less of that because of their stupid control-freak ways. Simple as that.

[Diverdogz]

It is much easier to read articles when they are posted in their entirety here - but if they ask us to stop, how can we say no? We've fought that battle already and I don't think it's winnable.

But I doubt every publication will ask us to stop, but the list may grow to a point where it is unmanageable to remember which papers we can or cannot post from.

[Cicero]

Shortsighted of them. I'm sure FR has widely increased their readership.

[Cyber Ninja]

Yuppers: http://www.coasttocoastam.com/timages/page/Tree_MillCreek.jpg

[Keith in Iowa]

Goes to show a picture can be worth a thousand words...

[pyx]

He (David Schafer) did that by bringing on Sean Mills, who had run an interactive advertising agency in San Francisco.

Ah, San Fransisco, that bastion of fair minded journalism. Nope. There's nothing political in this decision.
< / sarcasm off >

[middie]

Copyright law requires that the holder protect the property on a universal basis or else the broad protection may be deemed waived. A holder places his enforcement rights in jeopardy if he allows some infringers to do so unchallenged while at the same time he places others on notice to desist.

The law frowns on persons "sitting on their rights" and allowing others to invade them and then seeking to vindicate those rights when some other person does an act that constitutes the same or similar invasion. The Onion is absolutely correct in its notice and FR is indeed at risk with posters taking inappropriate license to post without considering the lawfully protected rights of others.

[Diverdogz]

I dont' want a flame war, either. But I don't think it would hurt for people to reflect for a few minutes on how silly these rants against the Onion are. Maybe, they didn't write their letter in gentle enought terms for some of the extremely sensitive, thin-skinned Freepers.

Up until today, we thought the site was hilarious. A quick keyword searh of 'Onion' reveals tons of article whre we laughed at the humor and ourselves for foolishly taking the articles seriously without checking the source. Now some claim it was never funny. Talk about whiney!

[mrustow]

"Well, there goes my patronage of the onion. I used to go theref 2 - 3 times per week. "

I know I went there everytime I saw an article from them posted here. If it wasn't for the occasional Freeper article, I'd forget about them completely.

Ditto.

[Diverdogz]

Perhaps they could have had a polite, kind explanation for why they must ask us to cease and desist, but I bet lawyers have a great reason not to do that.

Was it a good business decision? Probably so. When it was posted here, we had no reason to go to their site. Many freepers will now go to their site to read it anyway - so long as it is funny. Thus far, it has been.

[inquest]

When it was posted here, we had no reason to go to their site.

Sure we did. We went to the site to read more material. Moreso than most other sources of threads, I'd wager.

Many freepers will now go to their site to read it anyway - so long as it is funny.

Not judging by the comments here. Even those who don't deliberately boycott it will simply have fewer reminders of its existence.

[Diverdogz]

Good explanation.

[Plutarch]

Heck, thanks to FR exposure I actually subscribed to the print edition of The Onion.

I am going to cancel my subscription. Onion comes out a loser on this.

[Lazamataz]

Up until today, we thought the site was hilarious. A quick keyword searh of 'Onion' reveals tons of article whre we laughed at the humor and ourselves for foolishly taking the articles seriously without checking the source. Now some claim it was never funny. Talk about whiney!

FREEPERS CALLED 'WHINEY'
Other Freepers React Strongly

[Lazamataz]

Copyright law requires that the holder protect the property on a universal basis or else the broad protection may be deemed waived. A holder places his enforcement rights in jeopardy if he allows some infringers to do so unchallenged while at the same time he places others on notice to desist.

You are correct sir. This is probably not anything even resembling a political decision.

Nonetheless, I hope those liberal mamby-pamby neosocialist Marxist bastards at the Onion curl up and get herpes.

Um, with me, of course. Cuz I need the sex.

[Lazamataz]

>>And my finger is raised.
Would that be the second digit raised from an otherwise closed fist?

HuhWha?

[Diverdogz]

I suspect that once everyone's misplaced anger susides, Freepers will start posting excerpts with links to their site much like we do Washington Post/LA Times. All the Onion has to do is post a funny article poking fun at Gray Davis, Bustemonte, Wes Clark....whomever. We'll run there as fast as we race to a Hitlary scandal Drudge Siren.

[Lazamataz]

Freepers will start posting excerpts with links

NO WE WON'T!!! Did we do it with Washington Post? Did we do it with LA Times? NO! NEVER! A THOUSAND TIMES NEVER I SAY!

[RightWhale]

All the Onion has to do is post a funny article poking fun at Gray Davis, Bustemonte, Wes Clark....

Like that will happen.

[Diverdogz]

Now that looks like an Onion Story headline!

Let it be known that Lazamataz is a fungi.