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

[BreitbartSentMe]

Yea, I think MineralMan is right, the Fair Use clause that allows us to use news stories here would not apply to the Onion, because all their 'news' items are pure fiction or satire (That's not to say that what's posted in the LA Times isn't also pure fiction, most of the time, or any of Hitlery's books also)

[Tijeras_Slim]

THIS MEANS WAR!

[mountaineer]

We conservatives who respect others' property rights should be more consistent (this is not directed at you specifically in any way, PL - just my general observation). A copyright is a form of ownership of certain property, in these cases, written material. I'm not sure why we can't do with the Onion or any publication what we've been instructed to do with WP and LAT articles, namely, post an excerpt and link to the full article. The copyright holders wouldn't object to that.

So we'd have to make one extra mouse click. It's really not that labor-intensive. Yes, Jim battled the WP and LAT - and it cost $$$. Why go through that again? (I can't comment on the legal defense fund. Perhaps someone with knowledge of it should post an accounting).

[Billthedrill]

OK, it's their call. Pity, though - nearly all their hits from me have been through FR. Now there will be none.

[Constitution Day]

LMAO! That is an old one. Thanks for the link, I have bookmarked it.

[SerpentDove]

A while back, I posted the one about "Owner of Complete Set of 'Mama's Family' Videos vows Never to Go On Ebay Drunk Again."

A classic.

Dear Sean Mills, we're FANS! Not trying to rip you off, but promote you! Oh well.

[thoughtomator]

Seems to me the biggest issue is the posting of images that are still hosted by their servers. That way, they use up the bandwidth, but they don't get the hits for advertisement sales. I can understand their point of view.

You might want to ask how they feel about reposting of article content under fair use, without the Onion-hosted images.

[MalcolmS]

Am I to be understandin' these scurvy knaves are accusin' us of web piracy! Of all the nerve, on today of all days!

Ready the grappling hooks, load the cannon. I thinks a boarding party be in order! Arrrrr!


Talk Like A Pirate Day Thread

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/985555/posts

[Willie Green]

Please so not post anything from The Onion.

I never cared much for Onion satires anyway.
Too much potty "humor", irreverent pope bashing, etc. etc.
Very little that's truly creatively funny.
I hope you give them the VDARE treatment instead of allowing excerpts like the LAT/WP.

[Bikers4Bush]

They were getting less and less humorous anyway.

No great loss really.

[MrLeRoy]

"Fair use" also applies to fiction.

[jimt]

Bump.

[ctlpdad]

http://www.theonion.com/onion3110/petacommandos.html

[mewzilla]

Note to The Onion: It's your loss...

[Constitution Day]

NO MERCY.

[PRND21]

Darn shame they're limiting their exposure this way. Sigh...

My thoughts exactly. Bad business decision.

[Sub-Driver]

will excerpt's suffice?

[Born Conservative]

I will no longer read The Onion.

[Drago]

---

From: Webmaster at www.appetizer.com
To: Tijeras_Slim, Free Republic, et. al.
Please refrain from using our copyrighted image of onion rings at http://www.appetizer.com/images/breaded_or.jpg

---

The above may be next...look out Tijeras!

http://www.appetizer.com/copyright.htm

[HighWheeler]

Well, the first time I ever heard of the site was from clicking the link to the story from a posting on FR.

I've only gone there after FR has posted a story. Usually I forget about them.