Posted on 06/19/2002 1:54:11 PM PDT by Jim Robinson
I just received official word that our settlement with the LAT/WP in their alleged copyright infringement and unfair competion suit against Free Republic (click Source link above for complete history of the case) is completely finalized with the court. I do not have a copy of the final order yet, but the basic terms are as follows:
- Unless we receive prior written permission on an article by article basis, Free Republic agrees to continue posting only excerpts (as allowed by fair use) and links from any of the LAT/WP or related publications.
- Free Republic agrees to remove all full text copies of any LAT/WP and related publications copyrighted articles from its archives and servers and to destroy all copies of same.
- Neither party is awarded any damages, attorney fees or costs except that Free Republic agrees to pay the Los Angeles Times $5,000 and the Washington Post $5,000 (these negotiated amounts have already been paid).
I will post the entire final order including the list of related publications as soon as I receive a copy and get it scanned in.
Well, my fingers are not cold and dead and my keyboard has not been ripped away. While this is not entirely a win for FR, neither is it a crushing defeat. Free Republic is alive and well and the fight against liberalism continues on. It's a crying shame that the hallowed words of the WP/LAT will no longer grace our pages, but, somehow, I am sure we will manage to live on without them.
And despite what our detractors may say, we have not committed any crimes or broken any laws and we have not admitted to any guilt. We have negotiated a mutual agreement and settlement with the LAT/WP and have agreed upon satisfactory terms for continuing forward without having to spend the rest of our lives in court.
Many thanks to all of you for your past and continuing support.
Regards.
Jim Robinson
In all probability, the fees charged those papers for the _initial drafts_ of the complaints they ultimately filed were well in excess of $5K each. This thing cost them big bucks. And they have nothing to show for it other than some bad publicity.
but,
Freedom Is Worth Fighting For !!
Molon Labe !!
I hate those scumbags. I hope that every freeper who presently subscribes to either of these foul liberal fish-wrappers will immediately cancel. Personally, I will never click on one of their links again.
But congratulations on getting this mess resolved. They tried to kill Free Republic (they would never have gone after a popular liberal site this way) and they failed miserably. I really hope these papers go under, and soon.
I do need to ask, once again ... where the hell were Mark Levin, Larry Klayman and the Rutheford Institute to support this site in a George Foreman-Calista Flockhart type resource contest? The "great one" my ass.
Onward and upward! I never really wanted to read the LA Times or Washington Post anyway. I like reading the responses more than I like reading the articles ... although I am a bit excited about the next scoop from Janet Cooke. She's like Steely Dan. One artistic triumph every 15 years. It's once in a career for Carl Bernstein. But, in a quest for new challenges, he's been 86ed out of more Manhattan taverns than Christopher Hitchens has stumbled into. THAT'S an impact player.
Despite all the rancor, Jim, all the ill will and bitterness over this campaign of petty bullying by the Post and Times, I think it is time to bury the hatchet and send along my best regards to the ongoing health, happiness and impeccable journalistic integrity of Katie Graham, William Rasberry and Ben Bradlee.
Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown
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