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
If people don't like the electronic blocking they don't have to use it. Thanks for your warnings, but I look forward to it.
At first, that is what it was: a slap-suit, meant to silence the strongest voice against the Clinton corruption. The archival issue, to keep the truth alive and available, made the defense for this website's method imparative for our nation's future. But due to the dilegence of the defense, the truth stood long enough to endure, your method was protected enough to be used again by a patriot such as yourself.
What has changed now is the community and its activism is now more important than an archive of commonly known truth. No less than the Boston Sons of Liberty or the Minutemen, the Community of FreeRepublic.com stands for all to marvel at and join or duplicate.
Anyone doing much in the way of legal battles will always tell us that a fair settlement is better than a good lawsuit appeal trial when the outcome is never certain. Your practice of Politics as the Art of the Possible follows great conservative precedent.
You, your current legal team, your original legal team including Clarity and all that have stood by you deserve our gratitude. The risk you took and the courage you displayed in enduring the sword of that original-judgement/pending-appeal-settlement hanging over your, and your family's, head was an example OF SUPREME COURAGE to us all. The major benefit of that risk fell to us, the user's of your forum, to the country at the time of the recount, and only periferily, to the copyright issues you were trying to defend.
Eagles Up, FOREVER!
If such a feature is implemented, I think a great strength of Free Republic will be lost, and we will be divided into little in-groups and miss many good comments and rebukes from members who we have some grudge against.
I can not reccommend more strongly against such a feature.
We don't have to go to that extreme, IMO. We all have the ability to NOT read or comment on a post, to close the browser window, or hit the "back" button. Just as we have the ability to ignore the WP/LAT by reading our news elsewhere.
I hate to break this to you, they can do it already. The only thing to be added is the ability to prevent having to download the bytes that you are going to ignore anyway. For example, I completely ignore anything that comes from MurryMom and quite a few others.
Are you against people installing devices to filter out phone solicitors too?
Ditto that. When employees from the Slimes or Compost get free rides on Air Force 1, have access to private meetings with government officials on government properety, are invited to limited attendence government functions, their work product from those exclusive benefits becomes public domain not copyrighted property of a private for-profit corporation.
I bet that made reading it a lost faster!
I'm just anti-clique. The more heard from the better, while bouncing those who can't maintain a respectabkle manner for any length of time.
You reminded me about the best investment I made this year. I forgot about the Phone Zapper that blocks unwanted calls from those who call trying to sell me something and then sends them a signal that my line has been discontinued.
John Robinson's "kill switch" will be like my beloved Phone Zapper on Free Republic!
I probably will not block MurrayMom. Her innane threads and replies are great comic relief.
Now, if you are saying that you are against global killfiles, that groups of people can use, then I am more in agreement with you.
I having this issue with a Bravo Sierra Alpha Libertarian. At first I told him to stop sending me emails slamming our president for everything. He went ballastic. So I blocked his emails, and he started calling me. So I don't answer his calls when I see that he is the caller. He goes to my church and takes pot shots at President Bush whenever I walk by. I just ignore him. His wife and sons are about ready to leave him as he is an intolerable SOB at home. His actions are forcing others to take my actions, and he was told rather forcibly by a really big support of GW to knock off his unsolicited Bravo Sierra Attacks to people who don't want to hear his bilge!
I don't think it should be made easy, or the default, or that killfiles be easily shared -- such as by being global.
It's like this Steakhouse I used to go to. NO condiments on the table, and the chef/owner would come out and publicly berate you and ask you never to come back if you so much as asked for them.
To my mind, extensive use of killfiles would destroy the flavor of the Free Republic steak.
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