Copyright Infringement Suits Against Individual Message Bd. Posters

[chanel]

Las Vegas copyright enforcement company Righthaven LLC is now suing individual message-board posters, not just website operators.

Righthaven, which files copyright infringement lawsuits over unapproved online postings of material from the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Denver Post, filed seven infringement lawsuits Tuesday and Wednesday in U.S. District Court for Nevada, lifting its lawsuit total since March to at least 203.

Among the defendants sued Monday were message board posters identified as James Higgins and Wayne Hoehn.

Both the madjacksports and Google sites are somewhat protected from copyright lawsuits because they have posted "DMCA" notices as required by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. These notices, which must be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, inform copyright holders who to contact if they would like infringing material removed.

An attorney for Righthaven on Wednesday said those notices don't apply to individual website users who violate copyrights by posting material online without authorization.

As usual in its lawsuits, Righthaven demands $150,000 in damages from both Higgins and Hoehn.

Righthaven extends copyright lawsuit campaign to individual Web posters - Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011 | 4:33 p.m. - Las Vegas Sun

Uh oh.

 

[uscitizen]

I have copyrighted bothe
"Palintologists" and "The Church of Palintology"

 

[iamwhatiseem]

WHich is why it is always important to source quotes, and not claim something as your own.

 

[Trajan]

I think its ridiculous in that once their newpaper or online posting are sent out or made and they have a registration (even if its free) to see the article, what? I am in cali. I am going to order a Denver newspaper to read the whole story or take the time to register to see one whole article? And if I read it online they lose how? By me not going to their site and they don’t garner a ‘click’ to satisfy their ad revenue calcs? I just won’t go there at all, they get the click when someone originally sees the article then copies it for posting. IF they had a totally free or non reg. required view, yes I would go and see the whole article, so in the end, the registration thing imho is a detriment.

I realize that print is struggling but this isn’t the answer.

 

[Trajan]

WHich is why it is always important to source quotes, and not claim something as your own.

was it strictly a source issue? I thought it read as a posting issue period(?)

 

[chanel]

It was.

Righthaven said Hoehn posts as "Dogs that Bark" on the website madjacksports.com, where Righthaven says that since 1999 Hoehn has posted about 18,000 items. Among those, the lawsuit says, was an unauthorized copy of a Review-Journal column called "Public employee pensions -- we can't afford them."

That post, records show, credited the Review-Journal and columnist Sherman Frederick.

 

[rdean]

I guess the right will have to stop posting. Unless all those bullet points they memorized aren't copyrighted.

 

[JBeukema]

*glances over at PC*

 

[California Girl]

I guess the right will have to stop posting. Unless all those bullet points they memorized aren't copyrighted.

I doubt that you - as an individual (because I am capable of recognizing individuals) could remember your name without prompting. Hack.

 

[Modbert]

*glances over at PC*

 

[Missourian]

Add a DMCA notice to your signature?

 

[Jackson]

WHich is why it is always important to source quotes, and not claim something as your own.

I believe it is more than that. I understand for Associated Press articles, you cannot even qquote them, just provide the link and the title of the Article. Perhaps that is what you do for all copyrighted material, but AP is the worst about prosecuting. JMO

 

[chanel]

I hope Righthaven doesn't work for the Las Vegas Sun. Um Modbert - Do you think we should delete this whole thread?

 

[editec]

When copyright laws serve only to prevent people from seriously discussing the news (which is what happens in places like these) then the copyright laws need to change.

Obviously, given who I am, I truly object to copyright infringement...but what happens here is NO THREAT to the property rights of the authors and publishers of newpapers.

 

[midcan5]

I find some of the debate over copyright self defeating. Wouldn't an author, a business or other entity want readers and participants who provide advertising for each. Having your name out there can help so long as attribution is given and it is clear where any information comes from. Many sites have 'fair use' comments which makes it a bit simpler.

U.S. Copyright Office - Fair Use

"The distinction between fair use and infringement may be unclear and not easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission.

The 1961 Report of the Register of Copyrights on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law cites examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use: “quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author’s observations; use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied; summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report; reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy; reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson; reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports; incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported.” "

 

[JBeukema]

People forget the point of copyright