Misusing Copyright To Stifle Speech
from the again? dept
We've had a variety of stories lately about companies abusing the copyright law to stifle critics, and it seems that Disney is the latest practitioner. Against Monopoly points us to a story where a critic of some talk radio hosts was shut down by ABC/Disney by using copyright law. The individual in question had been sending detailed letters to advertisers of a Disney owned radio station, highlighting some of the statements he found objectionable by the radio station's hosts, who were also reading live promos from these advertisers. Apparently, the campaign was effective in getting some advertisers to pull their ads -- but rather than responding to the substance of the complaint, Disney forced the critic's website offline. In sending out these letters to advertisers the anonymous critic was linking to short audio clips to demonstrate his points -- and Disney filed a takedown notice, alleging copyright infringement. These were clearly fair use clips, but since Disney can spend lots of money and this guy can't defend against it by himself, his website got pulled. Also, since he wants to remain anonymous for fear of threats against him, he's worried about defending himself more strongly -- even though he knows he's right. Luckily, it sounds like the EFF is going to at least help him deal with the issue. Whether or not you agree with the guy, it seems like a pretty clear misuse of copyright law. He wasn't using the content to compete with the radio station in any way -- but to critique it.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
tactical change
Meanwhile it demonstrates that corporations like Disney can intimidate individuals, abuse laws and weild a corrupt influence. He should start a new website which tackles this as a single issue, publish the takedown notices and any other relevant evidence that demonstrates Disney has used fear tactics and silence him. In other words, use this as a positive result to further expose Disney for what it is.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Disney is bad
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Sharks coming out
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Posting Trial Audio on the Net
My solution is to expose judges who allow the law to be abused that way. The problem is not with the law or the lawyers. Lawyers are just doing what they are paid to do. Judges are the ones who are suposed to protect the law from abuse.
I expose bad judges by posting audio on the web from dirty court trials. Heres is a sample. http://www.justodians.org/Sounds/Weapons.htm
I am now promoting legislation that mandates all trial audio be posted on the web. Imagine if public trials could actually be heard by the public. The following link explains the idea.
http://www.justodians.org/ProjectCSPAN.htm
Best, John
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Lawyers
I despise lawyers as well, but we pay them to try every trick at their disposal when representing us. Judges on the other hand are the ones who are supposed to know the law and act honorably. That’s what we pay them to do. Judges are supposed to maintain an adversarial relationship with lawyers. They are public servants that are paid to interpret the law on behalf of the public. All the trouble starts when judges crawl into bed with lawyers.
www.justodians.org
www.rahwayworship.org
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
In other words,
1 - do something illegal (violate fair use)
2 - take it to court
3 - you might win by bullying, or by having a judge who doesn't understand the law adequately (it happens). Then you get to do it repeatedly, citing case law precedent.
4 - if you lose in court, it doesn't matter because you can go back to step 1, with slightly different wording and probably a different judge
The fact is that it was illegal, and the lawyers knew it before they went to court or started bullying.
In the USA, lawyers are "officers of the court". It means that, among other things, they have the responsibility not to break the law.
The courts, in cases like this, are to explain the meaning of laws that are ambiguous. Fair Use is not ambiguous - it is well established and tested.
Big companies are, in effect, trying to rewrite the law by establishing bad case law precedents.
Lately, they have been very successful.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
You're response would be absolutely right except for the assumption that what they did was illegal (some would say that the only reason for lawyers is that all laws can be interpreted in more than one way). The issue, in my mind anyway, is that the purpose of the courts in this case is to decide the validity of application of fair use. Although it's very clear to us the this is a fair use issue, as you noted there have been instances in which "obvious" cases of fair use have not been uphelded.
In the end I will stick by my original statement that it is the job of the court, not the corporation or corporate attorneys, to decide the outcome of this. Since there have been instances where corporate attorneys have been successful in achieving their end using this tactic, it would be illogical not to apply them here.
And, again, I in no way think Disney or its attorneys should win in court, but this is a matter that should be decided in that forum.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Justodians
If you're going to post audio clips and sound like some sort of moral superhero, don't push some sort of hidden agenda along.
Also, it's common knowledge that divorce negatively affects children, so if you really cared for your son, you wouldn't have even gone through the whole thing and resolved your differences with your wife.
As for Disney, it seems as though after the first Toy Story movie, the whole company underwent a change for the worst.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Justodians by anonymous
Thank you for your comment.
>John Shearing's website may have been setup for a good reason, but he points to a page that seems to be more of a rant against his wife than representative of what wrongs judges commit.Also, it's common knowledge that divorce negatively affects children, so if you really cared for your son, you wouldn't have even gone through the whole thing and resolved your differences with your wife.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Justodians by anonymous
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Big Money To Be Made Here
http://www.justodians.org/ProjectCSPAN.htm
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Walt was a Copyright Crook!
I know of at least two books by Ernest Thomson Seton that were STOLEN by Walt Disney himself. The two short stories, that were turned into movies, with absolutely no credits or payment to Thomson Seton are: "Lobo King of the Currumpaw" from the book 'Wild Animals I have Known', which then became Disney's "Lobo". The other one is "The Story of the Kindly Badger" in Thomson Seton's 'Wild Animals at Home'. I do not recall the name Disney gave the story.
'Lobo' is the story of how Thomson Seton himself killed a wolf that had a price on his head for killing cattle.
The story about the badger was a bout a little boy that got lost and 'became' a badger, and survived in the wild for a very long time, all by himself and his badger 'mom'.
Disney's excuse for the theft of intellectual property was that they had previously published a statement in some newspapers legal sections that "If you submit any manuscript to Disney that we did not request, we have the right to use it as our own, you will not receive any compensation for the manuscript, nor any credit as the author".
In other words they stole the property because "We said we will" or "We say so".
How many other works from other authors that they stole from this way I do not know.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Justodians
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Justodians
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Justodians
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Justodians
I looked at your material and I absolutely applaud your wish to modernise court proceedings and increase transparrency.
But, much like AC#16 I found the narrative confusing and it left me with the impression that you are dwelling on emotionally personal aspects. I am in no way suggesting your indignation isn't justified or that you have not been wronged by this. I just think that, as your sole example it does your otherwise laudable aims a disservice. In your position I would seek out other examples, from other people, that demonstrate abuse by errant judges.
As public servants I do believe that judges should be exposed to the highest levels of scrutiny. But I also think one needs to temper this with the need for sensitivity in such cases as rape trials. Are public records not already kept by recorders/scribes and available for public browsing in the USA?
I wonder, how does your son feel about the audio transcripts of this being available on the internet, potentially for his schoolfriends to hear?
In some measure I agree with AC#16 about ones responsibility to best protect your boy. Children are the absolute losers in any divorce and one must be careful not to let them become footballs in a game. I have seen many of my friends go through this recently and sometimes the most difficult thing to do is just suck up the poison from the most vindictive bitch from hell in order to put the needs of the one you truly love above everything else.
respectfully
btw AC#16, Pixar produced Toy Story, they were bought by Disney who realised that their hand animators could not compete with CGI production. Which is a shame imho, for both parties.
Also this story has gone ballistic, Kos, Slashdot, BoingBoing, Digg and everyone in the blogosphere is running with it and it looks like the racist radio station hosts are going to be publicly crucified.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Justodians
M. H. writes: "I wonder, how does your son feel about the audio transcripts of this being available on the internet, potentially for his schoolfriends to hear?" Answer: He doesn't know and names have been stripped out of the text.
M.H. writes: I agree with AC#16 about ones responsibility to best protect your boy. Answer: I agree too but there are thousands of children who are used as levers (abused) in court every year and denied contact with one parent or the other because of matters that have nothing to do with the parent's ability to care for the children (money). This is one reason so many children are growing up in this country without fathers (sometimes mothers). Public sentiment for protecting the children's privacy is the reason no one is talking about it. As a result of my work on the internet I found another father who was prevented from seeing his son because he gave is him a GiJoe Doll. And surprise, the judge is the same one who is preventing me from seeing my son because of two toy Star Wars blasters. Without putting out names and facts, victims of dirty judges can not find each other and build a body of evidence to support their claims. This is why trial audio belongs on the Internet. Free flowing information is inoculation against injustice.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Employee Review for Judges
http://www.justodians.org/Statistics.htm
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
no judges involved
They just threatened his ISP who instantly caved in like little babies whimpering and cowering in the corner.
The only people in this story guilty of any possible civil culpability
are his previous service provider 1&1 Internet who blatently breached duty of care to their customer.
The whois records show that Spocko seems to have quickly moved his site to DomainsByProxy and hosted it elsewhere.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
no judges involved
I am so sad to hear that this was never challenged, but I understand. It's easy to fight for your rights in court, but you have to be willing to lose all your possessions to do it. That's because fear of losing money and property is the rope that judges and lawyers use to bind the public and force them out of the process. I was stripped of all my possessions because I chose to defend myself and now there is nothing left for them to bind me with. I live in a small shelter in the woods. It’s a tent covered with sticks so I won’t be disturbed. I connect to the net from my local library most of the time. Other times I use hot spots from around my town as I drive a taxi. I used to be a wealthy software developer but the courts have made me a homeless taxi driver. Oddly, I have never been happier or felt so useful. I still program free of charge for charity organizations. You can see pictures of my shelter and find a great hobo fish recipe at http://www.justodians.org/Docs/JRS/20060323Indigency.htm
I know that AC is going to be mad at me for going off topic again, but it’s really not off topic. I am offering a look at what this man’s life would be like if he chose to defend his right to free speech. Like the song goes: Freedom isn’t Free
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
nice shelter
You are a man not a coward.
Now, pick up your shit and start moving on. The world is huge and mostly full of decent people. You're obviously intelligent, articulate,
self motivated and now you have the greatest gift of all, independence.
The abusive society in which you reside is obviously not worthy of you, so when you've finished licking your wounds (let it go) I'd hit the road if I were you.
I hear the weather in India is rather good at this time of year and English speaking technologists make a good life for themselves.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
nice shelter
Thank you for the encouragement and advice, but my appeal is due to be entered on the 29th and visitation issues are to be addressed in court on the 12th. My son and I stay with family when together and the courts have been fine with this in the past so I don’t expect problems now that I have a different judge. I am representing myself and I intend to win. All decision makers know the facts and my resolve. I will not desert my son or my country. Both are worth fighting for.
Thank you again for your kind words
John
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]