On 1/28/07, Jeffrey V. Merkey
<jmerkey(a)wolfmountaingroup.com> wrote:
All it takes is one lawsuit from someone who is
upset at the images
being used, and the money from
the last fund drive could get used up in legal fees pretty durn fast. If
someone object to images
being used, then TAKE THEM OFF THE SITE, Fair use argments are not. I
recall my interactions
on en.wikipedia with people using copyrighted materials and some of the
debates I had there.
Bottom line, these anonymus editors are not the people who will get
nailed. The foundation will
be the ones who get served and Brad will have to hire a law firm to
defend the Foundation. It's
pretty simple -- if someone who owns th images does not want them used,
then do not use them.
There are a lot more torts than just copyright infringement they could
pull out of the bag and use. They could claim
unfari competition, tortious interference, and a whole host of other
torts they may win with. It's cheaper, easier,
and honorable to simply take down the images and tell the offended party
it is being done as a courtesty. This makes
it appear the foundation is acting in good faith.
This argument is pure copyright paranoia. What I mean by that is that
Jeffrey is asserting as fact a hypothetical scenario ("The foundation
will be the ones who get served and Brad will have to hire a law firm
to defend the Foundation.") That's possible, but certainly not
guaranteed.
Yeah? How many of you have actually had to stand in front of a judge
with millions of dollars of **YOUR**
money on the line. I have stood there more times than I care to mention,
and in most cases not by my own choice.
Judges will not listen to whining exusces and weak arguments, and you
don't get to argue over and over again
after they rule -- you have to pay. The real shocker is when the judge
orders you to pay
the other sides legal fees. What if they hire Coudert Brothers from new
York to defend them who charges $500.00/hour
and they rack up 350,000.00 in fees just to send a dozen letters and
file a complaint and you get ordered to pay it.
Cheaper to take down the content.
Jeff
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