Ziff Davis' Lawyers Threaten Pocket PC Tools

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pocketpctools.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid2=1168&mode=&order=0&thold=0&topicid=2108' target='_blank'>http://www.pocketpctools.com/module...=0&topicid=2108</a><br /><br /></div><i>"We are currently being threatened with legal action by a large organization that produces news stories (I am trying to find out if I am "allowed" to post the emails they have sent me). A while back (about a month and 70 posts ago), one of our admins posted a story that introduced you to one of their stories. Needless to say, there was a small editorial about the said story, a short quote from the story, a link to, and full credit given to them for the story. Well, yesterday we got an email from their "Rights &amp; Permissions Manager" (do companies actually have full time people harassing Fan sites such as ours?!?). In the email they stated that "It has come to our attention that pocketpctools.com is using our eWeek copyrighted material on its website..."."</i><br /><br />Barry talked to me about this last week, and things have evolved quite a bit since it <a href="http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/08/08/237214">was posted on Slashdot</a>. As I expected, Ziff Davis immediately back-peddled and offered up a statement from Matthew Rothenberg Executive, editor at Ziff Davis (read the full thing on the /. thread)<br /><br /><i>"While I haven’t gotten all the details about what happened, this legal warning to PocketPCTools seems to be a result of miscommunication within our company. We understand and embrace the principles under which sites such as PocketPCTools link to and excerpt our content. There are plenty of occasions when a professional media company needs to question the wholesale appropriation of its content or the use of its marks. From everything I understand about the PocketPCTools case so far, this is NOT one of those occasions!"</i><br /><br />It's nice to see them backing off, but based on my conversations with Barry and the comments posted by Rothenberg in the forums, something doesn't add up. First, they stopped responding to Barry's inquiries after he pulled his post. If they really cared about learning more as Rothenberg claims, they would have continued the dialogue. Secondly, Rothenberg claims it was an <i>"overzealous legal intern"</i> that sent the email, but unless they started making interns "Rights &amp; Permissions Managers", this doesn't quite add up.<br /><br />Are mainstream media sites really so clueless that they don't understand the value that sites like ours bring to the table? It seems so. Man, this has been a bad week for big companies understanding enthusiasts like us. Maybe I should have been a marine biologist after all. :lol:

[Stephen Beesley]

When you combine this sort of incident with the "new approach" to enthusiast sites being shown by HP you really do have to wonder if these organisations understand the role of sites like this.

I would hate to see a situation develop where this site and others like it have to operate in the context of outright obstruction from the OEMs and/or "mainstream" news organisations.

[Kevin Daly]

Perhaps it's an inevitable result of some of the dominant themes of the early twenty-first century: unfettered corporate power + rampant paranoia.

In short, they are allowed/encouraged to do what they like, and boy are they touchy.

[Fishie]

Hmm, several days late and the isseu seems to be resolved already.

[Stephen Beesley]

Hmm, several days late and the isseu seems to be resolved already.

The issue may be resolved in this particular case, although as Jason points out the resolution itself does leave a few "unaswered questions". Generally, I think this and the issue with HP are examples of the type of behaviour that we all have to be on the watch for.

Perhaps it's an inevitable result of some of the dominant themes of the early twenty-first century: unfettered corporate power + rampant paranoia.

Well that is good ol' capitalism for you: the concentration and centralisation of capital generally equates to the concentration and centralisation of power.

[Duncan]

Well that is good ol' capitalism for you: the concentration and centralisation of capital generally equates to the concentration and centralisation of power.

...and the man who pointed that out so clearly, well over a century ago, also pointed out what can be done about it: 'Workers of the world unite...!' ;) - the united power of the Ziff-Davis or HP counsumer/enthusiast base *is* stronger than the companies themselves (which is why their reaction to us is one of fear and an attempt to control). Or as my old PPE teacher says: 'Money talks loudly, but that just means that the people who earn and spend the money need to talk louder...'

[BanjoFrog]

This reminds me of when Sun sued a small recylced electronics parts shop in Nashville, TN because the store was called "Javanco" - after Mike Javan, the store's owner. Apparently Sun thought they were trying to cash in on the "java" brand. A flood of letters from loyal shoppers helped get an apology from Sun. Maybe we need to all flood ZD with letter of support for PPCT.

[daS]

Brad Templeton is the Chairman of the EFF. I had the great fortune of chatting with him during a couple of lunch and dinner breaks at a workshop where we both spoke. He is obviously a great source of information on the subject of online copyright issues.

Rather than quote him here (and risk hearing from EFF attorneys :wink: ) I've posted a few links:

He has an excellent article on his personal web site regarding copyrights and specifically about online copyright issues: http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html

Then, if you want to have a little fun with the scumbag lawyers, have a look at a few of Brad's postings on his blog where he yanks the chain of these leaches on society. The American Express one (http://ideas.4brad.com/archives/000064.html) is funny, but I really liked the MasterCard one (http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/01/Apr/mcrhf.html) the best.

Of course, his sarcastic replies reference parody, but quotes for editorial review apply as well.