It's Official: LAT/WP vs Free Republic Settles

LAT/WP vs Free Republic ^ | June 19, 2002 | Jim Robinson

[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

[RightWhale]

It's a win for FR, and a barely noticeable crimp in the 1st Amendment.

[leadpenny]

Thanks Jim,

I hope the WP and LA Times choke on their $5,000.

Maybe they could donate it to FR during our next fundraiser.

[Seeking the truth]

How does this affect the full posting of articles from sources other that these bastards?

Should we/ can we continue to post full articles?

BTW, those 5K amounts seem a bit lower than $ 1,000,000, don't they? ;)

It is good to get this BS behind us.

FR forever!

[Diverdogz]

If I understand correctly, the links to WP/LAT stories will die after a certain amount of time, thus diminishing the archive value of posts on FR related to WP/LAT stories.

Assuming FR survives for decades (as I'm quite sure it will), the archives will still be a tremendous resource.

[Aeronaut]

Great news Jim. Rock on!

[b4its2late]

Excellent. Some cash on the way!

[Dog]

How does this affect posting other articles from different sites?

[MeekOneGOP]

It's Official: LAT/WP vs Free Republic Settles

Excerpt:

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.

---

Great news, Jim! Thanks!

Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my ping list!. . .don't be shy.

[Teacher317]

Great news, but still a flawed court decision, if I understand the first judgement correctly.

[BADROTOFINGER]

A definate victory for Free Republic. Way to go Jim...JFK

[snopercod]

FReeperdom lives for now, but it seems that Fair Use was just pronounced dead.

Three questions:

1. Are all your legal expenses paid up to date?
2. Are there any plans to appeal?
3. If and when the archives are purged, will you make them searchable again?

[Cool Guy]

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLL

[stand watie]

so much for freedom of speech!

free dixie NOW,sw

[martin_fierro]

Congrats on a righteous win, Jim!

[mhking]

And the crowd goes wild!!!

[Teacher317]

Who else was on the defense team, so that we can send them big THANK YOU's as well?

[MinuteGal]

Yippee! Who wants to read anything these rags have to say, anyhow!

JimRob will be at our FRiva conference in Las Vegas in August. Let's celebrate with him and have a ball!

This makes my day, nay, my year!

Viva Jim Robinson and Free Republic!

Leni

[Sloth]

we have not admitted to any guilt

The $10G was just a gift out of the goodness of FR's heart?

[Balata]

Congrats, Jim. Life is good.

[Snow Bunny]

Yipeeee ! I am so proud of you Jim. A light in a liberal world shinning brightly.

I have prayed this would work out for you and FR every day since I heard about it.Stress so hard and this had to be very stressful. God Bless you Jim.

Thank you for the ping CoolGuy.