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It's Official: LAT/WP vs Free Republic Settles
LAT/WP vs Free Republic ^ | June 19, 2002 | Jim Robinson

Posted on 06/19/2002 1:54:11 PM PDT by 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:

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



TOPICS: Activism/Chapters; Breaking News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: freerepublic; latwp; lawsuit; losangelestimes; sanfrancisco; washingtonpost
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To: Jim Robinson; Just another Joe; sweetliberty
Great news! Who reads those rags anyway?
601 posted on 06/20/2002 7:49:54 AM PDT by Budge
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To: bvw
I have found the blocks to be very effective. It eliminates the attempted electronic lynching by those who can't win elections and have no power except to be clymers on this board.

If people don't like the electronic blocking they don't have to use it. Thanks for your warnings, but I look forward to it.

602 posted on 06/20/2002 7:50:02 AM PDT by Grampa Dave
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To: Jim Robinson
As another poster has pointed out, the Achievment of this site has changed since the start of your defense against this slap-suit meant to silence you.

At first, that is what it was: a slap-suit, meant to silence the strongest voice against the Clinton corruption. The archival issue, to keep the truth alive and available, made the defense for this website's method imparative for our nation's future. But due to the dilegence of the defense, the truth stood long enough to endure, your method was protected enough to be used again by a patriot such as yourself.

What has changed now is the community and its activism is now more important than an archive of commonly known truth. No less than the Boston Sons of Liberty or the Minutemen, the Community of FreeRepublic.com stands for all to marvel at and join or duplicate.

Anyone doing much in the way of legal battles will always tell us that a fair settlement is better than a good lawsuit appeal trial when the outcome is never certain. Your practice of Politics as the Art of the Possible follows great conservative precedent.

You, your current legal team, your original legal team including Clarity and all that have stood by you deserve our gratitude. The risk you took and the courage you displayed in enduring the sword of that original-judgement/pending-appeal-settlement hanging over your, and your family's, head was an example OF SUPREME COURAGE to us all. The major benefit of that risk fell to us, the user's of your forum, to the country at the time of the recount, and only periferily, to the copyright issues you were trying to defend.

Eagles Up, FOREVER!

603 posted on 06/20/2002 7:53:26 AM PDT by KC Burke
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To: bvw; Grampa Dave
Know Granpa Dave says "John Robinson will be soon allowing us that choice of whom and whose words don't appear on our screen while logged on to Free Republic."

If such a feature is implemented, I think a great strength of Free Republic will be lost, and we will be divided into little in-groups and miss many good comments and rebukes from members who we have some grudge against.

I can not reccommend more strongly against such a feature.

We don't have to go to that extreme, IMO. We all have the ability to NOT read or comment on a post, to close the browser window, or hit the "back" button. Just as we have the ability to ignore the WP/LAT by reading our news elsewhere.

604 posted on 06/20/2002 7:56:37 AM PDT by callisto
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To: bvw
You are against giving people the freedom to choose who they want to ignore?

I hate to break this to you, they can do it already. The only thing to be added is the ability to prevent having to download the bytes that you are going to ignore anyway. For example, I completely ignore anything that comes from MurryMom and quite a few others.

Are you against people installing devices to filter out phone solicitors too?

605 posted on 06/20/2002 7:58:26 AM PDT by Dales
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To: kristinn
But by getting exclusive access to our government--granted by the government--the news generated should belong to the People, and not to the news organizations, so that we can keep tabs on our government.

Ditto that. When employees from the Slimes or Compost get free rides on Air Force 1, have access to private meetings with government officials on government properety, are invited to limited attendence government functions, their work product from those exclusive benefits becomes public domain not copyrighted property of a private for-profit corporation.

606 posted on 06/20/2002 7:59:09 AM PDT by Ditto
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To: bvw
I think usenet has survived the advent of killfiles quite nicely.
607 posted on 06/20/2002 7:59:38 AM PDT by Dales
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To: Dales
Well, at least for me, it didn't. EVERYBODY ended up eventually on my killfile list!
608 posted on 06/20/2002 8:09:54 AM PDT by bvw
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To: bvw
lol

I bet that made reading it a lost faster!

609 posted on 06/20/2002 8:11:57 AM PDT by Dales
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To: Dales
I'm against providing it as a basic forum service. What people want to have on their own machines is their choice.

I'm just anti-clique. The more heard from the better, while bouncing those who can't maintain a respectabkle manner for any length of time.

610 posted on 06/20/2002 8:14:42 AM PDT by bvw
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To: Dales; John Robinson
Thanks, it is amazing how some who push the concept of freedom don't want some us to have the right to say "No Thank you are not someone that adds value to my life!"

You reminded me about the best investment I made this year. I forgot about the Phone Zapper that blocks unwanted calls from those who call trying to sell me something and then sends them a signal that my line has been discontinued.

John Robinson's "kill switch" will be like my beloved Phone Zapper on Free Republic!

I probably will not block MurrayMom. Her innane threads and replies are great comic relief.

611 posted on 06/20/2002 8:15:25 AM PDT by Grampa Dave
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To: Dales
Making it faster was the biggest concern. It was very fast!
612 posted on 06/20/2002 8:15:34 AM PDT by bvw
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To: bvw
That is nonsense. That is like saying "I don't mind people having killfiles but I am against John giving them the ability to use them".

Now, if you are saying that you are against global killfiles, that groups of people can use, then I am more in agreement with you.

613 posted on 06/20/2002 8:18:01 AM PDT by Dales
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To: Grampa Dave
Yeah, some (I am not sure bvm is one though) love the idea of having the freedom to say whatever they want, but abhor the idea of another having the freedom to listen to only what they want.
614 posted on 06/20/2002 8:19:23 AM PDT by Dales
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To: Dales
Dale posted, "Yeah, some (I am not sure bvm is one though) love the idea of having the freedom to say whatever they want, but abhor the idea of another having the freedom to listen to only what they want.

I having this issue with a Bravo Sierra Alpha Libertarian. At first I told him to stop sending me emails slamming our president for everything. He went ballastic. So I blocked his emails, and he started calling me. So I don't answer his calls when I see that he is the caller. He goes to my church and takes pot shots at President Bush whenever I walk by. I just ignore him. His wife and sons are about ready to leave him as he is an intolerable SOB at home. His actions are forcing others to take my actions, and he was told rather forcibly by a really big support of GW to knock off his unsolicited Bravo Sierra Attacks to people who don't want to hear his bilge!

615 posted on 06/20/2002 8:28:16 AM PDT by Grampa Dave
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To: Jim Robinson
Congrats, JimRob! I stand by my view that the newspapers are right; Freepers don't have a right to post complete, copyrighted articles from other publications. That goes beyond the fair use exemption to the copyright law. Still, I'm glad a reasonable compromise was reached.
616 posted on 06/20/2002 8:33:11 AM PDT by ArcLight
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To: Cool Guy
Whoo Hoo!!!
Thanks for the good news ping!!
617 posted on 06/20/2002 8:49:48 AM PDT by MaeWest
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To: Jim Robinson
Thanks JR. Freedom of speech lives on for today. My first thought upon reading "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." is that these newspapers would like to get rid of historical evidence of shoddy and fraudulent reporting on their part. Good thing excerpts will remain in FR's historical database.
618 posted on 06/20/2002 8:58:24 AM PDT by aught-6
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To: Dales
Well, let me get straight what I think here, if y'all don't mind. First off, I think people gotta have the freedom to use what they will. If everyone, or most, want killfiles or other filters on FR, hey -- I can not stand against, don't see the moral or ethical basis to do so.

I don't think it should be made easy, or the default, or that killfiles be easily shared -- such as by being global.

It's like this Steakhouse I used to go to. NO condiments on the table, and the chef/owner would come out and publicly berate you and ask you never to come back if you so much as asked for them.

To my mind, extensive use of killfiles would destroy the flavor of the Free Republic steak.

619 posted on 06/20/2002 9:06:53 AM PDT by bvw
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To: bvw
Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

Although I disagree with you, you may want to give John your feedback. He has a thread up on his ideas.

http://www.freerepublic.com/fo cus/chat/702783/posts
620 posted on 06/20/2002 9:08:54 AM PDT by Dales
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