The Blogging Journalist

Groklaw Excelled in Coverage of The SCO Group, Inc v. Novell, Inc

When I heard on August 10, 2007, that Utah-based U.S. District Court Judge Dale Kimball had issued a 102-page opinion in The SCO Group, Inc v. Novell, Inc, I was anxious to read it. I was also anxious to see what paralegal and blogger Pamela "PJ" Jones , founder of Groklaw and an expert on the case, had to say about the opinion. Even lawyers in the case and those with impending litigation involving The SCO Group and the companies they represent turn to her blog for news about the case. See "Lawyers Flock to Mystery Web Site's Coverage of SCO-IBM Suit."

As a litigation paralegal with a journalist background, reading well-crafted legal opinions is as natural as reading a good novel. Judge Kimball's August 10, 2007, Memorandum Decision and Order in The SCO Group, Inc v. Novell, Inc fit the bill as a good read. It was comprehensive and lacked the legal jargon that often keeps those uninitiated in law in the dark.

A civil litigation defense paralegal since 1991, I naturally gravitated towards Novell and its claim that it, not SCO, owned UNIX and UnixWare copyrights, and that SCO only had a license for UNIX. As P.J and many others expected he would, Judge Kimball ruled that Novell, Inc is the rightful owner of UNIX and UnixWare copyrights.

If you are interested in this case--it's not over yet--I suggest you visit Groklaw for background.  P.J has followed it from day one. She is perhaps the foremost authority on it. Her views on Judge Kimball's ruling are in "Court Rules: Novell owns the UNIX and UnixWare copyrights! Novell has right to waive! 

Note: A longer version of this post can be found at The Technology Free Press, my blog about "tech news, web/tech, tech blogging and tech politics.

Technorati tags: The SCO Group Inc v. Novell Inc., Novell, SCO, Judge Dale Kimball, Groklaw, Paralegal and Blogger Pamela "PJ" Jones

Do You Use Images Without Permission?

Science Writer David Bradley offers good advice in a May 25, 2007, post at Sciencebase headlined "Credit where credit is due." It's a warning against using images without permission.

Om Malik: 'Full Post Reprints Bother Me'

Back on January 12, 2007, Om Malik over at Daily.GigaOm asked his readers for advice about what to do if some one copied entire posts from a blog into their blogs.  See "Full post reprints bother me."

His readers responded with interesting answers. What would you do? Better yet, what would I do?

At this point, I really don't know. I guess it depends on how the material is used and whether it's announced that the material was a reprint from The Blogging Journalist. I suspect some TBJ material is being reprinted. However, I have no proof. In fact, I haven't checked to see if this is the case.

Also, when I worked for a Chicago weekly back in the 1980s, a few publications around the world reprinted my articles all the time. Rarely was there attribution.  At the time, I wrote mostly about diplomatic affairs.

By the way, Om Malik is "founder of GigaOmniMedia, Inc. and executive editor for GigaOm.com." I started reading him several years ago in Red Herring and later Business 2.0. I also like his Web Worker Daily.

Note: Om is looking for "more bloggers to write at Web Worker Daily about the web worker life." 

Technorati tags: Om Malik, Daily.GigaOm, GigaOm, Web Worker Daily, Red Herring, Business 2.0

AAEC Will Try To Stop Bloggers From Using Cartoons Without Permission

Dave Astor over at Editor & Publisher reported November 15, 2006, that "The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists [link added] is trying to stop bloggers from posting editorial cartoons without permission." See "AAEC Trying to Stop Bloggers From Using Cartoons Without Permission."

Nick Anderson, AAEC's "president-elect," told E&P on November 15: "So far, there has been no official communication by the AAEC, but we're getting close." 

Fellow bloggers, we've been warned. Most professional cartoonists, if any, don't operate under a Creative Commons licence. If someone knows differently, please let me know.

Do You Know Your Rights As A Blogger?

Freelance writer D. L. Ennis, who currently "writes and edits the Blue Ridge Gazette, has a September 9, 2006 post at American Chronicle headlined "Know Your Rights as a Blogger. I recommend it. 

Settlement Reached In Delaware Blogging Case

J.L. Miller at Delaware Online/The News Journal reported June 22, 2006 that, "A settlement has been reached in the Smyrna blogging case, ending a Superior Court lawsuit filed by two town councilmen and a councilman's wife ["Councilman Patrick Cahill and wife Julie, and Councilman Douglas Chervenak"]  who claimed they were defamed by vile comments on an Internet site that were traced to a computer in the home of Mayor Mark Schaeffer."

 

According to Miller, "Schaeffer’s stepdaughter, Cristina Rawley...admitted in court filings that she wrote the comments."

 

For more, see "Cahills, Schaeffers settle Smyrna blogging civil suit." For background on the case, see the University of Minnesota's Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law's review of  John Doe No. 1 v. Patrick Cahill and Julia Cahill.

 

On October 5, 2005, the Delaware Supreme Court issued an important ruling on anonymity as a result of this case.

Court Overturns Discovery Ruling Apple Won Against Bloggers

The publishers, editors and reporters at PowerPage and AppleInsider  are constitutionally protected under the California journalist shield law and other laws from having to disclose confidential sources, the Court of Appeal in California's 6th Appellate District ruled in a unanimous 69-page opinion on May 26, 2006. Every blogger and online publisher in the United States should carefully analyze this important ruling and spread the news far and wide. It’s a milestone.

Justice Conrad Rushing,  who was appointed to the bench by then Governor Gray Davis in January 2002, wrote:

In no relevant respect do they appear to differ from a reporter or editor for a traditional business-oriented periodical who solicits or otherwise comes into possession of confidential internal information about a company.

The publishers were granted a protective order regarding this Santa Clara County Court Order re Discovery and this Second Santa Clara County Court Order re Discovery, which granted Apple’s original application for preliminary and permanent injunctions “restraining the misappropriation of Apples Future Product Information.” Here’s the Supplement to Ex Parte Application

And here is a brief history of the litigation, as outlined by the Electronic Frontiers Foundation (EFF), which represented the publishers:

In December 2004, Apple filed a lawsuit in Santa Clara county against unnamed individuals who allegedly leaked information about new Apple products to several online news sites, including AppleInsider and PowerPage. The articles at issue concerned a FireWire audio interface for GarageBand, codenamed "Asteroid" or "Q7." In addition, Apple filed a separate trade secret suit against Think Secret on January 4, 2004.

Apple is seeking information from these news sites regarding the identities of the sites' sources, and has subpoenaed Nfox.com, the email service provider for PowerPage, for email messages that may identify the confidential source.

EFF, along with co-counsel Thomas Moore III and Richard Wiebe, are representing the online journalists to protect their anonymous sources.

EFF opposes Apple's discovery because the confidentiality of the media's sources and unpublished information are critical means for journalists of all stripes to acquire information and communicate it to the public. Because today's online journalists frequently depend on confidential sources to gather material, their ability to promise confidentiality is essential to maintaining the strength of independent media. Furthermore, the protections required by the First Amendment are necessary regardless of whether the journalist uses a third party for communications.

The Appeals Court agreed. It remains to be seen whether Apple will appeal to the California Supreme Court. For more on the case, see this “Apple v. Does FAQ.”

 

 

Is Jessica Cutler Looking For A New Lawyer?

Wonkette reported May 23, 2006 that former congressional mail clerk Jessica Cutler, who once blogged about her affairs with congressional aides in her Washingtonienne blog, is "about to lose the legal services of the attorney representing her in Steinbuch v. Cutler — for the third time." See "Jessica Cutler: Oops, she did it again."

Note: Links added for background and clarity.

Steinbuch v. Cutler and Maybe Cox

Washington Post staff writers Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts reported May 9, 2006 in Reliable Source that:

The bitter and messy lawsuit against Capitol Hill sex blogger Jessica Cutler by a former paramour is snaking its way into the highest echelons of D.C. blog royalty. In a federal court filing late last week, a lawyer for Robert Steinbuch said he will seek to add Ana Marie Cox , founder of the popular political-gossip Web site Wonkette, as a co-defendant.

The Post said "Cutler's explicit online "Washingtonienne" diary, detailing escapades with several unnamed men, blew up into a mini-scandal after Wonkette publicized it in May 2004. A year later -- after Cutler lost her Senate job but gained a book deal -- Steinbuch sued, alleging invasion of privacy and emotional distress."

Thanks to Romenesko for the link to the Post article. Links added for clarity and background information.

Can Schools Punish Students For Posting Offensive Comments?

Anita Ramasastry, "an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Washington School of Law in Seattle and a Director of the Shidler Center for Law, Commerce & Technology," has a May 1, 2006 post at Findlaw.com that educators should closely scrutinize. It addresses the question of whether schools can "Punish Students for Posting Offensive Content on MySpace and Similar Sites?

Ramasastry gives the kind of answers many school administrators have been researching. She also provides links to case law.

3L Epiphany Interviews Judge Richard Kopf About Legal Logs

Back on April 18, 2006, Ian Best, proprietor of the legal blog 3L Epiphany, posted an enlightening interview with U.S. District Judge Richard G. Kopf (Nebraska)  about legal blogs. See "Judge Richard Kopf (D. Nebraska): Legal Blogs Will Fill the Practicality Gap."

Judge Kopf, who has cited a legal blog and “Internet articles” as secondary authority in opinions, said "The two blogs I check everyday are: Sentencing Law and Policy and How Appealing.

Thanks to Dennis M. Kennedy at Corante for citing the interview in an April 25, 2006 post.