Michael Bates from the blog BatesLine which specializes in coverage of the Tulsa, Oklahoma, has received a letter from the Tulsa World demanding he cease and desist from quoting "in whole or in part" any content, and even linking to material from the Tulsa world, the cities newspaper giant.

Ah this just makes me smile at how silly this is. I am posting quotes from the letter he received and my commentary:

From the letter - The reproduction of any articles and/or editorials (in whole or in part) on your website...

I love “or in part”. According to U.S. Copyright Office, the 1961 Report of the Register of Copyrights on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law cites examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use:

• quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment;
  
• quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author’s observations;
  
• use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied;
  
• summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report;
  
• reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy;
  
• reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson;
  
• reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports;
  
• incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported.

...or linking your website to Tulsa World content is without the permission of the Tulsa World and constitutes an intentional infringement of the Tulsa World’s copyright and other rights to the exclusive use and distribution of the copyrighted materials.

Once again this was covered back in 2000 a federal Judge for the Central District of California issued a first ruling in favor of linking to information on another website.

The judge stated, "Hyperlinking does not itself involve a violation of the Copyright Act (whatever it may do for other claims) since no copying is involved. The customer is automatically transferred to the particular genuine web page of the original author. There is no deception in what is happening. This is analogous to using a library’s card index to get reference to particular items, albeit faster and more efficiently."

Emerging Legal Guidance on 'Deep Linking'
By Margaret Smith Kubiszyn: This article was originally published on GigaLaw.com in May 2000

….Therefore, we hereby demand that you immediately remove any Tulsa World material from your website, to include unauthorized links to our website, and cease and desist from any further use or dissemination of our copyrighted content.

If you fail to comply with his demand, the Tulsa World will take whatever legal action is necessary to assure compliance. Additionally, we will pursue all other legal remedies, including seeking damages that may have resulted as a result of this infringement.

Good luck....time to wake up and get current Tulsa World.

World Publishing Company is a privately owned corporation that has published the daily Tulsa World Newspaper every weekday and Sunday since 1905.

Corporate Officers:
Robert E. Lorton, Chairman & Publisher
Robert E. Lorton, III President
John R. Bair, Vice President
Frank Hawkins, Chief Financial Officer
Harold S. Salisbury, Secretary

OFFICE LOCATIONS

Main Office
318 S. Main
Tulsa, OK 74103
Phone: (918) 583-2161
webmaster@tulsaworld.com