LA Times v. Free Republic?

Since no one has mentioned it yet, thought I'd share the fact that yesterday's (November 9, 1999) Los Angeles Times business section reported on the U.S. District Court's preliminary ruling the L.A. Times and Washington Post v. Free Republic case. To quote the opening paragraph of the article:

"In a ruling that could shape how copyright laws are applied in
cyberspace, a federal judge on Monday rejected a conservative Web site's position that posting articles copied without permission from major newspapers is legally protected."

Free Republic's attorney said the site will continue to contest the suit and "that the judge made a misguided decision that could dampen the flow of free information that many consider so important to the Internet's vitality."

"...Judge Margaret Morrow showed little sympathy for Free Republic's
position. She not only rejected the site's request to have the case dismissed, but wrote in a 28-page opinion that Robinson and his site 'are not entitled to assert a fair use defense to the claims of copyright infringement alleged in the complaint.'"

The article indicates that "Morrow could still alter her decision after arguments from attorneys in the case on Monday, but attorneys for both sides said a reversal is unlikely."

Sorry, I don't have a URL for either the L.A. Times articles or the preliminary ruling. Like the rest of you, I'd love a URL to the ruling.

Esther Sinofsky
Coordinating Field Librarian
Library Services
Los Angeles Unified School District
<esinofs[_at_]lausd.k12.ca.us>

MODERATOR'S NOTE: I found the article at:

   <http://www.latimes.com/business/19991109/t000101776.html> Received on Wed Nov 10 1999 - 17:45:32 GMT