Lawyering in the Dark?
This J-Walk Blog post offers an instructive perspective on sending copyright infringement "cease and desist" to bloggers. I wonder if offering a license or otherwise granting the J-Walk blog permission to use the copyrighted material might have better served the interests of the copyright holder, the National Geographic Society. The post is reprinted below:
"Today I received a certified letter from Susan Borke, the Deputy General Counsel of the National Geographic Society. She claims that the J-Walk Blog contains nine (9) instances of unauthorized use of photographs and excerpts from several National Geographic articles. I must remove them all.
Problem is, she didn't give any specific URLs. I could find only three photos (which I've deleted). She also claims "unauthorized use of the NGS name and logo." I've never reproduced their logo. Is she telling me that I can't even write "National Geographic" in a blog entry?
So what did she accomplish by sending me a form letter?
1. She has changed my opinion of the NGS. In the past, I've always had a very positive attitude about the organization. Not any more.
2. Over the years, I've probably sent 5,000 or so visitors to their site. Now, I will never link to a National Geographic site again.
Nice job, Deputy General Counsel."
