I & S, that quote was for the responsibility of the accuser. The WTBTS cannot misidentify Quotes' site as breaking copyright if they have no substance to their accusation.
Quotes website receives "Cease & Desist"
by Quotes 286 Replies latest members private
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mouthy
They are running scared....
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Leolaia
Okay, I just trimmed the PDF down to 979 pages so that it is now a single PDF file (text-searchable) that occupies 18.5 MB.
So if the site ever vanishes, a copy will exist, somewhere, out there.
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stillajwexelder
wow - watch this space as the ysay - the truth hurts obviously!!!
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Kenneson
There must be a connection with this and the pressure being placed on pro-Jehovah's Witness sites, also concerning copyright laws.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/83069/1.ashx
This is apparently Bob Desinger's second encounter with the Watchtower's Legal Department. See a letter he received in 2001 at
http://www.desinger.com/scriptures/letter.html
In it Legal Dept. wrote: "You should be aware that the Watch Tower Society's publications are copyrighted material. Copyright infringement occurs when one copies and distributes copyrighted material without the copyright holder's permission. This is true even if no profit is involved." Legal Dept. went so far as having him remove the link he had to the Watchtower's official site, http://www.watchtower.org since they didn't want people to think the two sites were connected.
Having scared a couple of pro-sites to comply, it seems now they will turn their attention to "apostate" sites to see if they can get the same results. It's got to be only their official site; no competition allowed.
Here's a site about copyright laws:
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lonelysheep
If all their past stories are made known to everyone, via tv, mail or word of mouth, the population will take a serious nose dive...and they know it!
Then they'll come up with some new tactic to teach at the hall to keep everyone believing and obedient to the corporation.
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AlanF
candidlynuts posted:
: Fair use [17] is also an exception to normal copyright legalities. It allows, in a limited manner, use of copyrighted protected materials in items for purposes of parody, news reports, comedic acts, research and education.
I think that some excellent arguments can be made that Quotes' site fulfills the bolded items.
AlanF
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lonelysheep
In it Legal Dept. wrote: "You should be aware that the Watch Tower Society's publications are copyrighted material. Copyright infringement occurs when one copies and distributes copyrighted material without the copyright holder's permission. This is true even if no profit is involved."
I don't believe that for one minute. I can see how someone easily intimidated (those obeying wt) would go for it, though. I wouldn't have second guessed it a year ago...which is exactly what they want.
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Leolaia
It's this part about the applicability of Fair Use that I'm curious about:--
the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
Would posting whole articles be okay? These are only portions of single magazines, or small files in comparison to the copyrighted Watchtower CD. What are the legal limits to portion length?
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jst2laws
Quotes,
Personally I think your site is legal and the WT is practicing "litigation by intimidation". The problem is the host may be easily intimidated, and you will have no say about taking a stand.
I think you are right to wait and see what the WT does next. They hate bad publicity and we could take this and the attack on Kent's site to expose them far what they are. In fact, if we do anything at this stage I would suggest we make a media event about the American fighter for religious freedom now suppressing our freedom speech. Why not start our own world wide church and make this a Religious freedom issue. We would be as legit as the Watchtower Publishing Corporation.
Leolaia,
Adding commentary to the site however would go against Quotes's stated purpose as a "neutral research tool":
AlanF may be right about this suggestion. But if that was required he could add it with a introductory qualification that the commentary was added only to keep the Watchtower from intimidating his host and shutting down his site. And the "commentary" may qualify only as rhetorical questions added to each topic .
Steve