FC: Public Citizen will defend Dallas Morning News "deep linker"

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Thu May 09 2002 - 08:59:32 PDT

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    Previous Politech message:
    
    "Latest linking spat: Dallas Morning News sends silly nastygrams"
    http://www.politechbot.com/p-03471.html
    
    Congrats to Paul and Public Citizen for standing up for the right to link 
    freely. (Of course, it's a shame -- what _is_ the Dallas Morning News 
    thinking? -- that this issue has risen to the level that lawyers need to 
    get involved.)
    
    -Declan
    
    ---
    
    Date: Thu, 09 May 2002 11:11:18 -0400
    From: "Paul Levy" <PLEVYat_private>
    To: <declanat_private>
    Subject: Defense of deep linking
    
    We have agreed to represent Avi Adelman, the Net activist who was 
    charged  by the Dallas Morning News with copyright infringement because his 
    web site includes "deep links" to news stories on the Dallas Morning News 
    web site.   In a letter today to J. Kevin Gray, the Dallas lawyer who sent 
    the demand letter to Adelman, we explained that linking to the actual page 
    that viewers may find interesting, instead of simply to a web site's home 
    page, is perfectly legal and that his attempt to squelch it represents an 
    attack on a fundamental component of the Internet - - the fact that it 
    enables members of the public to surf quickly from one site to another to 
    find interesting and useful content.   We also cite two cases that have 
    rejected copyright claims against "deep linking."  We have challenged Gray 
    to explain the basis for his claim, or to do the decent thing and admit 
    that he has no basis for suit.
    
    Our letter is now posted on the Barking Dogs web site at the following deep 
    link: 
    http://www.barkingdogs.org/News_Features/April2002/04292002_DMN/04292002_DMN_2/Comments_Belo/05092002.shtml 
    Our press release may be found on the Public Citizen web site, at the 
    following deep link: 
    http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=1107  The deep link to your 
    original story on this outrageous demand, which informed us of the problem 
    and helped us link up with Adelman, is as follows: 
    http://www.politechbot.com/p-03471.html
    
    Paul Alan Levy
    Public Citizen Litigation Group
    1600 - 20th Street, N.W.
    Washington, D.C. 20009
    (202) 588-1000
    http://www.citizen.org/litigation/litigation.html
    
    
    
    
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