[Infowarrior] - Court: You can copyright C&D notices

[Richard Forno]

http://www.prweb.com/releases/DozierInternetLaw/InternetLawyer/prweb650951.h
tm


US District Court decision threatens common practice reports Dozier Internet
Law.

Glen Allen, VA (PRWEB) January 24, 2008 -- The US District Court for the
District of Idaho has found that copyright law protects a lawyer demand
letter posted online by the recipient (Case No. MS-07-6236-EJL-MHW). The
copyright decision, in pertinent part, has been made available by Dozier
Internet Law, and is the first known court decision in the US to address the
issue directly. The Final Judgment calls into serious question the practice
of posting lawyer cease and desist letters online, a common tactic used and
touted by First Amendment groups to attack legal efforts at resolving
everything from defamation to intellectual property disputes.

In September 2007, Dozier Internet Law, a law firm specializing exclusively
in representing business interests on the web, was targeted online by "free
speech" and "public participation" interests for asserting copyright
ownership rights in a confidential cease and desist letter sent to a "scam
reporting site". The issue generated online buzz in the US with commentators
such as Google's lead copyright counsel and Ralph Nader's Public Citizen
attacking the practice as unlawful, and Dozier Internet Law responding.
Bloggers from around the world soon joined the debate, reeling at the
thought of losing a valuable counter-attack tool.

The Court, in its decision, found that a copyright had been adequately
established in a lawyer's cease and desist letter. The unauthorized
publication of the letter, therefore, can expose the publisher to liability.
Statutory damages under the US Copyright Act can be as much as $150,000 per
occurrence plus attorneys' fees that can average $750,000 through trial. The
publisher of the letter raised First Amendment and "fair use" arguments
without success.

John W. Dozier, Jr., Esq., President of Dozier Internet Law, PC, was not
surprised by the decision. "In today's world, anticipating how the Courts
will view 'new age' arguments is not easy. Dozier Internet Law has been
using copyright protected cease and desist letters for years with great
success in protecting our business clients and preventing an escalation of a
situation. The publication of cease and desist letters is an easy way for
scofflaws to generate online 'mobosphere' support for illegal activity and,
until today, many businesses have been hesitant to take action to address
some of the lawlessness online because of possible retaliation and attacks."

Dozier Internet Law specializes in protecting the intellectual property and
reputations of online business. Mr. Dozier believes that the decision will
return pre-litigation notices and negotiations to a state of normalcy and
allow businesses to more effectively police their interests online. He noted
that prior to the Internet, private legal disputes were handled between
attorneys with a focus on avoiding costly legal battles and not burdening
the judicial system with legal cases that should have been resolved without
a lawsuit. Since the posting of cease and desist letters became a popular
practice, fueled predominantly by guidance and legal advice from "free
speech" organizations located in the US, businesses have either allowed
theft and lawlessness to continue or immediately filed a lawsuit that can
take many years to resolve. "It's a great day for businesses and a bad day
for those conducting illegal activity online," Dozier said.

Dozier Internet Law, PC is an AV rated, pre-eminent law firm specializing
exclusively in the law of the Internet with offices in Virginia, New York,
and California. The firm protects the online reputations and intellectual
property of businesses.

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