EFF warns ABC to back off blogger

A press release from Tuesday:

EFF Warns ABC to Back Off Blogger

Bogus Copyright Infringement Claims Violate Law

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
warned ABC, Inc., last week not to pursue its bogus
copyright infringement claims against 'Spocko' -- a blogger
who sparked nationwide debate over a San Francisco radio
station -- and asked the media giant to retract its
baseless threats.

The free speech battle began when Spocko posted audio clips
of what he deemed to be offensive talk-radio rhetoric from
ABC-owned and San Francisco-based KSFO-AM on his blog at
www.spockosbrain.com. In response, ABC, Inc., sent a
threatening letter to the blogger's hosting company,
claiming that copyright law prevented Spocko from posting
the clips. The hosting company responded by shutting
Spocko's website down, forcing him to move to a different
provider. In a letter sent to ABC, Inc., last Thursday, EFF
warned that further false copyright claims could compel
Spocko to take action to protect his free speech rights.

"Copyright law is not designed to silence speech that you
dislike," said EFF Staff Attorney Matt Zimmerman. "ABC and
KSFO know that their legal threats were absolutely
groundless. Their time and efforts are better spent
explaining why they think Spocko is wrong, and letting the
public decide, instead of resorting to thuggish legal
tactics."

EFF's letter to ABC is the latest development in its
ongoing campaign to protect online free speech from the
chilling effects of bogus copyright claims. In November,
EFF reached an agreement with the corporate owners of the
popular children's television character Barney the Purple
Dinosaur to withdraw meritless legal threats against a
website publisher who parodied the character.

For the full letter to ABC:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/spocko/spockolettertoabc.pdf

For more on Spocko:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/spocko/

For this release:
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_01.php#005093