Judge: Online Editorial Re-Post OK

Here’s good news for bloggers and online commenters who may have been intimidated by the suit-happy tactics of Las Vegas Review-Journal and partner Righthaven. A judge has ruled “that a man didn’t violate copyright law when he posted a complete Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial to an online forum.” As you may recall, Righthaven, acting on behalf of the Review-Journal, routinely files suit against individuals who use the newspaper’s material without permission. If memory serves me correctly, Idaho blogger Clayton Cramer was intimidated by a Review-Journal suit into shutting down his blog. You can read more about this development here. Also, you can read how the same judge ruled that Righthaven doesn’t have legal standing to file suits on behalf of the Las Vegas Review-Journal here .

Question: Are you careful and respectful in using media copy for your blog and online posts?