I have received a lot of emails asking if Righthaven's actions are politically motivated--and pointing out that Steve Gibson, Righthaven's CEO, worked in the same law firm as Michelle Obama, and that the Stephens Group, which owns the Review-Journal, has a lot of connections to the Clintons.
No, I really don't think so. The publisher of the Review-Journal is a pretty fierce libertarian. The targets of these absurd suits cross the entire political spectrum and include completely apolitical nonprofits. This is all about uncontrollable greed.
And, it's worth saying, since you mentioned "fierce libertarianism", that this is not the result of a free market.
ReplyDeleteThis is fallout from a badly written, and fundamentally ill-conceived federal law. The publisher should be ashamed of himself on that count alone.
Agreed. Our current copyright law was an attempt of Republicans to curry favor with the entertainment industry--a group that is fundamentally in opposition to everything that Republicans stand for.
ReplyDelete