Legal Question in Technology Law in Georgia

Rough estimates of answers to your questions.

But please don't rely upon my answers here. I'm not very sure of either of them.

What the attorney told you sounds right; this stems from cases where people have tried to sue AOL for things people posted there which AOL personnel hadno actual knowledge of, even, never mind took take ownership and responsibility for the content.

I believe AOL won on the concept that they're just the messenger; for example, you don't sue the Post Office when they deliver you a bomb from your ex-wife.

2) I'm less sure even about this. AP material is copyrighted. Copyright meansif nothing else that you cannot republish it to others as you appear to hope youcan do. In general, in copyright, it is the expression (the arrangement and selectionof the words) of an idea that is copyrighted, but the underlying idea is itself notcopyrighted as indeed pure ideas are not protected under copyright law. So if Monica suddenly says she has photos to prove Bill's crookedness, and AP gets the scoop first,all other news agencies may report the same happenings but using their own words (exceptthe direct quotes from Monica, which aren't owned by AP or by anyone, really).This is part of a "hot news" exception to copyright which allows transmittal of news whileit is still news without much fear of copyright violation.

I suspect the other websites have paid AP for a direct feed of some sort; ask one of themto be sure. If there isn't an actual sale, then there's still (I think) a contract betweenthem and AP gets to sell some advertising or gets some sort of consideration out of the deal;whatever it is, you may be able to get the same deal just for the asking.

Copyright issues

<< 1) If I host an on-line posting forum on my web site - who is legally responsible for the content? If a user posts libelous or slander - what happens? Surly they can't defame, slander, etc anyone they choose with reckless abondonment. One lawyer told me that as long as I, the webmaster, don't edit or censor the forum, I have no responsibility - is this true?

Actually, a federal statute provides that online providers are pretty much immune for what users post. Zeran v AOL is the main case applying that law so far.

2) What does it mean if an Associated Press report or a report from another news entity is copyrighted? Do I need express, written consent to re-publish on my own web site, even if I give full credit to the source, provide links to the source homepage, etc?

That's EXACTLY what it means. Not only that, it doesn't even need to have a copyright notice in order to be copyrighted. You can provide a summary and a link, but to copy an article intact to your site is infringement. Giving credit is no defense at all, without consent.

The above does not constitute legal opinion and is offered for the purposes of discussion only. The law differs in every jurisdiction, and you should not rely on any opinion except that of an attorney you have retained, who has a professional duty to advise you after being fully informed of all the pertinent facts and who is familiar with the applicable law.