There was no doubt The Oregon Times Observer newspaper in Oregon, MO, had lifted a blogger’s story from his site without his permission or any attribution.
The headline and subhead were nearly identical, and even some typos were copied verbatim.
Many bloggers (see tonyskansascity.com) will say that they regularly have articles reprinted in publications without any attribution. In fact, it is almost commonplace.
However, this time the blogger, Duane Lester of Quitman, MO, was not going to let that happen.
Lester, whose blog is called “All American Blogger,” wrote a letter to Robert Ripley, the owner and publisher of the Times Observer demanding payment of $500 for using his article.
“I was not asked for permission to reprint the article, nor was I given attribution in the newspaper for the creation of the article,” Lester wrote. “Due to the article being used in its entirety, ‘Fair Use’ does not apply. This is a clear violation of United States Copyright law.
“Rather than seek monetary damages for copyright infringement,” he wrote, “which range from $750 to $300,000 per work for “willful infringement,” I have attached an invoice totaling $500 for the publication of the article.”
To show he was dead serious, Lester confronted Ripley at the newspaper (with camera) and the letter and demanded payment. Very reluctantly and somewhat surprisingly , Ripley paid the $500 (see video below that currently has more than 95,000 views).
Did Lester really expect Ripley to fork over the $500?
“I didn’t expect he would pay the full amount, but then I didn’t expect him to get up in my face either,” Lester told Bottom Line. “If he had handled it differently, with a little humility and contrition, I would have been willing to work with him on payment. When he bulled up and tried to intimidate me, that option ended.
“I think he paid because he knew he was wrong and it was cheaper to pay than to get lawyers involved.”
How did he come up with the $500 figure?
“I do a lot of freelance writing,” says Lester. ”This isn’t a big payment, and it was less than the bottom threshold a court settlement would be. I based it on that.”
Any advice for bloggers who have their stories ripped off?
“If it happens to you, get the facts straight, get your ducks in a row and go demand respect and payment for your work,” he says. “Regardless of the size of the outfit, if the facts and the law are on your side, you should prevail. If they won’t pay, make them wish they had in the public forum.”