Dutch A.G. Supports Scientology v. Spaink Verdict

bbc writes "ISP XS4All reports that the Dutch Attorney-General advises against reversal of the last verdict in the Scientology vs. Karin Spaink case (part of Scientology's War on the Internet). A series of court battles between writer Spaink and the Church of Scientology has changed the copyright landscape of the internet in the Netherlands. In an early case, linking to infringing documents was considered infringement itself. Later this was reversed, although by then several unrelated cases (notably Deutsche Bahn v. Indymedia) had been decided on the basis of this judgement. On appeals, the court held that free speech sometimes trumps copyright: even though Spaink may have infringed on the Church's copyright, she was allowed to do so to bring to light the doings of what she considers an evil sect. According to the XS4All document, not only did the Attorney-General uphold the decision that Free Speech can trump Copyright, but concluded also that there may not have been infringement. The Attorney-General feels a work can be considered published even if publication happened against the will of the author. In the Netherlands, the Supreme Court can only reverse previous decisions by lower courts. Before it renders a verdict, it asks the Attorney-General for advice."

Comments

AG supports Spaink, not $cientology

[Anonymous Coward]

It should be noted that the Dutch AG supports Karen Spaink in the verdict. The story title makes it sound like the support is for $cientology, and the summary doesn't really clarify.

Let me be the first...

[Anonymous Coward]

...to link to Scientology.

Re:news for nerds? nope.. stuff that matters? nope

[ShaunC]

I think it's "stuff that matters" because it generally pertains to copyright law. I think it's "news for nerds," or at least for Slashdot nerds, because Scientology has well-deserved a bad rap here.

To the best of my knowledge, Slashdot has only deleted comments three times. Once at the request of the United States Secret Service (maybe that was kuro5hin, I can't seem to find a reference). Once under legal pressure from Microsoft. And once under legal pressure from Scientology.

Scientology threatened the Wayback Machine to the point where its maintainers deleted a bunch of archived content from a site critical of Scientology.

Scientology threatened Google and forced Google to remove listings for that same site which is critical of Scientology.

What Scientology's lawyers are up to is certainly news for nerds.

Re:Hmm

[metlin]

Xenu will be displeased indeed.

You know, I just went to the Church of Scientology's website and took their "How 'toxic' are you?" quiz.

Funnily, no matter what your score is, they give you the same results.

The effects of drugs and toxic residues can send your whole life crashing. These substances put you in a condition which not only prohibits and destroys your physical health, but prevents any stable advancement in mental or spiritual well-being.

Like a fresh stream of crystal clear water, the Purification Program gets rid of the devastating effects of drugs and toxins so they no longer block your clear thinking and enthusiasm for life. This breakthrough discovery by L. Ron Hubbard has helped hundreds of thousands lead happier, more perceptive and aware lives.

And even if you gave No to everything, they still try to convince you.

You answered "YES" to 0 of the 10 questions.

You still could have a level of accumulated toxins in your body which can affect your ability to think clearly.

Followed by Blah blah blah on how polluted your body is.

Just change the count=0 in the querystring and you can see for yourselves =)

Sheesh, what a bunch of kooks.

Karen Spaink is my hero

[tod_miller]

If she turns up dead from the Co$ nutters we /.'rs should unite and go military on thier asses:

The Church of Scientology (or: CoS; or: Co$, as some of their opponents call it) sells its followers expensive courses which, if students study them carefully, are supposed to set them free ('clear' them). A former Scientology member, Steven Fishman, was brought before court because he committed several crimes in order to get the money to pay for these courses. Scientology urged him to get the money any which way he could. According to Fishman, they also assigned him to kill somebody, and failing that, ordered him to commit suicide.

Thanks Karen.

Does anyone remember anon.penet.fi

[merc]

We can thank the CoS for the passing of what was a wonderful invention -- and probably the first of its kind ever on the net. For anyone who hasn't been on the net more than 10 years, here's a brief history of the penet.fi anonymous remailer:

http://www.december.com/cmc/mag/1997/sep/helmers .h tml

and

http://www.xs4all.nl/~kspaink/cos/rnewman/anon/p en et.html

The CoS destroyed a part of net history.

*grumblecakes*