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Barney Surrenders To the EFF

Posted by kdawson on from the big-purple-capitulation dept.

davidwr writes, "Earlier this year, EFF sued the Barney the Dinosaur people for harassing a Barney parody web site. Well, Barney finally surrendered, err I mean, learned to share. For more, read the case history at the EFF site."

5 of 125 comments (clear)

  1. Finally, a success against copyright bullshit! by JoshJ · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Someone get these lawyers on the RIAA's case. The sooner we're rid of copyright abuses, the sooner we can put a sane system in place. Though the other way around may work better.
    Actually enforcing fair use is a good start.

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    Care about privacy? Read this!
  2. Barney isn't stopped! by autophile · · Score: 5, Interesting
    While the Big Bad Barney has agreed not to pursue Frankel any longer, the settlement document on the EFF website does not claim that Barney will not try to harass anyone else. Apparently Barney has to pay Frankel $5,000, which is a drop in the bucket. Barney will probably accept the risk of going after other, more likely to be intimidated, sites.

    --Rob

    --
    Towards the Singularity.
    1. Re:Barney isn't stopped! by multisync · · Score: 3, Interesting
      Barney will probably accept the risk of going after other, more likely to be intimidated, sites.


      From the EFF's response to the Barney lawyers:

      Finally, we would like to remind you that New York State Code of Professional Responsibility DR 7-102 [1200.33] and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 provides for sanctions for litigation undertaken without support in existing law or sufficient evidentiary support.


      IANAL, but if the law firm sending me a C&D was from New York, I would find the above very interesting.
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      I don't care why you're posting AC
  3. OMG by BlahSnarto · · Score: 4, Interesting

    You know ive had one of the shittiest days
    in my life, this made me laugh out loud..

    i dont know why...

    but thanks ;)

  4. Five years ago, I got C&D'd by Barney... by oskay · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Five years ago I had a website with a collection of jokes collected from mid-1990s humor mailing lists. Naturally, there was a whole page of Barney jokes. The same stupid ones that you've seen a million times. You've seen all the song parodies (here, if nowhere else), and then there was the giant ASCII-art-Barney-being-killed-by-something. I think that it might have been a face hugger.
    At the time, the web site (for stupid, complicated reasons) was registered in my father's name. So, imagine my old man's surprise when one day HE gets a letter from Barney's lawyer threatening (purple) fire and brimstone. Without much of a good alternative, we caved. I was really, really mad, and I suppose that I still am. To this day, it's the only legal 'trouble' that any of my web sites have stirred up, which is actually somewhat surprising.

    Now that someone has finally stood up to the purple bully, can I finally dig into my old backups and put up the page of Barney jokes again? Whether or not Barney jokes are still relevant at the end of 2006, I suppose that I should, merely on principle.