A Tumblr Experience

1. Is it about free speech? I’ve been told by some it’s not about free speech but about an organization being able to protect their content in case people mistaken my website for the real one. This is a perfectly valid response and I understand why they are concerned. Parody is not a legal defense for copyright infringement in Canada under fair dealing. You’re going to have to break copyright laws if you are parodying something. It restricts my ability to express my opinions about a certain organization if I cannot afford that ability. I understand I should be within some limits, but as it stands, parody is just a big no.

2. Did my site misguide anyone? Absolutely not. I have not received one complaint about it. The worst I’ve heard is that people keep calling Pizza Hut to reach me.

3. Do I want to fight it? Of course I do, but I’m not because I don’t have the resources or want to put in that effort to fight it. Some say that even if I did, I’d probably lose, and they are correct. My site is probably too close to the original for a judge to say it merits a parody.

4. In my view, even if you identify something as parody, you’re going to get in trouble. In the case of Rocky View sending a cease and desist letter to Al Sacuta for modifying the county’s logo, you get the same punishment for varying degrees of “parody” or “satire.”

5. Does this affect my job future? Probably, but I’ve unleashed this frenzy already, so at this point I don’t care as much.

6. Isn’t this as serious as copying a bank’s website? I feel there’s a very strong case in differentiating what I did and if I were to tamper with a bank website.

7. You’re not funny. Some people don’t find Jon Stewart funny and no one ever heard of him again.

8. I’ve read a lot of comments about how people are angry at city council. City council as a political organization cannot be involved in the city’s legal disputes. So you’re pretty much on your own when it comes to city administration.

9. There’s been more than enough support from people. Thank you.

10. A person did personally come to serve me the notice. I think it was a little heavy-handed. A phone call would have been more appreciated and the communication I think would have been better. And no I did not call the city back regarding this. It’s nice to know that the city does have enough money to clamp down on students who don’t have jobs.

11. What happens on Monday? I’ll comply with the cease and desist order in regards to the copyright infringement.

12. Are you quitting your blog? After this? We’re just getting started.

13. You’re known for your criticism of the media, so did they get it right? I think they did a very good job of it. They tackled things I didn’t think of and presented both sides very well. Expect a lot of follow fridays on Twitter from me for them.

14. What about Ward 15? That’s probably another legal issue I have to deal with. Is the idea of Ward 15 another one of those “misguiding the public” issues. I have no idea at this point.

15. What are you doing after this? A lot of coverage on the 2010 municipal election. Expect something about copyrights and legal battles in upcoming blogs and my coverage.