Our counsel today will file notice of appeal in Blacklock’s Reporter v. Attorney General. We challenge a May 31 ruling by a federal judge. The outcome will determine the viability of independent media in our country.
In a first for any G7 nation, the Federal Court upheld a claim by lawyers representing Attorney General Arif Virani that federal managers may share passwords to Blacklock’s content without payment or permission, regardless of terms or conditions. Legal experts called the decision a “license for piracy” that will “create precedents” undermining an entire industry.
The Attorney General argued federal managers have a “public interest” in reading Blacklock’s without having to pay for it. We argue this is electronic shoplifting, unethical and wrong in law, a plain breach of property rights and the Copyright Act that has catastrophic consequences for digital media producers.
There will be a hearing. There will be intervenors. We will fight this to the finish – The Editor.
