Copyright asserted by author of matl from political website

[Pugilist]

What is the name of your state?

California

I run a political website, totally noncommercial, not asking for donations either, opposing Candidate X, who is running for re-election.

I'm not a candidate, nor do I work for any of Candidate X's opposition.

I personally write the site, and pay all expenses for it.

On my site I have republished a hit piece I found on the 'net. The hit piece was written on the occasion of a previous election and at that time it was published on a (now-defunct) website operated by Candidate X's official opponent.

The hit piece is about 150 words long, and I have published it in its entirety. While I agree in general to its opposition to Candidate X, I have added a little commentary, pointing out that some of the assertions made in the hit piece may or may not be true.

I have now been contacted by a person who claims to be the political consultant who wrote the hit piece. He asserts copyright - although there was no mention of same, or his name, on the old website - and insists that I remove the hit piece from my site.

Do I have to?

Pug

 

[FlyingRon]

It's no longer necessary to put copyright notices on works to get copyright protection. Most people do anyhow. Found on the internet does not equate to public domain.

Publishing complete works generally isn't protected under fair use for commentary. If you don't comply and he is indeed the author, he may follow up with your ISP who will almost certainly gladly pull your webpage in reply to this guys sworn statement of your infringement.