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Denise Howell is a seasoned appellate and intellectual property litigator based in Los Angeles. Denise writes one of the first and most popular law-related blogs, Bag and Baggage, coined the term "blawg" and helped pioneer podcasting for lawyers. Microcontent obsessed since 2001, she is frequently quoted in the media on legal issues involving intellectual property and technology law. "Sound Policy" is Denise's show at IT Conversations, and it's also what she hopes results from the briefs she submits to court. Email Denise at dhowell@gmail.com.

Dennis Kennedy is a computer lawyer and legal technology expert based in St. Louis, Missouri. An award-winning author, a frequent speaker and a widely-read blogger, he has more than 300 publications on legal, technology and Internet topics, many of which are collected in his e-books. Dennis has been described as someone who knows almost every rock song in existence and, more importantly, how they apply to technology and law. Email Dennis at his gmail address.

Tom Mighell is Senior Counsel and Litigation Technology Support Coordinator at Cowles & Thompson in Dallas. He has published the Internet Legal Research Weekly newsletter since 2000 and blogged about the Internet and legal technology at Inter Alia since August of 2002. With Tom's singing, Ernie on guitar and Dennis' encylopedic knowledge of rock music, we may have the beginnings of a good band, if this whole blog thing doesn't work out. Email Tom at tmighell@swbell.net.

Marty Schwimmer left a partnership in the largest trademark practice in the world and founded Schwimmer Mitchell, a full-service IP micro-boutique in Westchester County, New York, where he represents owners of famous and not yet famous trademarks. He founded The Trademark Blog, the first IP law blog and the one with the most pictures. He is the first to come in and the last to leave in his firm. Email Marty at marty@schwimmerlegal.com.

Ernest Svenson practices law with a mid-sized law firm in New Orleans, specializing in business-related lawsuits. Most of his practice takes place in federal court, especially the Eastern District. He is best known for his weblog Ernie the Attorney, which he started as an experiment. Like many experiments it got out of control. Nevertheless, he continues to practice law and, occasionally, to seek enlightenment. Email Ernest at esvenson@gmail.com.
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April 1, 2005

Blogging: Say Thank You To Your Bus Driver and Cashier

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Posted by Marty Schwimmer

A crazy person gave me a pamphlet one day (aside: I think Hoefler Frere-Jones should design a font called 'crazy person pamphlet' to capture the effect of manual typewritten words with no margins, repeated photo-copying and bad paper).

Most of the pamphlet's advice has been mooted by the fall of the Soviet Union but there was one thing worth remembering:

"It's the absence of small courtesies in everyday life that creates an atmosphere where evil can thrive. Say thank you to your bus driver and cashier."

As Instapundit would say, Indeed.

A colleague maintains a blog. Two months ago a law firm copied one of his case summaries word for word. He contacted them and they apologized and retracted.

Today he emails me again. Another blog has copied a different case summary of his, word for word.

Case summaries have a lot of short declarative unprotectable sentences, "the plaintiff say 'moo', the defendant said 'baaa,' the Court then issued findings of fact."

However they sometimes also (as in the case here), contain enough idiosyncratic phrases that the author can say "A poor thing but mine own."

Forget about copyright. Think of it in terms of manners. Do not copy word for word without credit. Show respect for the small things of others.

It is the absence of small courtesies in everyday life that creates an environment where evil can thrive.

Comments (3) + TrackBacks (0) | Category: Ethics, Decorum and Manners


COMMENTS

1. Kevin Heller on April 1, 2005 10:51 AM writes...

Wonderfully stated Marty.

Show some attribution people!

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2. So-Called "Austin Mayor" on April 1, 2005 11:42 AM writes...

Right on!

I am *so* cutting and pasting this onto my blog.

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3. Nipper on April 2, 2005 10:25 AM writes...

Not only is it rude, but it makes your peers think very poorly of you.

An additional problem is blogs who DO give credit for the content they copy, but they "quote" (copy) a substantial portion of the content without adding anything new to the debate. DON'T DO THAT!

Instead, point to the resource (i.e., "Marty has a great post on X at this link.")

While we are on the topic...same thing for trackbacks.

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