Hejsa NG,
Jeg faldt lige over et juridisk spørgsmål på et forum jeg ofte besøger.
Posten er på engelsk.
Jeg har mange gange fortalt om hvilken effektiv NG vi har her i DK, så nu
ville jeg spørge : er der nogen som kan komme med noget input til det her ?
Undskylder, posten er temmelig lang ...
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"About 2 years ago I started a sports forum, just out of general interest. I
started out quite small and in the interest of the forum, I decided to merge
with another forum. This merger went fine and we were a growing forum with a
blossoming partnership. However we were looking to expand even further and I
came across another sports community that went by the name Sports Pavilion.
I made the first step and approached the owner about a merger [I'm gonna
refer to him as X from now on for the purpose of clarity]. Initially it
seemed that we would be able to come to a mutually beneficial deal but after
a few conversations it became clear that X was not interested in running the
forum with my partner and myself as equals. I ended any talk of a merger
there and then as result.
A few months later I was approached by X with a merger deal. He agreed to
allowing us to be equal admins with full rights to the database and forum
files through ftp, phpmyadmin etc. He said that he didn't have much time to
run the forums anymore and so he was looking to lift the weight off his
shoulders. After some deliberation we agreed to the merger. After a few
conversations he then stated that he wanted to step down as admin and hand
the reigns over to us. We told him that we wanted him to stay on as admin,
simply cause it was his forum as well, but he insisted he wanted to step
down and demoted himself. We then told him if ever he wanted to return he
would only have to tell us.
Anyway, part of our original deal was that we'd have a name change, buy a
new domain suitable for the new community. After some deliberation I bought
the domain name and implemented it. There was an immediate backlash from the
members but we explained the situation. After a while though we started
noticing slander on the forums, with some of the old members from X's
community posting rubbish about the current admin. It then came to our
attention that it was X that had put them up to it. Anyhow another part of
our original deal was that X was going to buy new hosting for the forums.
Anyhow, with the purchase of the new domain, we found out that it couldn't
be parked on the server that was currently hosting us, which was the
original place that X ran his forums. I then informed him of the fact that I
'd look for another host that would support the new domain. Anyhow I moved
the forums then after I found a solution. Almost immediately though we were
hacked. It was a very uncertain time and I chatted with X and he started
finger pointing at another admin. I knew that this admin wasn't capable of
doing it so it seemed very fishy. Additionally, a few months after the
merger I found out that X had a certain reputation, of driving members away
and basically being a nuisance.
X then asked me to demote the admin he accused. I told him that without
evidence this would not be possible. He didn't present any evidence and then
out of the blue said let's separate the forums. After a little talking he
then said he was going to take legal action as he had copyrighted the domain
Sports Pavilion with the New Zealand Law Society and that all content posted
under this domain was also property of Sports Pavilion. I told him that this
was total rubbish as he had not informed me of this at the time of the
merger when I clearly told him to present all the facts to me. Additionally,
there was no statement of use on the forums of any sort informing the
members of this copyright. Also, the forums were now under the new name and
during the transfer there was also no mention of this fact.
He then audaciously asked me to make him admin again and after his behaviour
I told him that unless certain issues were sorted out this would not be
possible. He said he would annul the copyright agreement. A couple of days
later the forums were hacked again, and after analysis of the evidence at
hand it was clear that it was X who had hacked them. He had the means and
the motive. I then told him there was no chance in hell that he would
return, and he threatened legal action again. We then decided that we would
start the forums afresh to get rid of any lingering thoughts from the old
forum that had brought so many problems.
This brings me to my present situation. So my question is, is there anything
I should be worried about? Or is it a total bluff from X? I talked to
several people and came to the conclusion that it had to be a bluff but I
wanted to know from a legally inclined person. And if this were to go to
court what's the worst possible scenario? Considering this whole community
is in fact non-profit and a leisure undertaking."
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Ja, han er lidt hurtig til at komme med konklusioner ... men lad os antage
at alt hvad han skriver er sandheden, hvad *kan* der så egentlig ske ?
Og hvordan kan X have beskyttet alt sit materiale, når stort set alle
sportspavilion+dot-et-eller-andet ikke ser ud til at være registerede ?
("...he had copyrighted the domain Sports Pavilion with the New Zealand Law
Society...")
Har vi nogle danske guruer derude som har nogle teorier / ideer ?
I skal have mange tak.
Igen, undskyld den lange besked.
MVH, Frederik GS