HOWTO keep your parody site safe from legal bullies

Hugh sez, "The Electronic Frontier Foundation's Corynne McSherry has put together a great whitepaper with tips on how to avoid having your parody or gripe site shut down."

Here's a story we hear a lot at EFF: You think BadCo, Inc. is a bad actor and you've developed a really cool site to tell the world why. Maybe just by griping about them or maybe through a bit of parody. Fast forward two weeks: you're basking in the pleasure of calling BadCo out when bam! You find out your site's been shut down. You call your internet service provider to find out what's going on. After way too much time climbing phone trees and sitting on hold you get an answer–Badco has claimed that your site violates its intellectual property rights.

All too often, the targets of critics and parodists try to strike back with accusations of copyright or trademark infringement. While such accusations may be something of a badge of honor–after all, at the very least, it means you've got your target's attention–they can also be frustrating and intimidating. And, if you rely on a service provider with little interest in protecting free speech, allegations of infringement can result in your site being shut down with little or no warning.

Six Simple Steps You Can Take To Protect Your Gripe or Parody Site

(Thanks, Hugh!)