Celebrity Blogs on Libel and Copyright Lawsuits

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief August 1, 2007 · 2 min read

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Coming from someone who has had a brush with libel (though not thru any of my blogs), I assure you that the possibility of getting one in the future isn’t far fetched. This couldn’t be any more true with celebrity or showbiz blogs. Here are some of the very familiar words – libel and copyright infringement.

Perez Hilton

DJ Samantha Ronson, an erstwhile friend of teen actress Lindsay Lohan , is suing the blogger behind PerezHilton.com, Mario Lavandeira. The libel suit , which amounts to $20 million big bucks, implicates Mario for republishing content on his blog.

And it does not stop there. More copyright problems are plaguing the popular celeb blogger.

Perez Hilton Sued By The Paparazzi

Access Hollywood | Blogger Perez Hilton Sued For Copyright Infringement

Web Host Drops Celebrity Blog PerezHilton.com After Copyright Complaints

Before it comes to that, complainants can send out a DMCA to the blog’s web host and shut it down. WisDump suggests subscribing to affordable and legit photo services like PR Photos. I suggest start investing on a camera and getting your own photos. Doing both might be better at the start. You could also save all those revenues from your blog as future legal fund.

Could it happen here in the Philippines? If the PCIJ blog got a TRO before, nothing will stop anybody from doing a repeat performance. Yeah, I know, we all don’t want to hear these kind of discussion. But it’s already out there.
And if you do, I can refer you to my lawyers. ;)

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and is considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines.

8,007 Articles

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24 Comments

Yvette Clevinger · 16 years ago

I really liked TMZs coverage of Lindsay Lohan in court yesterday. She was crying like a baby. I almost felt sad for her.

Dish · 19 years ago

I guess Perez learned something from these law suits. I can see that there are credits on pictures he’s posting…

Shari · 19 years ago

And here I am, thinking that “giving credit” is basic elementary. Apparently not. And truth be told, I don’t even know this Perez Hilton (yeah, I’m sooo behind).

We’re actually planning to have a Bloggers’ Agenda kind of thing soon. We’ll ask bloggers what legislative acts they want to be passed to the 14th Congress regarding info tech and blogging. Our digital rights are always at stake.

It’s always a big news until a relatively unknown blogger without the means and resources for legal proceedings get sued.

Jeffrey · 19 years ago

I noticed that PerezHilton is now putting credits below the photos on where he took those images.

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 19 years ago

@ Jeff, couldn’t remember Pixar contacting us at any time but that would have rocked if they did! :D

Jeffrey · 19 years ago

Abe, i remember that you used The Incredibles characters on your Ploghost site.

I actually contacted Pixar and i told them about it . Next days later, The Incredibles characters were incredibly removed.

chase · 19 years ago

I think the best thing to do to avoid being sued is to give proper credits for the articles or pictures that being published in ones blog

Jeffrey · 19 years ago

That’s why i had to purchase “whois protection” for m domain name. Though still not a guarantee, but at least i can make the crooks search of me a little harder.

SELaplana · 19 years ago

and this news makes me scare again. I hate to be sued

noemi · 19 years ago

haay you know how it is in the US. Suit-happy lawyers left and right. I am not surprised .But it could happen here if some enterprising lawyer sees a hole.Then again, we don’t have clear digital laws .

Nick · 19 years ago

Your libel suit is still fresh on my mind…

But with regards to Perez Hilton, I have to agree with some of those complainants.. there’s fair use, and then there’s using property and claiming it as your own..

I personally never liked Perez Hilton myself, just way too “purposefully” nasty.. There’s airing your grievances, and then there’s just plain being a bitch.