about negative publicity concerning their IP enforcement efforts—
indeed, some relish their reputation for being an aggressive IP
enforcer—others have a strong aversion to such publicity. Thus, the
interviewed lawyers discussed how they provided legal advice based
on an understanding of any particular client’s sensibilities regarding
publicity.125
All of the interviewed lawyers were aware of such online forums
as the Chilling Effects Clearinghouse, which collect and post online
copies of cease and desist letters to publicize (and mock) what they
consider to be un-warranted and overly aggressive assertions of IP
rights. As one interviewed lawyer stated: “You always know that a
letter you send can be on the Internet that same day, so you write it
accordingly.” The interviewed lawyers discussed how, for some
clients, they needed to balance the need to enforce rights with the
need to not alienate the client’s customers and fans. One movie studio
lawyer described this as follows:
A: Look, these fan sites [online fan web pages containing
unauthorized copyrighted materials] are free publicity to some
extent. Plus, they’re fans after all. They buy your product and you
want to keep good relations with these people. You don’t want to
sue them or harass them unless you have to.
Q: So these sometimes help create buzz or goodwill towards your
client’s movies?
A: Yes, sure. These are mostly homage sites. They drive business
to us. Create a good vibe. We want that.
Q: Then why stop them, go after them?
A: To protect the property.
Q: But you said you don’t do it all the time, so when do you?
A: When they try to commercialize the product. When they use it
in an unsavory way. But otherwise, we like to work with these
sites. When we tell them how they might be hurting the product,