Fin24 in court for ‘lifting articles’

THE High Court in Johannesburg yesterday heard a case that could decide whether it is legal for journalists to lift content from competing websites’ stories to create their own.

Moneyweb brought a case against rival news website Media24 in 2013 after the latter’s subsidiary, Fin24, allegedly copied extensively from seven Moneyweb articles and published reworked versions on its website as its own.

Moneyweb said in its affidavit Fin24 infringed its copyright and this constituted unlawful competition.

The companies operate competing businesses – financial and investment news websites.

The dispute between the parties came to a head in 2013 following Fin24’s reproduction of Moneyweb’s exclusive article on an alleged Ponzi scheme, according to heads of argument filed by Moneyweb.

A Moneyweb journalist attended a presentation by the promoter of the alleged scheme and wrote the story which was placed on Moneyweb’s website.

The following day, Fin24 editor Fadia Salie posted it, as her own, on the Fin24 website.

Moneyweb’s advocate, Philip Ginsburg SC, said in court yesterday that Moneyweb had shown it owned copyright in the seven articles under dispute.

He said Media24’s claim that Moneyweb’s articles were not original within the meaning of the Copyright Act was spurious.

Media24 said there was no copyright protection on news reports of the “news of the day” if the information used in the articles was sourced from any third parties, which might include press releases, information given at press conferences and interviews with individuals.

Media24 Advocate Cedric Puckrin SC told Acting Judge Daniel Berger that Moneyweb’s articles were sourced from third parties and Fin24 had sourced only a part of its own articles from Moneyweb.

The matter continues.