by Christopher Harbin
Marc was recently quoted in the paper of record regarding Slapp suits.
One tidbit of the article stood out as odd to me:
“The group Medical Justice, which helps protect doctors from meritless malpractice suits, advises its members to have patients sign an agreement that gives the doctor copyright over a Web posting if the patient mentions the doctor or practice.”
I don’t condone this practice, but would the doctors want an assignment of copyright rather than a non-disclosure agreement? Wouldn’t fair use basically eviscerate any control the doctor or practice might have? Also, what about non-copyrightable statements. For example, “My doctor cut off the wrong leg” and “My doctor is a crook” contain no protectable expression, so I’m pretty sure Medical Justice is giving out crummy advice. How is their mission of “protecting doctors from meritless malpractice suits” advanced by silencing critics anyways?
