According to Computer World, Wal-Mart's lawyers have sent threatening letters to web sites publicizing the merchant chain's "Black Friday" ads, as yet unpublished by the company but leaked to the sites.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has threatened legal action against Web sites that leak its Black Friday ads, according to one Web site that received a warning letter from the retail company's lawyers. ...
A Wal-Mart spokesman acknowledged the company's efforts to prevent the information from appearing online but downplayed the letter's legal threats.
"In the past, certain Web sites have posted seasonal promotion advertising from Wal-Mart -- and many other retailers -- without authorization," said Wal-Mart spokesman John Simley in an e-mail. "Because these Web sites have violated laws covering trade secrets and copyright protection, we have merely reminded them of their obligations under the law and asked them to observe those laws."
The letter itself is posted here. Harvard Law Prof. Wendy Seltzer points out that,
... copyright claims ... fit poorly with the posting of price compilations. Copyright doesn't protect facts or ideas, only original expression. Yet the stores were trying to squelch pre-announcement of facts: the prices they intended to affix to items, not any expressive element of the circulars' graphic design or its arrangement of items. Copyright claims probably looked attractive because they pull in the DMCA notice-and-takedown procedure, giving reason for the service provider to disable customers' sites.
She also discusses the infringement of trade secrets angle Wal-Mart is trying to invoke.
That being said, the reaction of the folks at the web site, Black Friday Ads, was pretty, well, uh, I dunno. You be the judge:
The Black Friday Ads site said it had no choice but to comply with the letter.
"Let's be real here. Wal-Mart is a corporate conglomerate that crushes small towns on its way to world dominance,"
World dominance? By crushing small towns? Jeepers, BFA, get a grip. The site's operators are not so blinded by their own rhetoric that they can't see the writing on the wall, though.
Even if we were in the right in posting Wal-Mart's advertisements, we in no way have the means or time to bother with a potential litigation. We have no course of action here and unless Wal-Mart rescinds their threat, don't expect the Wal-Mart advertisement to appear on any Black Friday site until November 19th.
I might be wrong here, but I think that's what Wal-Mart had in mind.
Chalk up one in the W column for the small-town crushing, world-dominating, mega-conglomerate retailer.
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