IP in Silicon Valley

Intellectual Property on Ulitzer - The "new media" vs. "traditional media" discussion that has been covering the basic rules of journalism vs. the new media bloggers on expanded social media platforms takes the definition of "fair game" to a whole new dimension.

I will simplify it.

We are observing three groups of new media participants on blog portals and social media platforms as we enter a new decade for online media.

1) Old school journalists with their traditional values - I personally come from a traditional journalism background as I recently described towards the end of  this blog entry and this one.

2) Professional "new media" participants and bloggers - The Ulitzer platform we created in 2009 will be one of the most respected and popular new media sites whose participants fall under this category.

3) Underground social media criminals and Internet terrorists - Like any legitimate and lawful business, from time to time we also get our fair share of attacks by underground social media criminals and Internet terrorists. These people attack legitimate businesses, companies, and/or individuals with all the online terror tools available to them: DDoS attacks, harassment of your customer base, intimidation of  your clients or affiliates. Many of these online terrorists are anonymous bloggers, which makes them almost impossible to locate. They are virtual Osama Bin Ladens as their accomplishments are cyberterrorism.

As a company, we do not engage with social media criminals or Internet terrorists.

I personally do not read a single word of the graffiti they write on each other's Facebook walls or Twitter tweets since the day Internet was invented.

What these terrorists say or write does not bother me.

Online media consumers are smart and sophisticated professionals who can come to their own conclusion on any subject. They are capable of making a judgment call on who the victims and the attackers are.

Now a Completely Different Subject
"Freedom of Speech Turkish Style"
This weekend a young Turkish Intellectual Property attorney (her online bio says "she can speak English"), repeatedly attempted to email me a letter, but she could not quite attach her letter to her email, so it took until Monday afternoon for her to copy and paste so I could see what she was asking.

Long story short, in her email / letter, she says she is representing a Dutch CEO who is in charge of a Turkish hotel chain (Mr. Joep Baks, Koç Holding A.Ş. Grup Şirketlerinden, Palmira Turizm Ticaret A.Ş.) and her client is not happy with one of my blog entries from four years ago. If I do not take it down immediately, she will "press criminal charges" against me, citing, I assume, a Turkish Internet law.

Turkey has dreams of becoming a part of the European Union.

"Freedom of Speech" and "Freedom of the Press" are two of the bleeding issues for Europe whenever Turkey knocks on their door.

The current Turkish government and its prime minister Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who got pissed off at the largest Turkish Media Company (and its owner Mr. Aydin Dogan, mini Turkish Rupert Murdoch), are trying to put this media empire out of business. (See My Blog Entry Enis Berberoğlu Named Editor-in-Chief of Hürriyet)

I believe this young Turkish IP attorney when she says she will press criminal charges against me.

I am sure Turkey, a borderline democracy, as well as Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, China and other totalitarian regimes have many Internet laws where they routinely shoot down YouTube, or burn Facebook, or ban Twitter.

She and her client, the Dutch CEO of the Turkish hotel chain, have a minor problem though.

You do not press "criminal charges" in the United States with your third-world Internet laws where the prime minister shoots down media conglomerates, the army censors Kurdish YouTube videos, and their next-door neighbor Iran executes Twitter on an electric chair.

I don't doubt a minute, according to the Turkish Internet law, my blog entry here may in fact have criminal consequences, simply because Mr. Joep Bakx, CEO of Divan Hotel chain did not like it.

The day Turks comprehend the concept of "freedom of speech" and their prime minister understands the meaning of "freedom of the press" they will win half the battle toward becoming a part of Europe.

On a Very Positive Note:
As I walked into the office this morning, after my 6 am JetBlue flight from Ft Lauderdale to JFK, I found my Elite Plus Card from Turkish Airlines. I had asked Turkish Airlines if they could mail it to me at the end of my last blog entry, after a feedback note I wrote to THY CEO Temel Kotil and they did. I am impressed. Thank you very much you guys!

• [berkman] Piracy in developing countries
• Newspaper and Magazine Circulations Will Get Hit Hard By "New Media" Tsunami
• Enis Berberoğlu Named Editor-in-Chief of Hürriyet