Moneyweb feels “costly” litigation in Media24 battle
Moneyweb says it is due to file its replying affidavit “shortly” in its ongoing legal dispute with Naspers subsidiary, Fin24.
The struggling listed financial news provider launched an application in the Gauteng South High Court in September last year for alleged plagiarism, copyright infringement and unfair competition.
Moneyweb claims that Fin24 has plagiarised its articles and has contravened copyright whilst “implementing a low-cost content aggregation strategy and piggy-backing on the efforts of Moneyweb which invests in original journalism”.
It said that Fin24 used a series of articles written by Moneyweb journalists and contributors, which Fin24 copied, either fully or partially, and published unlawfully.
Fin24 however, denies the charges, arguing that there is no copyright or exclusivity in news items.
News24’s editor in chief, Jannie Momberg said that content was clearly attributed and linked to providing valuable exposure, transfer of audience and strong benefits for search engine optimisation.
News24 pointed to a common practice amongst digital publishing operations, citing the likes of The Huffington Post, YouTube and BuzzFeed.
“Moneyweb’s response to the workings of digital media is clearly an old media approach from a company struggling to retain market share,” Momberg said.
Last week Moneyweb reported a 16% drop in revenue for the six months ended December 2013, to R13.6 million, from R16.2 million before.
The group extended its net loss to R1.4 million, from a prior loss of R208,000, with a headline loss per share of 1.30 cents, from a prior loss of 0.20 cents.
In its SENS announcement, Moneyweb said: “Moneyweb is due to file its replying affidavit shortly, after which the matter will proceed to court, for judicial determination.”
“Whilst the litigation is costly, Moneyweb considers it vital for the future of its business to ensure that the internet does not degenerate into a free for all, where journalists become mere producers of content, and where the value of unique content and intellectual property, protected by sound copyright principles, are sacrificed in favour of the expediency of ubiquitous news reporting, as advocated by Media24.”
Moneyweb has also previously incurred “un-budgeted expenditure” in protecting its rights against Alec Hogg, its founder and former CEO.
It accused Hogg of misappropriating a client database belonging to Moneyweb, “which he then used to send mailers to persons he wished to direct to his own website”.
Hogg resigned from Moneyweb in October 2012 on 12 months’ notice, citing differences in his and controlling shareholder, Caxton’s value systems.
More on Moneyweb and Media24
Moneyweb interim revenue drops 16%
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