News24\u2019s editor in chief, Jannie Momberg, has rejected claims\u00a0by rival news site, Moneyweb, that it\u00a0took its exclusive content unlawfully and offered it as its own,\u00a0as “patently false” on Friday (6 September).<\/p>\n
Moneyweb<\/a>\u00a0said it has launched an application in the Gauteng South High Court against Naspers-owned Fin24 for alleged plagiarism, copyright infringement and unfair competition.<\/p>\n Moneyweb contends that Fin24\u2019s conduct is unlawful in two respects. First, it infringes Moneyweb\u2019s copyright, and secondly it constitutes the delict of unlawful competition against Moneyweb.<\/p>\n Moneyweb editor Ryk van Niekerk told Beeld that Fin24 published content without permission that cost Moneyweb thousands of rands to generate, \u201cwith just a few sentences that have been changed\u201d.<\/p>\n Momberg said that content was clearly attributed and linked to providing valuable exposure, transfer of audience and strong benefits for search engine optimisation.<\/p>\n \u201cAt no time did we pretend to pass off the work of others as our own,\u201d said Momberg.<\/p>\n News24 contends that this is a common practice amongst digital publishing operations, citing the likes of\u00a0The Huffington Post, YouTube and BuzzFeed.<\/p>\n \u201cMoneyweb\u2019s response to the workings of digital media is clearly an old media approach from a company struggling to retain market share,”\u00a0Momberg said.<\/p>\n He added that it\u2019s clear the South African law has not caught up with the times.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will defend these principles vigorously and look forward to setting a legal precedent for fair use and content aggregation \u2013 a practice that is as old as the free media and used by every single media organisation globally,\u201d said Momberg.<\/p>\n Moneyweb hits out at Fin24 for plagiarism<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Hogg closes loop on Moneyweb adventure<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nMore on South African media<\/h3>\n