The Trader Joe’s Encounter, Part II: The Lie

So on to Part II of my Sunday night encounter with Dr. No.  I asked Irvine Republican Mayoral candidate Steven Choi about a flyer promoting his candidacy that was dropped off at my door.  The flyer contained a cheap photocopied story on an OC Register story written by Thomas Martinez that reported on an inaccurate mailer.  I asked Choi if he obtained reprint rights from the Register for this (note to readers: the Register has strict reprint rights of it’s copyrighted material and if you call 714-796-6038 you can hear them spell out that register-originated content may NOT be used in political campaigns).

Choi said Martinez told him he could use the story.

That was a surprise to Martinez when I called him last night and confirmed this morning that no such permission was given.  So, No you can’t Dr. Choi.

Now this is the second time Dr. No has used copyrighted material without the permission of the publisher.  Choi was part of a newspaper designed to look like the Irvine World News in 2004; it featured edited articles that left bylines on the stories.  So this makes Dr. Choi a seasoned liar.

So for our friends at the Register’s legal department, call me for the copy of the flyer left at my door.  At the very least, you’re due a check from the Choi campaign.

So let’s review:

Choi was asked a direct question if he paid for reprint rights to copyrighted work.  He responded saying he had the permission of the author who holds no legal claim to the copyright.  The author says (twice) he never gave Choi or his campaign permission to use the story.  The paper has a strict policy against using articles for political campaigns.

We can argue over whether this makes Choi a thief.  But what isn’t in dispute is that he lied.  And now the reporter knows he lied.
Part III later today.

3 Comments

  1. Dan, considering all the lies and negative mailers that Larry Agran has been throwing at Steven, I cannot imagine much that Choi could do that would put him in the same ballpark with you guys. I do not claim to be a legal expert on copyright law, but when a newspaper publishes a story about a specific individual (Choi), I cannot see the individual involved being prohibited from referring to it, or using it as a point of reference. I am sure if there was a legal issue, the Register would have already been all over it? Instead, here you guys are continuing to sling the brown stuff on the wall, to see if it will stick. Save your breath Dan, it isn’t working and your boy “King Larry” is going down in flames tomorrow.

  2. Pat — the Register is now aware of the use of this article. And please note, the paper has a stric policy about their stories being used in political campaigns. “I forgot” or “I don’t know” is not a defense when breaking the law.

    And from the polling I have seen, I don’t think Agran is worried about fire.

  3. Hey Pat, do you think that Long time Democrat Carl Berman should have disclosed to other Democrats that he works for Choi as his council executive assistant before complaining about PK Wong and Huintly-Fenner being “fake Democrats?” Wonder if Carl is OK with Choi’s position on same sex marriage. Choi’s campaign is load with omissions

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