[SIGCIS-Members] The new thing: Ayyadurai claims to be suing Techdirt

[Subramanian, Ramesh Prof.]

This is most depressing, akin to Trump's election. Both can be argued as cases where fake news, the power of nastiness and bluster have won the argument. I agree with Evan that the most distressing is the statement: There is no reasonable dispute that  Dr. Ayyadurai is the inventor of email."

I cannot believe that the adjudicators did not consider the disputes that have been in the press and in forums such as these...Gawker would have been well served to contact forums such as these, but it looks like it has been outmaneuvered by Ayyadurai's legal team! I wonder if SIGCIS members should consider filing amicus briefs in cases such as these in the future.

-Ramesh




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Ramesh Subramanian, Ph.D.
Gabriel Ferrucci Professor of Computer Information Systems
Quinnipiac University
Hamden, CT 06518.
Phone: 203-582-5276
Email:rameshs at quinnipiac.edu
Web: http://www.quinnipiac.edu/about/directory/faculty-detail/?Dept=16&Person=23345
&
Fellow, Yale Law School - Information Society Project
New Haven, CT 06511
Email: ramesh.subramanian at yale.edu
Web: http://www.law.yale.edu/intellectuallife/9841.htm

________________________________________
From: Members <members-bounces at lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of Evan Koblentz <evan at snarc.net>
Sent: Wednesday, January 4, 2017 10:32 PM
To: Sigcis
Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] The new thing: Ayyadurai claims to be suing Techdirt

> Do facts carry no weight anymore?

The most offensive part to me is: "There is no reasonable dispute that
Dr. Ayyadurai is the inventor of email."

If the president-to-be can say any crazy thing and mock those who
observe its falsehood, then so can lawyers.


Or is history now decided by who has the nastiest lawyer?

Remember, John Mauchly "did derive" ENIAC from Atanasoff's unfinished
electromechanical calculator...

I can understand such a decision back then, when the non-technical
public knew next to nothing about computing. But in 2016? All it should
have taken for Gawker to win is anyone on this list taking the stand to
show a timeline of (ahem) email. The greenest small-town law school
graduate could have won that case. It is baffling how Gawker lost.
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