A blook of contention

Commotion has come about a blook, a weblog derivative in book form. On the Dutch language blog Fok.nl a weblog was kept for seven months by Nadine S., who wrote a thread about the love life of a nanny. The weblog was started in 2005 and has now, without a warning to the weblog owner or the audience, been published as a book.

The book has built on the thread about a passionate and secret relationship of a nanny with the father of the children under her care. The blogger confided in the internet audience about her double life and solicited their advice, tips and warnings. The nanny gets into a complicated situation and will have to face the music in the end. But one more time she takes a risk.

Nadine S. was in fact a Dutch author, Karin Overmars. Readers of the blog who contributed with comments, have problems about the publication. They put that the author knew from the beginning that she was going to publish a book and that the author solicited contributions for free. They feel cheated. They wonder about the copyright issue involved.

The publisher claims that he did not know who was behind the blog. The blog describes the exciting life of a nanny, who lives two lives taking care of kids, having a lover on the side and running an own family (Oh my goodness those licentious Dutch).

The regular readers and forum contributors have called upon visitors to bring charges against the blog owner and the publisher for violating copyright. The blog owner of Fok.nl has thought about taking legal steps as he considers the thread an asset of the blog owner. However, he will not take legal steps against the author and publisher. He claims that the thread has partly been re-written. Yet he thinks that it is improper to use a thread on a forum for a novel without informing the Fok visitors and the owner.

It is the first time that in The Netherlands a blook has been published from a thread on a forum. As such there is no jurisprudence. The blog owner can only conclude, that whatever someone puts up on internet, is always retrievable and can be misused.

Blog Posting Number: 687

Tags: copyright, blog, blook