Released on = December 13, 2005, 12:06 pm

Press Release Author = Kathy Weiser / Legends of America

Industry = Internet & Online

Press Release Summary = Move by Yahoo shows potential flaws in their enforcement of
the Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Press Release Body = Kathy Weiser has always loved history, especially that of the
American West. So it wasn't a surprise to friends and family when she started her
own website in 2003.

LegendsOfAmerica.com quickly consumed Weiser, and in 2004 she quit her paying job as
a Business Consultant to dedicate more time to building the site into a viable
historical, educational and travel resource. By early December, 2005,
LegendsOfAmerica.com gained a following of over 13,000 unique visitors a day,
including numerous educational sources, such as teachers, students and educational
websites; as well as being featured in the Scout Report, named Worldstart.com's cool
site of the day, recognized by familyfriendlysites.com, Earthlink's Pick of the
Week, and was even named Yahoo Pick of the Day in August of 2004. It was an honor
for the Lenexa, Kansas woman, especially coming from Yahoo, one of the top web sites
in the world, which also just happened to host Weiser's website.

So, it was a shock to her when Yahoo shut down the entire site -- over 3,000 pages,
after an unsubstantiated allegation of copyright infringement was made in regards to
a few photographs. Making their case, backed by the rules of the DMCA (Digital
Millennium Copy Right Act), Yahoo notified Weiser on December 5th of the allegation,
asking her to not only to remove the pictures in question, but an entire
sub-directory of photographs having nothing to do with the allegation; the removal
of which would have severely impacted a large portion of the web site and her
business. The notification went on to explain how Weiser could reply to the
allegation if she felt it was by mistake or misidentification within 48 hours, which
she immediately did.

Weiser says, "The photographs in question are from the National Library of Congress
and other historical archives, all of which are now in the public domain due to
their publication dates in the late 1800's and early 20th century."

The accusing site, WithoutSanctuary.org features some of the same pictures in a book
about Lynching in America. Weiser says none of her photos came from their website
or book, but that she did go ahead and remove eight pictures that she could not
clearly identify the source. "After replying within 24 hours, then not hearing
anything back from Yahoo, I honestly thought that would be the end of it, and even
if it wasn't that they would simply block the disputed material, which was stated as
a possible action in their notification." Instead, Weiser says Yahoo disabled her
entire site on December 7th, crippling her business.

"I'm a firm believer in copyright protection, and the DMCA regulations do provide
some protection of those rights, but to go through an accusation with no due process
and literally shut the door on my livelihood takes the act's intent too far."

Weiser goes on to say, that even though she agreed to remove the disputed material,
Yahoo's lack of response to repeated voicemails and emails to their legal department
prevented her from getting any resolution through them. "I couldn't get an answer
from anyone. The only 'live' people I could talk to were in customer service, and
all they could do is refer me to their legal department voice-mail, which to date,
has returned no calls."

Weiser continued by saying that the idea that someone could make an accusation based
on the DMCA and shut down a business, without due process, frightens her. "I make
every attempt to ensure I'm not infringing on someone else's rights, and since this
was the first complaint made to Yahoo about my site, I really expected them to
support their customer by investigating before taking such a severe action and
potentially ruining my business."

According to Yahoo's copyright material on their website, Weiser could take legal
action against the accuser if the material was found to be misidentified, but Weiser
says she's not the litigious type. "I just want to provide a fun and informative
site on the American West, but with a host that will ask questions before acting on
potentially false and damaging accusations."

Weiser successfully moved to a new hosting service over the weekend and
www.LegendsOfAmerica.com was back up on December 12th. While still in the process
of reloading all the material, she has added a copyright policy to her web site,
inviting anyone that feels they have been infringed on to notify her directly. "If
I'm wrong, I'm more than willing to rectify the situation," Weiser said. She
continued by saying, that although she is not a litigious person and would prefer to
avoid unnecessary legal fees, she will seek legal means to protect her site from
future unsubstantiated incidents.

For additional information, visit the website at http://legendsofamerica.com, e-mail
at info@legendsofamerica.com, call 913-708-5119, or snail mail at 7457 Quivira Rd,
#166, Shawnee, KS 66216

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Web Site = http://www.legendsofamerica.com

Contact Details = Legends of America
http://www.legendsofamerica.com
7457 Quivira Road, #166
Shawnee, KS 662215
813-708-5119
kathy@legendsofamerica.com