The Mirror, Vol. 11, No. 526
“Phnom Penh: Mr. Bernard Krisher, the publisher of The Cambodia Daily in Cambodia, accompanied by the lawyer Mr. Suy Chhunhak, went on 18 September 2007 to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court Prosecutor to explain his lawsuit against the Radio Free Asia [RFA] office in Cambodia, based on the accusation of a copyright violation.
“It should be stated that on 4 September 2007, the lawyer Mr. Suy Chhunhak, representing Mr. Bernard Krisher, had submitted a lawsuit to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court against the RFA office at #63 E0-E1, Street 240, Chey Chumneah, Daun Penh, Phnom Penh, P. O. Box 816, claiming that the copyright had been violated, referring to the law on the violation of copyright and intellectual property rights, committed toward The Cambodia Daily in Cambodia. It is a lawsuit based on the criminal and the civil code, demanding a compensation for the damages suffered of US$20,000.
“According to the above-mentioned lawsuit, RFA violated the law on copyright and intellectual property rights toward The Cambodia Daily since 1999, by secretly copying published articles of The Cambodia Daily to use them in their electronic media, as this newspaper does not publish through the Internet, while the masthead of every issues of The Cambodia Daily clearly states, ‘No part of this periodical may be reproduced in print or electronically, rebroadcast, rewritten or redistributed without written permission from the publisher of The Cambodia Daily.” This is considered to be important, because every journalist has the right to sell their articles for their income; therefore, whenever a violation was committed by broadcasting the text through RFA, it caused a loss of the Khmer and the foreign writers’ income.
“In 2006, The Cambodia Daily discovered that RFA copied, faxed and e-mailed all articles published by the newspaper to Bangkok and to Washington D.C. It was then discovered that the copyright had been violated since 1999.
“Ms. Deborah Steele, the former manager of RFA and the recipient of the reports in Bangkok in 1999, stated that the RFA reporter Pin Samkhon, working in Thailand, copied articles from The Cambodia Daily and sent them to a RFA office.
“Later on, Mr. Bernard Krisher, the publisher of The Cambodia Daily, discovered all copies of the newspaper sent electronically to Washington D.C. Then he wrote to Mr. Kem Sos, the RFA executive director of the Khmer and English [sic] services. Mr. Kem Sos admitted that these activities were a violation, and he informed Mr. To Serey at the RFA office in Phnom Penh to stop them.
“After receiving the above-mentioned lawsuit, Prosecutor Mr. Uk Savuth scheduled the date of 18 September 2007 to summon Mr. Bernard Krisher, the plaintiff, to explain and to show evidence and documents, to press charges against the RFA office in Phnom Penh.
“In the meantime, while Mr. Bernard Krisher explained his position and maintains the charges, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court prosecutor issued a summons for the director of the RFA office in Phnom Penh, to appear in court on 19 September 2007, to explain his position in order to refute the charges, and to show other evidence related to the lawsuit of The Cambodia Daily.” Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.6, #1448, 19.9.2007
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Wednesday, 19 September 2007
Deum Ampil, Vol.2, #36, 19-25.9.2007
- Police Cary Out New Traffic Law While Police and Drivers Have Not Made Well Aware [of the law]
- Politicians Start to Increase Broadcasting Hours to Criticize Each Other on Radio, Making Mam Sonando [Director of Sambok Khmum Radio] Sit, Pressing the Calculator Keys to Calculate Money [broadcasting fees – mocking]
- Officials of US Embassy Warn about Deception in Getting US Visas Issued
- Mr. Khlaing Huot, Russey Keo Governor, Carries Samdech Hun Sen’s Gifts to Poor People
Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.6, #1448, 19.9.2007
- The Cambodia Daily Publisher Explains and Defends Lawsuit against Radio Free Asia
- During Prohibited Season, Tonnes of Fish from Fishing Lot 5 Are Caught and Transported to Vietnam Every Day [Takeo]
- Saudi Arabia Buys 72 Warplanes from Britain
Khmer Mekong, Vol.5, #296, 15-16.9.2007
- H.E. Lu Laysreng [first Vice-President of Funcinpec]: Funcinpec Will Retain 26 Seats in 2008 Election
Koh Santepheap, Vol.40, #6148, 19.9.2007
- [TV] Spot “Don’t Respect Husband Who Is Illiterate”: Samdech Prime Minister Reacts and Blames Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports [that the spot hurts feelings of the illiterate people]
- Traffic Accidents in July: 92 of 1,538 Victims Died
- University of Cambodia Provides 500 “Samdech Hun Sen” Scholarships
Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.15, #4393, 19.9.2007
- Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association: Officials [of Ministry of Education] Collude with Each Other, and They Are Paid to Write Reports [for university graduates]
- Soy Sauce with Toxins and Vegetables with Chemicals Cause Fear in Vietnam
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