Beware the R-J Death Ray, Too!

The Internet is abuzz over the Review-Journal's great Saturday story about the Vdara "death ray," the sunlight that reflects off the side of the glass hotel tower and unbearably heats up sections of the pool deck.

It's such a terrific story that it's been linked to by even those who have sworn off the R-J and vowed not to link to them because of the paper's campaign to curb copyright infringements by suing dozens of website owners. Here's one of those examples:


Now, while the R-J is not actually suing anyone who merely links to their work, I feel it might be smart to note that the paper's Righthaven campaign doesn't just cover the stolen written word. The R-J's graphic artist, Mike Johnson, created a great illustration that has been lifted wholesale by RawVegas.TV, Gizmodo.Com, HospitalityNet.Org and many others, see. It's vaguely possible they asked for permission, but the R-J has said that stuff that is used with permission should be labeled as, uh, "used with permission."

Gizmodo in particular is a huge site. They're the ones, recall, who "found" the iPhone4 in a bar earlier this year. And, as Review-Journal attorney Mark Hinueber noted at a Society of Professional Journalists event on Saturday, they operate in the Internet space and ought to know better.

So what's that I smell along with the singed hair at Vdara? Ahh, right. Here come another set of Righthaven lawsuits.