My friend has a site where he collects these completely stupid things that this guy at his work says and then posts them. Is there any legal issues with it? The site kinda mocks the guy, but just indirectly because the quotes are so dumb, but it's all actual stuff he's said.
If the quotes are 100% accurate and attributed, you are most likely ok. However, if you use them out of context, it could land you in court.
I don't have the exact link, but a woman won a monetary judgment against a person who posted online things about her in a blog (I think). Goes to show you can be sued for anything, then the judge ultimately decides whether it's got merit or not.
What you are saying is really a two part question: Q. Can I be sued for posting this type of information? A. You can be sued for nearly anything. Q. Will a judge hear the case? A. If he or she thinks the case has merit it can proceed. Mentioning nonpublic figures in a blog entry can land you in trouble. Prior permission or anonymizing the comments are two choices that you have. Not that I wholeheartedly endorse Wikipedia, but they do have a policy in place when it comes to handling nonpublic figures that is worth a read.
If a reader of the site can't identify the person who made the quotes it is probably going to be ok from a slander standpoint. If your friend posts the guy's photo and starts telling everyone his telephone number and where he lives, it might be more of an issue. Now as far as whether the guy has a copyright on his random quotes--I have no idea how that would work. If you had quotes from a lot of people it is probably fine, but if you build a whole site of everything that an individual person said... I'm not sure. It probably won't be an issue.
The guy in question should really not be identifiable. There are some great sites out there that post 'stupid things people said' - that really interests people. But do make sure it's anonymous, and preferably not just about one person. Using stuff more people have said would also make it harder to identify this one co-worker.
Okay. So it's just quotes from one person. We use a codename for him, don't mention where he works, no information at all as to where he lives or where we live (country, city, anything).
hehe, pm me the link I doubt he can do anything because if you don't use his name, there's no way he can prove it....i think
yeah you sound safe. Random things that people say doesn't fall under copyright, because it's not a work... its just random crap... Most people don't even remember what they say throughout a given day anyway, so it seems harmless.