Friday 27 April 2012

Australian Mining Industry: So which version do you believe is the more accurate?









mUmBRELLA 20 April 2012:

Less than two hours after publishing the story we received the following letter from XStrata Coal:
I refer to the video titled “Ad pastiches mining industry’s ‘This is our story’ campaign” published on your website:
http://mumbrella.com.au/ad-pastiches-mining-industrys-this-is-our-story-campaign-86514
The video found on this link contains a parody of the piece concerning (name withheld by Mumbrella for legal reasons).
Xstrata recognises that there is legitimate scope for parody in public debate, and appreciates the importance in public life of a free and frank exchange of views. Nonetheless, we take exception to the piece concerning (name withheld by Mumbrella) because it makes a number of suggestions concerning (name withheld) that are unfair and defamatory. In particular:
(allegation withheld by Mumbrella for legal reasons);
(allegation withheld by Mumbrella for legal reasons);
(allegation withheld by Mumbrella for legal reasons);
(allegation withheld by Mumbrella for legal reasons);
These examples are by way of illustration only.
Xstrata is happy to accept robust criticism. But we are not content to allow a valued employee to be defamed in so unfair and personal a fashion. We therefore require that the video found in the above link (and on any other website hosted by Mumbrella or YouTube) be removed immediately and remind you that all persons involved in the publication of defamatory material are equally liable for defamation. We also observe that the reproduction of the whole of the video taken from www.thisisourstory.com.au appears to constitute a breach of copyright. We request your immediate confirmation that the videos will be removed from Mumbrella and YouTube and we expect that it will be taken down forthwith.
We do not wish to escalate this to a legal dispute, but you should not underestimate our willingness to do so if your website continues to defame our employee.
Yours sincerely
Tom Cregan
Legal Counsel
Xstrata Coal

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