# Ashley Biden's Diary & Copyright
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashley-bidens-diary-copyright/970392
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 26, 2022, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashley-bidens-diary-copyright/970392 "2022-08-26T13:11:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2022, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashley-bidens-diary-copyright/970392/1 "2022-08-26T13:11:32Z")
Someone stole the diary of the President’s daughter, Ashley. They sold it to a group that claims to be journalists. (I presume the courts will define this broadly.) May the journalist publish all or parts of the diary?
Surely, those who stole the artifact violated the law. I presume the people who paid for the dairy are also criminals. (They sent the crooks back for more stuff, and paid extra for it.)
But once the diary is Out There, how does copyright apply?
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2022, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashley-bidens-diary-copyright/970392/2 "2022-08-26T13:25:16Z")
> [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](#):
>
> But once the diary is Out There, how does copyright apply?
A violation of someone’s copyright doesn’t effect the existence of that copyright.
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### Author:  [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2022, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashley-bidens-diary-copyright/970392/3 "2022-08-26T13:31:31Z")
> [@Telemark](#):
>
> A violation of someone’s copyright doesn’t effect the existence of that copyright.
So the _New York Times_ cannot legally print the contents?
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### Author:  [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2022, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashley-bidens-diary-copyright/970392/4 "2022-08-26T13:32:00Z")
Ashley Biden holds exclusive copyright over the material. Bits may be used under fair use.
Of course, the physical diary itself is Biden’s property and must be returned to her; anyone knowingly holding it and not making some effort to return it is committing a crime.
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### Author:  [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2022, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashley-bidens-diary-copyright/970392/5 "2022-08-26T13:34:07Z")
Thank you.
Might an public interest argument be made?
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### Author:  [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2022, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashley-bidens-diary-copyright/970392/6 "2022-08-26T13:37:37Z")
> [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](#):
>
> But once the diary is Out There, how does copyright apply?
The Wikipedia article on copyright indicates that **[particular forms/expressions of ideas and information are protected](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright#Eligible_works:~:text=Copyright%20does%20not%20cover%20ideas%20and%20information%20themselves%2C%20only%20the%20form%20or%20manner%20in%20which%20they%20are%20expressed)**, but not the idea/information itself. So the ideas expressed in Biden’s diary could be extensively paraphrased by other publications.
**[Fair use](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use)** doctrine also applies, which would allow publications to quote modest portions of the diary for publication. Fair use does not allow a verbatim reprinting of entire work without permission.
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### Author:  [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2022, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashley-bidens-diary-copyright/970392/7 "2022-08-26T13:39:45Z")
Its already on twitter, and right seem to have ammunition on her early life.
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### Author:  [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2022, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashley-bidens-diary-copyright/970392/8 "2022-08-26T13:42:13Z")
Ammunition to be used against a private citizen. Disgusting.
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### Author:  [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2022, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashley-bidens-diary-copyright/970392/9 "2022-08-26T13:43:21Z")
OK, thank you all. Let’s not go off-topic.
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### Author:  [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2022, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashley-bidens-diary-copyright/970392/10 "2022-08-26T13:45:41Z")
> [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](#):
>
> Might an public interest argument be made?
I’ve never heard of a public interest argument to violate copyright. I’ve searched briefly and didn’t find anything, but I’m not a lawyer, let alone a copyright lawyer.
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### Author:  [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2022, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashley-bidens-diary-copyright/970392/11 "2022-08-26T13:58:13Z")
Isn’t receiving stolen property a criminal offense? Are these thieves being charged?
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### Author:  [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2022, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashley-bidens-diary-copyright/970392/12 "2022-08-26T13:58:25Z")
> [@RitterSport](#):
>
> I’ve never heard of a public interest argument to violate copyright.
The “public interest” is largely served by the Fair Use provisions. If there are some news-worthy elements in the diary, quoting those bits in a news article would be acceptable.
But a wholesale reprinting of the entire document almost certainly would be a violation of copyright.
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### Author:  [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2022, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashley-bidens-diary-copyright/970392/13 "2022-08-26T14:00:34Z")
Yes, that’s my understanding too.
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### Author:  [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2022, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashley-bidens-diary-copyright/970392/14 "2022-08-26T14:07:54Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#):
>
> Isn’t receiving stolen property a criminal offense? Are these thieves being charged?
They’ve already pled guilty.
> **[Florida Residents Plead Guilty To Conspiracy To Commit Interstate...](https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/florida-residents-plead-guilty-conspiracy-commit-interstate-transportation-stolen)**
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### Author:  [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2022, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashley-bidens-diary-copyright/970392/15 "2022-08-26T14:10:12Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#):
>
> They’ve already pled guilty.
Those are the people who stole it. The people at Project Veritas who bought it, and encouraged them to steal even more stuff have yet to be convicted, I think. The articles I’ve read indicate that the thieves are cooperating with authorities, though, so hopefully the Veritas bastards will also be going down eventually.
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### Author:  [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2022, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashley-bidens-diary-copyright/970392/16 "2022-08-26T14:14:47Z")
I didn’t even know Biden had a daughter.
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### Author:  [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2022, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashley-bidens-diary-copyright/970392/17 "2022-08-26T14:42:03Z")
Daughter of Joe and Jill.
> **[Ashley Biden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashley_Biden)**
>
> Ashley Blazer Biden (born June 8, 1981) is an American social worker, activist, philanthropist, and fashion designer. Her parents are U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. She served as the executive director of the Delaware Center for Justice from 2014 to 2019. Prior to her administrative role at the center, she worked in the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families. Biden founded the fashion company Livelihood, which partners with the online retai...
He also had a little girl, Naomi, with his first wife. Both of them were killed in the car accident. Naomi was just over a year old.
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### Author:  [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2022, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashley-bidens-diary-copyright/970392/18 "2022-08-26T15:02:40Z")
Social worker, activist and philanthropist indeed. Obviously there is dirt to dig up here, how is a social worker making more than $30K a year? She must be using her unscrupulous ties to shady underworld players in league with Hillary’s basement pizza shop! Stealing her diary is patriotic act I tell you!
Jeez, its a wonder they haven’t tried to tie Biden into his wife and young childs death.
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### Author:  [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2022, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashley-bidens-diary-copyright/970392/19 "2022-08-26T16:38:48Z")
> [@Horatius](#):
>
> Those are the people who stole it. The people at Project Veritas who bought it, and encouraged them to steal even more stuff have yet to be convicted, I think. The articles I’ve read indicate that the thieves are cooperating with authorities, though, so hopefully the Veritas bastards will also be going down eventually.
Agree. Veritas’ argument that they thought it was legally obtained is pretty thin.
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2022, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashley-bidens-diary-copyright/970392/20 "2022-08-26T16:50:00Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#):
>
> > [@Horatius](#):
> >
> > Those are the people who stole it. The people at Project Veritas who bought it, and encouraged them to steal even more stuff have yet to be convicted, I think. The articles I’ve read indicate that the thieves are cooperating with authorities, though, so hopefully the Veritas bastards will also be going down eventually.
>
> Agree. Veritas’ argument that they thought it was legally obtained is pretty thin. -
Pretty thin? It’s way more hole than story.
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