Motions filed by LDS Church critics Jerald and Sandra Tanner in defending a lawsuit filed against them by the copyright holder of church manuals may mean U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell will change the terms of a temporary restraining order she issued earlier in the case.
Following a hearing Thursday morning, Campbell said she will issue a new order Friday afternoon. The order could return to the terms of her first restraining order, which mostly prevented the Tanners from posting on their Utah Lighthouse Ministry Web site verbatim portions of a church procedures handbook, according to Campbell. Or the new order could continue the terms of her second restraining order, which also prevented the Tanners from directing others to Web sites where the copyrighted material was posted. Or the judge could issue a completely new order with new terms.Intellectual Reserve Inc., the legal copyright holder for LDS Church publications, sued the Tanners alleging the material they posted on their Web site is copyrighted. IRI later argued the Tanners had violated contributory copyright infringement by using their Web site to direct others to Internet locations where copyrighted church material is posted.
The Tanners filed a motion last week to dismiss claiming IRI is alleging the manual has a compilation copyright, but the company does not allege the 17 pages the Tanners posted on their Web site is copyrighted as an original work. The Tanners filed a memorandum saying that encouraging or providing information to another to visit a location where copyright infringement is occurring is not a violation of copyright laws.
The order Campbell issues Friday will remain in place until a hearing Tuesday on IRI's motion for a preliminary injunction. A preliminary injunction would remain in place until the case is resolved or Campbell until makes a ruling that would alter the order.
A hearing on the Tanner's motion to dismiss IRI's complaint is scheduled for Jan. 6.