Lawsuit Alleges Arianna Huffington Stole Idea For Huffington Post

by Ray Rahman | 9:59 am, November 16th, 2010

» 20 comments

What would the world be like if The Huffington Post was actually The Stassinopoulos Report? Well, we might’ve had to have taken StassRepo buses to D.C. And also, Arianna Huffington wouldn’t have been sued by Democratic consultants James Boyce and Peter Daou, who are accusing her of stealing the idea for a website from their designs, a site that would one day become The Huffington Post.

According to the plaintiffs, Boyce had sent to Huffington a memo “outlining a website where ‘political luminaries and public figures should be invited to blog’” back in 2004. Apparently, “The Stassinopoulos Report” (which employs Arianna’s maiden name), “Arianna’s on Fire,” and “Arianna Says” were among the contenders for this new site’s name. Their lawsuit claims that she and business partner Ken Lerer pulled an alleged Mark Zuckerberg when they “shook hands at the end of the meeting and said ‘It will be great to work together.’” The next year, The Huffington Post was launched sans Boyce and Daou, who “have no written contract, and no evidence that Huffington and Lerer considered them formal partners,” only an e-mail in which they seem to take the supposed partnership more seriously than their counterparts.

According to Politico, that might in fact be the case:

Huffington called the charge of stolen ideas and broken deals “a completely absurd, ludicrous supposition” from men whom she’d turned down for jobs on the site.

“We have now officially entered into Bizzaro World. James Boyce and Peter Daou, two political operatives who we rejected going into business with or hiring 6 years ago, and who had absolutely nothing to do with creating, running, financing, or building the Huffington Post, now concoct some scheme saying they own part of the company,” she and Lerer said in a written statement to POLITICO, writing that the two “tried to cash in” before filing suit and “said they’d go away for just a little money.”

And then things get bizarro-er: according to conservative-media extraordinaire Andrew Breitbart, he actually invented The Huffington Post. As reported by Wired:

“I created the Huffington Post,” he says simply. “I drafted the plan. They followed the plan.” Huffington disagrees, saying that while he helped with strategy, the idea for the site was cooked up at a meeting in her living room after the 2004 elections. Breitbart, she says, “wasn’t present.”

At this point, it seems like everybody but Tina Brown invented what we now know as The Huffington Post. So, who’s right? Well, the truth is that it probably wasn’t invented, only discovered —its model was an inevitable one that was simply waiting for someone to use it. But unless this lawsuit proves otherwise, it will remain Arianna Huffington’s model.

Andrew Breitbart, Arianna Huffington, Gawker, James Boyce, Peter Daou, Politico, The Huffington Post, Wired

Harry Flashman

Al Gore invented the Huffington Post.
Big Eddie

Vott ??
lris

Ariannna: “Oh well. Maybe I’ll just switch back to being a conservative and start a different website. Whatever makes a buck.”
bealzebubba

@Iris..she can buddy up with her friend Andrew Brietbart. He helped her built Huffpo.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Mark-Ward/100000135233619 Mark Ward

Personally, I’m NOT a fan of Arianna, but unless those guys COPYRIGHTED their idea (or even spent the few bucks to get the DOMAIN NAME[s]), they don’t have a leg to stand on.
bealzebubba

^^^This.

Not to mention that this isn’t exactly the FIRST and only site to fit the description mentioned above.
TeaPartyPatriot

The most useful thing the lunatic-left extremists can do is to fight amongst themselves and, hopefully, all perish in their circular firing squad.
Rusty Shackelford

the stores….the chores….dahling I love you but give me Park Ave..
hgovernick

Mark Ward said:
Personally, I’m NOT a fan of Arianna, but unless those guys COPYRIGHTED their idea (or even spent the few bucks to get the DOMAIN NAME[s]), they don’t have a leg to stand on.

An “idea” cannot be copyrighted, and neither can a title. That’s why you can have as many movies as you like named “The Matrix”. However, the name “Huffington Post” can be “Trade Marked”.

Regarding domains: For example: Owning a domain name does not give one ownership of the blog. Someone other than Keith Olbermann (the dipshit Tucker Carlson owns it) owns keitholbermann.com, but that doesn’t give that person the right to “Countdown”, or anything else Olbermann does or owns.

These goofballs won’t have a leg to stand on should they actually decide to follow through with this. Just another extortion scheme.
hgovernick

“…according to conservative-media extraordinaire Andrew Breitbart…”

CORRECTION:

“…according to conservative-media LIAR and FRAUDSTER extraordinaire Andrew Breitbart…”
Baldguy

It’s Bush’s fault.
hgovernick

TeaPartyPatriot said:
The most useful thing the lunatic-left extremists can do is to fight amongst themselves and, hopefully, all perish in their circular firing squad.

Typical statement coming from one who sucks on the private parts of Dick Morris, Dick Armey and The Koch Brothers while handcuffed to the bed posts and whipped by the Dominatrix Sarah Palin.

Typical. How does it feel to be owned, non thinker?
TCinAZ

Well Arianna “thought” that she’d Stolen peoples intellectual capacity to put 2 and 2 together when she was a Pro Gun-Control (etc.) “Republican” back in the day, and when She’s “sometimes” Greek Too. i.e, when she shows up at GreekFests at Easter or on Greek Independence Day, and the Greek common folk (aka Tools) who are Also in attendance, line up to Fawn all Over this “Greek Celeb” that’s honored them with her mere presence, which is subsequently Followed by, “I know Arianna Huffington! ” LOL! And That, even though the Ρουφιάνα is an ordained minister in “The Movement for Spiritual Inner Awareness”, that’s some kind of Whackjob, New-Age Religious Cult, founded in 63′ by John-Roger, who thinks He’s bigger than Jesus because he woke up after gall-bladder surgery!? LOL!

Well Guess What? I had My gall-bladder removed about 30 Months ago, and I woke up Too! However, with my being the First-Born in Our Family, my Legal Name being Theodore. Or Theo (Which means God’s) and doro (which means Gift From). So My only Demand in life has been that people address Me as Teddy, because if I went Through life actually Believing that I WAS Jesus, or “a Gift from God” and/or Demading that I be treated AS Such, then I’d either be a Really “Spiritually Aware” A-hole, a RINO, or a Democrat. Same Difference Really.

So take your Pick, Arianna.
hello11

I love this , So does My boyfriend.he is almost 11 years older than me.i met him on a hot place.
*Agelessbbw*.*com*. A’ ge is not a problem, It gives you a chance to meet your a’ ge g a’p matches. Maybe you wanna check it out or tell your friends
wr45treytry
njoy-d-ride

The Stassinopoulos Report? Nah, Just doesn’t sound right.
njoy-d-ride

Harry Flashman said:
Al Gore invented the Huffington Post.

Aha! That’s why he invented the Internet…
njoy-d-ride

hgovernick said:
How does it feel to be owned, non thinker?

Why don’t you tell us?
njoy-d-ride

lris said:
Ariannna: “Oh well. Maybe I’ll just switch back to being a conservative and start a different website. Whatever makes a buck.”

I’m suprised she didn’t go into Politics…
hgovernick

njoy-d-ride said:
Why don’t you tell us?

How original, you crude apology for Republican hemorrhoids.
http://www.italllearning.com sidra com

The Huffington Post was launched sans Boyce and Daou, who “have no written contract, and no evidence that Huffington and Lerer considered them formal partners