Righthaven Victims

What is ACTA? The United States President Has Already Ratified ACTA on Behalf of the U.S.

2012-01-27T21:04:00.000-06:00

Sign Petition: Please Submit ACTA to the Senate for Ratification as Required by the Constitution for Trade Agreements (Horrifically slow to reach late Friday night due to "maintenance issues")

Thought SOPA Was Bad? 10 Reasons to Oppose ACTA

So, we've shot down SOPA and PIPA. Congratulations Internets for a job well done. Mission accomplished, right? Not so much. While that's two bad pieces of legislation pushed back, there's much more where that came from. Leaving aside existing nastiness like the DMCA, we also have the even nastier Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) (PDF). How bad is it? Bad enough that the European Parliament's rapporteur for ACTA (Kader Arif) resigned over it today (January 27, 2012). Unfortunately for those of us in the United States, President Obama has already ratified ACTA on behalf of the United States.

See: Blog post in full

Informational Links on ACTA:
(EFF) Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement: What is ACTA?
(CNN Fortune) Meet SOPA's evil twin, ACTA
(Ars Technica) Secret US cables reveal: ACTA was far too secret
(Boing Boing) WikiLeaks ACTA cables confirm it was a screwjob for the global poor
(WikiLeaks) WikiLeaks.org Category: ACTA
(WikiPedia) Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

Righthaven's Implosion Makes List of Top 5 Internet Law Developments in 2011

2012-01-27T12:10:00.000-06:00

Top Internet Law Developments of 2011

By Eric Goldman
Countdown: My Top 5 List of Developments in 2011
#5: Righthaven Implodes. Since the beginning, I've been skeptical of Righthaven's business model. Seriously, who else thinks it's a good idea to sue small-time mom-and-pop bloggers and non-profits on a one-by-one basis? However, even I had no idea that Righthaven would accelerate their own demise by routinely making basic litigation errors. A sketchy business model + a litigation shop that isn't very good at litigation = one dead start-up. It's always fun (in a bloodsporty way) to watch hubristic bullies get their just desserts, but watching the Randazza firm school the Righthaven litigators in Litigation 101 has been amazing. THAT'S how you litigate.

See: Blog Post in full

Also, Gibson & Company have until January 31st to respond to State Bar grievance issues.

Righthaven.com Offers Hosting Service with a 'Spine'; Forms Partnership with U.S. Lawyers

2012-01-23T16:39:00.000-06:00

New Righthaven Offers Hosting Service "With a Spine"

After snatching a notorious copyright troll's name at auction, a Swiss company is turning Righthaven.com into a web hosting service. The intended customers? Publishers worried about the kind of abusive legal threats spewed out by the domain's previous owner.
"The Swiss courts don't play games and registrars here cannot be scared," said Stefan Thalberg of OrtCloud, an ISP based in Zürich. "Frivolous plaintiffs will find little comfort here."

The new web hosting service promises "spineful hosting" and that through a partnership with U.S. First Amendment and IP attorneys, Marc Randazza of Randazza Legal Group and Kenneth White of Brown White & Newhouse LLP, the group will be able to defend itself "vigorously" in U.S. courtrooms and protect their clients from "frivolous intellectual property litigation." Read the full letter at Righthaven.com. The new website also has a FAQ, blog and a twitter handle: @righthavened.

[From FAQ] We believe that under the guise of enabling copyright holders to legitimately regulate the use of their intellectual property, the United States, which has exported this doctrine all over the world, has created a serious imbalance in intellectual property law globally. Using the daunting threat of meritless civil litigation creates the sort of chilling effect that would probably be flagrantly unconstitutional if attempted directly by the United States Government. From a distance it almost looks as if a number of big-media lobbyists have root-kitted the United States constitution.

See: Boing Boing article in full

Movement on the Righthaven.com Domain; Redacted Letter to Former Senator Dodd Posted

2012-01-19T09:58:00.001-06:00

UPDATE: VEGAS INC reports that Boing Boing has identified the domain buyer as Stefan Thalberg of Zug, Switzerland. Thalberg has yet to issue a comment. The logo represents a "no jellyfish" symbol.

Blogger Bully Site Yanks MPAA's Chain in Poison-Pen Letter

The new owner of the domain name Righthaven.com, which until recently belonged to a notorious copyright troll, has used his purchase to openly mock the Motion Picture Ass. of America.
The website currently displays a heavily and ironically redacted open letter to MPAA chief Christopher Dodd, and lends support to yesterday's web-wide protest of the US Stop Online Piracy Act.
The SOPA blackout prompted sites including Wikipedia to go dark for a day.

See: The Register article in full

The letter has a logo as well (possibly "no parasites"). We've posted it below.

Darkness Covers the Internet Today, January 18, 2012, in Internet-Wide Protests

2012-01-18T09:54:00.000-06:00

January 18: Internet-Wide Protests Against the Blacklist Legislation

Join EFF and websites across the world in protesting the dangerous censorship legislation currently pending in Congress.
On January 18th, EFF will join websites across the world in standing up against the proposed blacklist bills (SOPA in the House and the PROTECT IP Act in the Senate). EFF is calling on websites to be part of the protest by blacking out their logos, posting statements opposing the bills, and linking to our action center. Websites are also encouraged to follow the powerful examples of Reddit, Wikipedia and others by “blacking out” their entire site for a day. If you do choose to take down your website in protest, please be sure to post a message about why you oppose the blacklist bills and consider linking to the EFF action center so site visitors can take the next step and contact Congress.

See: Related EFF article in full

Tech Giant Google Weighs in on Righthaven in Amicus Brief; Numerous Case Updates

2012-01-15T18:25:00.001-06:00

Google Sides Against Righthaven in Appeal of Copyright Case

The Supreme Court repeatedly has emphasized that the fair use analysis must be a flexible one, leaving courts room to find fair use (or not) depending upon examination of all the relevant facts and circumstances and how they interplay with one another in a particular case,” said Google’s brief.
Google urged the Court to reject “Righthaven’s false assertion that there is ‘almost a per se pronouncement’ in the 9th Circuit precluding the application of the fair use doctrine when an entire work has been copied.”

See: VEGAS INC article in full

Google was not alone in filing a friend of the court brief in the Righthaven case concerning Center for Intercultural Organizing (CIO), which involved the posting of an entire 33-paragraph R-J story without authorization. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the Digital Media Law Project, Public Knowledge and several law professors joined together and filed a friend of the court brief as well.

See: Brief of Amicus Curiae Google (Righthaven v. CIO)
See: Brief of Amicus Curiae EFF et al (Righthaven v. CIO)

Nevada State Bar Opens Grievance Files Concerning Gibson and Two Other Attorneys

2012-01-13T14:34:00.000-06:00

Three Attorneys Face Righthaven Inquiry by State Bar

The State Bar, which regulates attorneys, has since as early as the Fall of 2010 received complaints from unidentified parties about Righthaven and has been watching Righthaven’s litigation campaign work its way through the courts.
The Bar this week opened grievance files concerning Gibson, an attorney, and former Righthaven attorneys Jodi Donetta Lowry and J. Charles Coons. The attorneys have been asked to respond to the grievance issues by Jan. 31.

See: VEGAS INC article in full

Righthaven's Domain Name Sells for Just $3,300; It is a Bad Economy After All

2012-01-06T17:58:00.002-06:00

Domain Name Used by “Copyright Troll” Auctioned Off for $3,300

Righthaven.com, the domain name that once belonged to the scourge of the internet, has sold in a public auction at SnapNames for $3,300.
--snip--
The domain was bid up to $1,850 with 10 days to go, so I’m not sure if the final price is that spectacular. Righthaven owes at least $63,000.

See: Domain Name Wire article in full

The final auction price appears pretty low indeed. Then again, the name has been so "wholly" beaten on, it could hardly be used for a successful commercial venture, certainly not an Internet based one.

If you are the buyer, contact Boing Boing!

Tick Tock, Gibson is Due in Court Today; Tick Tock, The Auction Counts Down

2012-01-05T17:19:00.000-06:00

UPDATE: We heard through the grapevine later this evening that neither Gibson or his wife appeared in court today. The latest VEGAS INC article contains more information, including some words from one of the attorneys defending Wayne Hoehn, J. Malcolm DeVoy IV, of Randazza Legal Group. "You’d think members of the bar -- who are officers of the court -- would give the orders of the court greater weight," said DeVoy. The debtor's examination has been rescheduled for Monday morning.

It was noted in a December blog post that U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Johnston ordered Steve Gibson and his wife Raisha "Drizzle" Gibson to appear in court on January 5, 2012 to provide testimony under oath about the location of Righthaven's assets. Today is January the 5th and we are waiting on word of today's outcome.

Domain Name Auction is Over Tomorrow

In a separate blog post, it was noted that Righthaven's domain name auction (righthaven.com) was slated to run through tomorrow, January 6th at 2:15pm CST. Currently, the bid continues to sit at $1,900. The sale of the domain name hopes to raise money to cover part of the $60,000+ in legal fees owed to defendant Wayne Hoehn.

How Does the Internet Visually Interpret 'Righthaven'? An Experiment with SHED

2012-01-03T15:51:00.000-06:00

This lovely and fun little website was brought to my attention today: Special Holiday Emergency Desk (SHED). What do you think we typed in? According to SHED, which appears to be a combination of Flash and Google Image Search technologies, Righthaven is interpreted by the Internet in the following way: a predictably ugly and malevolent troll. The domain name auction carries on.

December 2011 Righthaven Victims

2012-01-02T01:43:00.000-06:00

Lawsuit count: Dec (0), Nov (0), Oct (0), Sep (0), Aug (0), Jul (0), Jun (0), May (9), Apr (2), Mar (25), Feb (10) and Jan (34). View a list of 2010 Righthaven victims.

No new Righthaven victims were recorded for this month.

The lawsuit count does not reflect the actual number of Righthaven victims, as many codefendants are also named in these "sham" copyright assignment lawsuits and suffer the same serious consequence.

Righthaven Faces Contempt Motion; Being Sued by Process Server; End of the Line Looks Grim

2011-12-31T15:54:00.000-06:00

Well readers, the year is really winding down for Righthaven & Friends isn't it? A new article from VEGAS INC reveals that Righthaven has been sued by its own process server and that it faces a motion by defense attorneys that it be found in contempt of court for disregarding a court order:

"Righthaven has refused to produce these documents, to discuss their production or to even acknowledge that the court ordered the plaintiff to produce these documents," said the filing by attorneys at Randazza Legal Group of Las Vegas. "All evidence shows that Righthaven has disregarded the court’s order."
"It is impossible to reasonably believe that Righthaven will take any action – and especially one adverse to its interests – unless forced to do so. It is time for Righthaven to be forced," the Randazza filing said.

Appeals Case Dismissed Due to Procedural Errors; Three Additional Cases Dismissed

2011-12-29T01:30:00.000-06:00

Four More Righthaven Cases Dismissed as Auction Continues

In Righthaven’s latest setbacks, one of its appeals was dismissed Wednesday while Nevada judges this month dismissed three of its pending lawsuits. These dismissals were all for procedural reasons after Righthaven didn’t meet court-set deadlines.
--snip--
On Wednesday, the clerk’s office at the 9th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco dismissed one of Righthaven’s seven appeals in that court of adverse rulings by Nevada federal judges.

The 9th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals case involves defendant Garry Newman and FacePunch Studios. In October, U.S. District Judge James Mahan threw out the lawsuit, finding that Righthaven didn’t have standing to sue Newman. Righthaven appealed the dismissal only to screw up twice in failing to file required procedural documents with the appeals court, even after two 7-day extensions.

Nevada judges dismissed three pending Righthaven cases earlier this month involving: Alex James; TZ Holdings LLC, Robert J. Zumbrunnen and Peter Dierks; and David Williams-Pinkney and Collegestarters. Active Righthaven lawsuits have been reduced to 52 cases in Nevada, six in Colorado and one in South Carolina, the latter having yet another attorney for Righthaven withdraw.

See: Related VEGAS INC article in full
See: 9th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals Dismissal

Righthaven's Domain Name Auction is Under Way at SnapNames.com -- Start Bidding Now!

2011-12-28T02:15:00.000-06:00

UPDATE 12/28/11: As of very early in the morning Wednesday, the auction price is up to nearly $2,000. Come on folks, don't save your cash for the Bluetooth headset (We have dubs on that item!).

12/26/11
The auction of Righthaven's domain name is currently under way at SnapNames.com (See: Listing). As of Monday 11:35pm CST, the current bid is $1,050. The bidding will continue through January 6th at 2:15 p.m. CST. The sale of Righthaven's domain name hopes to raise money to cover part of the $60,000+ in legal fees owed to Wayne Hoehn after defeating Righthaven in federal court.

Righthaven domain name <righthaven.com> auction began today
Incline Village, NV, USA – December 26, 2011
The Righthaven Domain Name auction began today (Monday, December 26, 2011) and will end at 3:15 p.m. EST on Friday, January 6, 2012. This is the first auction of Righthaven property to satisfy court judgments against the Las Vegas company. The auction is being conducted online at Snapnames® on behalf of the court-appointed receiver for Righthaven, Lara Pearson, Esq., of Rimon Law Group. The auction is being held at:
www.snapnames.com/store/extended.action?ig=986

Lara Pearson, Esq.
Partner & Chief Sustainability Officer
Rimon, P.C.
PMB 405
774 Mays Blvd., No. 10
Incline Village, NV 89451
(775).833.1600
Receiver --at-- rimonlaw.com

See: Related VEGAS INC article

Righthaven's Domain Name Resolves to GoDaddy; WhoIs Shows New Information

2011-12-22T09:09:00.000-06:00

UPDATE: A new article by VEGAS INC helps clarify the the WhoIs information. The Registrant is the court appointed receiver, attorney Lara Pearson of the Rimon Law Group. Pearson hopes to have the domain name up for auction before Christmas. So, what would a buyer do with this domain?

One outside attorney representing Righthaven, Shawn Mangano, apparently didn't place much stock in his recent "emergency" appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to block the auction of its copyrights. (See: Righthaven.com) The auction of Righthaven's intellectual property grows near.

WhoIs Registrant Information
Registrant:
Rimon, PC
220 Sansome Street
Suite 310
San Francisco, California 94104
United States

Registered through: GoDaddy.com, LLC (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: RIGHTHAVEN.COM
Created on: 26-Oct-09
Expires on: 26-Oct-16
Last Updated on: 21-Dec-11

Administrative Contact:
C.O. Randazza Legal Group, Rimon, PC jmd@randazza.com
Rimon, PC
220 Sansome Street
Suite 310
San Francisco, California 94104
United States
+1.8009307271 Fax --

Technical Contact:
C.O. Randazza Legal Group, Rimon, PC jmd@randazza.com
Rimon, PC
220 Sansome Street
Suite 310
San Francisco, California 94104
United States
+1.8009307271 Fax --

Righthaven Refuses to Turn Over its Copyrights to Court-Appointed Receiver for Auction

2011-12-20T00:21:00.000-06:00

UPDATE 12/20/11: As expected, Righthaven filed an emergency appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today to block the auction of its copyrights. Also as expected, the filing threw a few more burning trees into the bonfire raging between Righthaven and attorneys representing Wayne Hoehn, who seek $63,720 for his legal expenses after defeating Righthaven's copyright infringement case.

12/19/11
Court Asked to Step in After Righthaven Refuses to Comply with Auction

After Righthaven didn't comply by the close of business Monday, the deadline for compliance, Hoehn’s attorneys at Randazza Legal Group filed a new motion for a “writ of body attachment” asking that Righthaven CEO Steven Gibson and his wife, Raisha “Drizzle” Gibson, a Righthaven officer, be forced to appear in court by U.S. Marshals so they can execute the copyright transfers to the receiver at the threat of being held in contempt of court.

The new motion by Hoehn's attorneys reminds Righthaven:

Hoehn’s request for a writ of body attachment should come as no surprise to Righthaven, as it was specifically requested as a condition of non-compliance in the Defendant’s Motion (Doc. # 62 at 9). Also known as a writ of civil commitment or civil arrest, a writ of body attachment commands the U.S. Marshals to apprehend the people the Court wishes to bring before them in civil cases. Once executed, the U.S. Marshals will present the apprehended parties to the Court.

Also, on Friday, an attorney for Righthaven, Shawn Mangano, failed to appear during a telephone hearing for a case involving defendant Leland Wolf in the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. The two attorneys representing the defendant, Andrew Contiguglia in Denver and Marc Randazza in Las Vegas, did appear for the telephone hearing and were not pleased by Mangano's absence.

See: Defendant's Motion For Writ of Body Attachment
See: Declaration in Support of Motion for Writ of Body Attachment
See: VEGAS INC article in full

Judge Allows Auction of Copyright Assets; Gibson and His Wife Must Appear in Court

2011-12-12T18:46:00.000-06:00

U.S. District Judge Philip Pro signed an order today granting defendant Wayne Hoehn's motion to appoint a reciever to recover his legal costs. The receiver will be empowered to hold an auction to sell off Righthaven's copyrights, which may be Righthaven's only assets. The order was granted due to Righthaven's failure to file a response to the motion. In a related matter, U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Johnston ordered Steve Gibson and his wife Raisha "Drizzle" Gibson to appear in court on January 5, 2012 to provide testimony under oath about the location of Righthaven's assets.

Pursuant to the Application of Wayne Hoehn for issuance of this Court’s Order Scheduling Judgment Debtor Examination before the magistrate judge under LR IB 1-9, and production of documents, and good cause shown, it is hereby ORDERED that Steven A. Gibson and Raisha “Drizzle” Y. Gibson shall personally appear before this Court on Jan. 5, 2012. Both representatives of Righthaven shall be examined with regard to the extent and location of Righthaven’s assets that may be available to Hoehn for the purpose of satisfying this Court’s Judgment (Doc. # 44) and Writ of Execution (Doc. # 59).

Attorneys representing Hoehn, Randazza Legal Group, seek to collect over $60,000 in legal fees awarded to them. Righthaven is currently in the hole for over $225,000 in legal fees and sanctions.

See: Order Granting Defendant's Application for Judgment Debtor Examination
See: Order Granting Auction by Judge Philip Pro
See: Related VEGAS INC article

RIAA, APP May Intervene on Behalf of Righthaven; Sent Letter Warning of PR Disaster

2011-12-04T21:26:00.001-06:00

UPDATE 12/06/11: The RIAA and AAP did file an amicus brief Monday on behalf of Righthaven. The EFF offers explanation and copies of the brief (RIAA and AAP File Amicus Brief in Righthaven Appeal)

RIAA and AAP's motion for leave to file amicus brief
RIAA and AAP amicus brief

Music, Book Industries May Back Righthaven
Attorneys representing defendant Wayne Hoehn sent a letter to the law group representing the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Association of American Publishers (AAP) warning them of the negative public relations repercussions that will result if they intervene on behalf of Righthaven in this case. Former defendant Brian Hill, who created the worst public relations scenario for Righthaven, has written about this recent development and posted a YouTube video.

"Wayne Hoehn is a highly decorated Vietnam veteran who, while handing a series of humiliating defeats to Righthaven, has expended much of his savings in this battle," Randazza wrote in his letter. "He has further become a symbol of resistance to the abusive litigation tactics engaged in by Righthaven.
"If you have actually managed to convince your clients that it is a good idea for them to spend tens of thousands of dollars (or more) in this case for the sole eventual purpose of merely costing Mr. Hoehn money, you can rest assured that it will be a public relations negative for them, in no small part due to Righthaven’s poor handling of this case, along with hundreds of others," Randazza wrote. "Your clients will waste money and all the money will buy them is the opportunity to look like idiots."

See: VEGAS INC article in full

November 2011 Righthaven Victims

2011-12-02T18:53:00.000-06:00

Lawsuit count: Nov (0), Oct (0), Sep (0), Aug (0), Jul (0), Jun (0), May (9), Apr (2), Mar (25), Feb (10) and Jan (34). View a list of 2010 Righthaven victims.

Righthaven Grasping for Straws in Brief Filed with 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

2011-11-30T16:57:00.000-06:00

Righthaven Offers New Argument in Bid to Revive Lawsuit

Copyright lawsuit filer Righthaven LLC of Las Vegas is trotting out a new argument as it seeks to revive one of its lawsuits that was dismissed.
The argument goes like this: Bloggers and message-board posters who misappropriate newspaper content can “profit” from doing so, even if they realize no direct financial gain from their activities.
They can profit without paying any price, Righthaven says, by lifting stories from newspaper websites to enhance their own standing in the online world.

Specifically the brief states: "Reputational benefits conferred as a result of displaying unauthorized content may constitute a form of commercial use or profit under a fair use analysis."

See: VEGAS INC article in full

Righthaven Observer Notes New Copyright Office Proposal; Harms Safe Harbor Protection

2011-11-28T14:57:00.001-06:00

Dangerous Copyright Office Proposal to Undercut the DMCA Online Safe Harbors

By Eric Goldman
In light of SOPA and its capacity to destroy the current online safe harbor scheme, it seems almost quaint to keep worrying about 17 USC 512. However, unless SOPA/PROTECT-IP passes, 512 remains an essential part of the UGC economy, and it's worth fighting to preserve the safe harbor's integrity and all of the social benefits that have flowed from it.
Recently, the Copyright Office floated a proposal that would result in websites completely losing the 512 safe harbors due to administrative technicalities. Specifically, the Copyright Office proposes to force all websites that currently have properly designated an agent for notice to re-register or they will automatically forfeit the safe harbor...

See: Eric Goldman's blog post in full
See: Comments submitted to Copyright Office

Feds Seize 100+ Domain Names in Advance of Cyber Monday Without 'SOPA' Legislation

2011-11-28T08:24:00.001-06:00

Feds Seize 130+ Domain Names in Mass Crackdown

US authorities have initiated the largest round of domain name seizures yet as part of their continued crackdown on counterfeit and piracy-related websites. With just a few days to go until “Cyber Monday” more than 100 domain names have been taken over by the feds to protect the commercial interests of US companies. The seizures are disputable, as the SOPA bill which aims to specifically legitimize such actions is still pending in Congress ... The fact that the authorities have once again launched a large crackdown on “rogue” websites begs the question why this legislation is needed in the first place. Apparently, the current system already allows for the seizure of domain names, without due process and all the other constitutional issues.

See: Torrent Freak article in full

Recall last February, when the U.S. Government shut down 84,000 websites by mistake. They also shut down "potential" infringing sites prior to the Superbowl.

Victory for Fair Use; Stephens Media Admits Defendant's Use of Material was Fair Use

2011-11-18T18:38:00.001-06:00

Righthaven Case Ends in Victory for Fair Use

San Francisco - In a victory for fair use, the publisher of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Stephens Media, filed papers yesterday conceding that posting a short excerpt of a news article in an online forum is not copyright infringement. The concession will result in entry of a judgment of non-infringement in a long-running copyright troll case that sparked the dismissal of dozens of baseless lawsuits filed by Righthaven LLC.
The case began when the online political forum Democratic Underground -- represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Fenwick & West LLP, and attorney Chad Bowers -- was sued by Righthaven for a five-sentence excerpt of a Review-Journal news story that a user posted on the forum with a link back to the newspaper's website. Democratic Underground countersued, asking the court to rule that the excerpt did not infringe copyright and is a fair use of the material, and brought Righthaven-backer Stephens Media into the case.

See: Electronic Frontier Foundation's post in full
See: Democratic Underground's motion for summary judgment
See: Stephens Media's consent to the motion

Related articles:
Judge Rules Righthaven Does Not Have Standing to Sue; Threatens Sanctions
Righthaven’s Operating Agreement Revealed by Nevada District Court
Defense: Democratic Underground Fights Back with Help from EFF

Former Defendant Brian Hill Releases Video Explaining How Righthaven Operates

2011-11-18T18:00:00.001-06:00

Brian Hill explains how Righthaven LLC works and
how they operate as a proxy to avoid liability

By Brian Hill
This video explains how Righthaven works as a legal and liable proxy to protect Stephens Media and it’s cohorts from any legal liability in any case that a judge rules in favor of defendants. The entire video's conclusion is from Sources such as the court documents from David Kerr for my case, The Las Vegas Sun, and other evidence built up in the courts thanks to the Randazza law firm.

See: Brian's blog post in full

Learn more about Brian's case:
Judge Denies Attorney's Fees to Defendant Who Inspired Many Other Victims to Fight Back
Righthaven Drops Suit Against Brian Hill
Lightening Bolts Fired in Brian Hill's Reply; Alleged Fabricated Press Release is Just One
Reporters Without Borders Sends Letter to Dean Singleton, Publisher of the Denver Post

Today is Internet Censorship Day: Join the Urgent Fight Against SOPA Now!

2011-11-16T00:02:00.000-06:00

Contact Congress: Quickly send a letter right now! | Sign the petition at Whitehouse.gov.

Hundreds of web sites are participating in American Censorship Day, taking place today, November 16, including the EFF, Boing Boing, Reddit, Creative Commons, Hype Machine and many more.

Righthaven Observer Offers Insights Into SOPA

Why I Oppose the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)/E-PARASITES Act

By Eric Goldman
The Stop Online Piracy Act, with its ridiculously named subpart the "E-PARASITE Act," doesn't expressly modify 17 USC 512. Nevertheless, it is a full-fledged assault on the safe harbor's scheme. It employs the same basic notice-and-takedown structure of 512, but it applies the cutoff obligations to payment processors and ad networks ... expands--for the first time--the takedown obligations to trademarks ... expands the takedown obligations to cover anti-circumvention in addition to the 17 USC 106 rights, expands the reasons why a rightsowner can complain, and does not give the governed intermediaries any business incentive to stand up for user content. On the latter point, because SOPA is designed to cut off the cash, each and every UGC item potentially jeopardizes its entire economic enterprise of a website hosting it. In other words, if the website goes offline because of cash flow problems caused by the cutoff attributable to a single UGC content item, all of the UGC on that website goes dark because of a single content item. Talk about collateral damage.

See: Eric Goldman's blog post in full

Technology Companies that Support SOPA

Business Software Alliance (BSA) is a trade group that supports SOPA. Some of its members are listed below and are complicit in supporting SOPA. See full list of BSA members.

Adobe
Apple
Dell
Intel
Intuit
McAfee
Microsoft
Quark
Rosetta Stone
Symantec

Attorneys Ask for Public Auction of Righthaven's Assets: Going Once, Going Twice -- SOLD!

2011-11-15T01:39:00.001-06:00

Attorneys Seek to Auction Righthaven Copyrights

Attorneys fighting Las Vegas copyright company Righthaven LLC asked for a court order Monday to have Righthaven’s assets auctioned off — notably including the very copyrights Righthaven sues over.
Attorneys at Randazza Legal Group in Las Vegas represent Wayne Hoehn, who was sued for copyright infringement by Righthaven but defeated Righthaven in court when the lawsuit was thrown out.

See: VEGAS INC article in full

Think auctioning off a "variety of assets" including the infamous Bluetooth headset worn by Gibson!

Colorado Judge Dings Righthaven for Another $33,000 in 'Reasonable Attorney's Fees'

2011-11-10T19:06:00.001-06:00

U.S. District Judge John Kane ordered Righthaven to pay attorney's fees to defendant Leland Wolf today in the amount of $33,148.35. Bond was set at $50,000. During comments by the court, attorney for Righthaven, Shawn Mangano, was admonished for his "lack of civility." Wolf is represented by Andrew Contiguglia, who was in court today, and Randazza Legal Group. Thus far, the Randazza group has helped round up fee awards for defendants Michael Leon, Wayne Hoehn and Leland Wolf.

See: Judge Kane's order in full

Righthaven CEO Steven Gibson and His Wife (Chief Admin Officer) Asked to Explain Finances

2011-11-07T10:07:00.000-06:00

Attorneys Seek to Examine Righthaven CEO about Company Finances

Attorneys trying to collect $63,720 in fees from Righthaven LLC stepped up the pressure Sunday, asking a court to require that Righthaven’s CEO and his wife be ordered to appear for an examination about the company’s finances.
--snip--
Hoehn’s attorneys at Randazza Legal Group of Las Vegas, in a Sunday U.S. District Court filing, said that in order to assist the Marshals Service in locating Righthaven assets, they want copies of Righthaven’s financial records and a judgment debtor’s examination of Righthaven CEO Steven Gibson, a Las Vegas attorney; and a woman they say is his spouse, Raisha Y. "Drizzle" Gibson, identified as Righthaven’s chief administrative officer.

See: VEGAS INC article in full

Former Righthaven Defendant Blogs About 'Beating Righthaven'

2011-11-04T12:42:00.000-05:00

Beating Righthaven
By Donald Douglas

Righthaven sued me for alleged copyright violation on March 8, 2011. The docket listing is here. The lawsuit claimed that I'd infringed the copyright held by the Denver Post for its picture of the invasive pat down at this article: "Controversy over pat-downs, body scans lands at DIA."
--snip--
Righthaven files "no warning" lawsuits. That is, it gives no advance notification to defendants, which violates the norm of providing "take down notices" to those suspected of copyright violations. By doing this, Righthaven --- which made a speciality out of suing small-time bloggers and "mom-and-pop" businesses --- was able to scare the bejesus out of its targets, who then would settle out of court generally in the three to five thousand dollar range. Defendants were threatened with the possibility of a $150,000 judgment and the forfeiture of their website's domain name (URL address). Let me tell you: It's frightening as hell opening up that letter of service and reading the lawsuit...

See: Blog post in full

Attorney David Kerr, who represented Brian Hill, also assisted Donald Douglas.

Deadline Passes: Defendant Again Asks Judge to Allow Seizure of Righthaven's Assets

2011-11-01T22:49:00.000-05:00

UPDATE 11/1/11: A writ of execution was issued today by a federal court in Las Vegas against the "bizarre" copyright trolling group known as Righthaven. Nearly $30,000 in new attorneys' fees have been added to the original cost of legal fees owed to defendant Wayne Hoehn while his attorneys have battled to get the first $34,045 paid. Total legal fees owed by Righthaven now is $63,720.80.

YOU ARE THEREFORE COMMANDED to satisfy the said Judgment with interest and costs as provided by law and your costs and disbursements out of the personal property of said debtor ... Judgment Creditor/Plaintiff will identify to the U.S. Marshal or his representative assets that are to be seized to satisfy the judgment/order ... YOU ARE FURTHER COMMANDED if necessary, to turn over any property seized under this order to a third party custodian or to the plaintiff. The U.S. Marshal or his representative is authorized to use reasonable force in the execution ...

See: Writ of Execution in full
See: Related MAL Contends' blog post
See: Related Blogger Ken's blog post
See: Related VEGAS INC article
See: Related Ars Technica article

10/29/11
A new motion by attorneys for defendant Wayne Hoehn again asks the court to allow seizure of Righthaven's assets, as once again Righthaven has refused to either satisfy the fee award or post a bond for the amount owed by October 28, 2011. The legal filing was dropped just after the Friday deadline expired for Righthaven to pay defendant Wayne Hoehn $38,045.50 in legal fees. Earlier this month, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an "urgent motion" by Righthaven to stay these fees.

Righthaven has exhausted any benefit of the doubt that it could be afforded, and it is time for it to pay the consequences for its actions – starting with Hoehn’s lawful judgment plus the accrued costs and fees expended in the (so far) futile attempts to compel Righthaven to take this Court’s Orders seriously. These fees and costs are properly tacked on to the existing fee award.

See: Defendant's Second (Renewed) Motion for Writ of Execution
See: Related VEGAS INC article

First Righthaven Trial Canceled; Defendant's Attorney Calls Trolling Group 'Bizarre'

2011-11-01T17:27:00.002-05:00

First Righthaven Trial Called Off

During the hearing, [Judge] Dawson canceled a trial set for Nov. 7 and — as Righthaven suggested — issued the show cause order.
In response to a reporter's question after the hearing, Kelleher’s attorney, Andrew Dhuey of Berkeley, Calif., said it seemed unusual that he had to travel to Las Vegas for a 15-minute hearing on an issue that could have been resolved weeks ago without a court proceeding.
--snip--
"Everything about Righthaven is bizarre," said Dhuey...

Duehy, who is representing Kevin Kelleher pro bono because of his affiliation with the EFF, added that the lawsuit against his client was unfortunate; the website only recieves about 10 hits per day.

See: VEGAS INC article in full
See: Related article by TechDirt

October 2011 Righthaven Victims

2011-11-01T11:30:00.000-05:00

Lawsuit count: Oct (0), Sep (0), Aug (0), Jul (0), Jun (0), May (9), Apr (2), Mar (25), Feb (10) and Jan (34). View a list of 2010 Righthaven victims.

Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) Emerges as New Threat in Wake of Protect IP Act

2011-10-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

Contact Congress Now: Click here to send a letter to help stop Protect IP / SOPA.

Don't Let Hollywood Break the Internet With the PROTECT IP Act!

The PROTECT IP Act would allow copyright owners – movie studios and other content providers – simply to accuse a website of infringement, which could lead to that site being shut down by court order and entire links to the site being wiped clean from the Internet. Any website with a hyperlink, such as Twitter, Facebook or a blog, would be subject to liability. More, non-infringing sites could be inadvertently shut down under the proposal. Indeed, the law is so far-reaching that it would force Internet providers like Comcast to block all access to the allegedly illegal site.

See: Forbes article in full
See: Related CNN article

PROTECT IP Act Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

Past blog posts:
05/26/11: Anonymous Reacts to 'Protect IP Act,' Launches DDOS Attack on Big Business...
05/15/11: EFF Warns Against the 'Protect IP Act,' A Reincarnation of Last Year's COCIA

Righthaven Ordered to Pony Up $119,488 in Legal Fees in Failed Copyright Lawsuit

2011-10-26T21:50:00.001-05:00

Righthaven Ordered to Pay Nearly $120,000 in Attorney Fees, Court Costs

Newspaper copyright infringement lawsuit filer Righthaven LLC of Las Vegas was hit Wednesday with an order to pay $119,488 in attorney's fees and costs in its failed lawsuit against former federal prosecutor Thomas DiBiase.
This was by far the largest fee award against Righthaven, but likely will be dwarfed by an upcoming award in Righthaven's failed suit against the Democratic Underground. Before Wednesday the largest fee award against Righthaven was for $34,045 — an amount Righthaven says it's having trouble paying or even posting a bond to cover.

See: Las Vegas Sun article in full

Defendants File Motion for Sanctions Against Righthaven Counsel Shawn Mangano

2011-10-26T18:45:00.003-05:00

Defendants' Newsblaze LLC and Alan Gray filed a motion in federal court Tuesday asking the court to impose sanctions on Shawn Mangano, counsel for Righthaven LLC for "unreasonably and vexatiously multiplying the proceedings" in their case. The defendants say they bring the motion reluctantly, but believe Righthaven's litigation campaign in their case has gone "beyond zealous advocacy" and has become "vexatious, unnecessarily multiplicative, and purposely wasteful." Defendants ask the court to impose sanctions of $11,925.50 -- the amount of defendants' attorneys' fees since July 2011.

Though sought with great reservation, the facts of this case and Mangano’s conduct across numerous cases in this district cry out for the imposition of sanctions under 28 U.S.C. § 1927. Months after Righthaven’s lack of standing was determined by the Democratic Underground court and confirmed by at least six other decisions in this District, Righthaven’s counsel still requires defendants to litigate the same precluded issues, either seeking to create inconsistent precedent or punish assertive defendants who do not wish to settle. Whether this strategy was Mangano’s or Righthaven’s (to which Mangano acceded), it is ultimately Righthaven’s Counsel who decides what arguments are presented to the Court – and must bear the consequences of those actions.

See: Defendants' Motion for Sanctions Against Counsel
See: Related VEGAS INC article

U.S. Copyright Office Releases Priorities and Special Projects for Next 24 Months

2011-10-26T17:53:00.001-05:00

U.S. Copyright Office Outlines "Priorities and Special Projects"

Orphan works, preservation for libraries, mass digitization, and fighting digital piracy are among the priorities set by the Register of Copyrights Maria A. Pallante this week in a paper outlining the U.S. Copyyright Office's "priorities and special projects" for the next two years. In all, the paper articulates 17 priorities in the areas of copyright policy and administrative practice, and 10 "new projects" designed to "improve the quality and efficiency" of the U.S. Copyright Office’s services in the 21st century. The paper also summarizes the state of global policy, including U.S. trade negotiations, anti-piracy efforts and international discussions of exceptions and limitations.

See: Publisher Weekly article in full
See: U.S. Copyright Priorities and Special Projects (2011-2013) in full

More Maneuvers by Copyright Troll Righthaven to Avoid Paying Court Ordered Legal Fees

2011-10-10T19:16:00.000-05:00

Righthaven Asks Appeals Court to Block Dismantling of the Company

Despite its backing by billionaire Arkansas investment banker Warren Stephens, copyright lawsuit filer Righthaven LLC of Las Vegas said Sunday it has been unable to secure a $34,045 bond to guarantee payment of a defendant’s attorney’s fees.
In an "urgent motion" filed Sunday with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, Righthaven asked the court to strike a Nevada judge’s order that it post the bond to ensure attorneys for copyright lawsuit defendant Wayne Hoehn get paid, should Righthaven lose its appeal in the Hoehn case.

See: VEGAS INC article in full

Recent Backdrop

Righthaven LLC recently made several maneuvers concerning Judge Kane's September 27 ruling dismissing all open Colorado Righthaven infringement lawsuits due to lack of standing. Both Friday and Saturday filings by Righthaven show more attempts on their part to avoid paying attorneys' fees to prevailing defendants and to preserve the right to refile lawsuits over Denver Post material. The maneuvers also come four weeks after the Denver Post did not renew its contract with Righthaven.

Since the September 27 ruling, several "pity articles" have been written about Righthaven because "normal" people are starting to feel sorry about the way Righthaven is digging themselves into an abyss. Stop feeling sorry for this copyright troll -- In a heartbeat, Righthaven would refile as many cases as possible. If for some reason an appeals court overturns rulings by judges John Kane, Phillip Pro, Roger Hunt, James Mahan or others, Righthaven will quickly resume their "practices."

September 2011 Righthaven Victims

2011-10-01T11:00:00.000-05:00

Lawsuit count: Sep (0), Aug (0), Jul (0), Jun (0), May (9), Apr (2), Mar (25), Feb (10) and Jan (34). View a list of 2010 Righthaven victims.

Judge Dismisses All Colorado Righthaven Lawsuits; Orders Righthaven to Pay Legal Fees

2011-09-27T19:34:00.000-05:00

Judge: Righthaven Lacked Standing, Abused Copyright Act

Righthaven LLC of Las Vegas lacked standing to file copyright infringement lawsuits in Colorado under its lawsuit contract with the Denver Post and abused the Copyright Act in doing so, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
Senior U.S. District Judge John L. Kane in Denver granted summary judgment for Righthaven lawsuit defendant Leland Wolf and the It Makes Sense Blog against Righthaven.

See: VEGAS INC article in full
See: U.S. District Judge John Kane's ruling in full

The article notes that 23 Colorado cases had closed prior to Judge Kane's ruling. It is likely that Righthaven lacked standing to bring those lawsuits as well, several of which included settlements with big names, such as white supremacist David Duke and website operator Matt Drudge.

Part of Judge Kane's Order:

Righthaven’s only interest in the Work is “the right to proceeds in association with a Recovery.” The Copyright Assignment Agreement defines “Recovery” as “any and all sums . . . arising from an Infringement Action.” Thus, when read together, the Assignment and the Copyright Assignment Agreement reveal that MediaNews Group has assigned to Righthaven the bare right to sue for infringement – no more, no less. Although the assignment of the bare right to sue is permissible, it is ineffectual. Standing alone, “[t]he right to sue for an accrued claim for infringement is not an exclusive right under § 106.” Silvers, 402 F.3d at 884. Furthermore, neither the Assignment nor the Copyright Assignment Agreement provide Righthaven any beneficial interest in the dissemination of the Work. Accordingly, Righthaven is neither a “legal owner” or a “beneficial owner” for purposes of § 501(b), and it lacks standing to institute an action for copyright infringement.
CONCLUSION
It is apparent from the terms of the Assignment and the Copyright Assignment Agreement that Righthaven lacks standing to institute an action for copyright infringement. Because the jurisdictional issues raised in the Motion to Dismiss are intertwined with the merits of the case, I convert Mr. Wolf’s Rule 12(b)(1) motion to a Rule 56 motion and GRANT him SUMMARY JUDGMENT. Furthermore, in light of the need to discourage the abuse of the statutory remedies for copyright infringement, I exercise my discretion under Section 505 of the Copyright Act and ORDER that Righthaven shall reimburse Mr. Wolf’s full costs in defending this action, including reasonable attorney fees.

Defendant Leland Wolf is represented by Randazza Legal Group. (Huge kudos to both!)

Copyright Lawsuit Mill Continues to Miss Deadlines; Updates on Several Cases

2011-09-25T19:26:00.000-05:00

Missed Deadline Potentially Costly for Righthaven

Righthaven LLC watched thousands of dollars in legal work potentially go down the drain Friday when a Las Vegas judge refused to revive one of its copyright lawsuits — a suit dismissed because Righthaven was tardy by one day with a legal filing.
Righthaven has filed 275 infringement lawsuits since March 2010, but lately has been dormant while it waits for judges to rule on whether it has the right to sue under a revised lawsuit contract with the owner of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

See: VEGAS INC article in full

Cases discussed include Garry Newman of facepunch.com, Richard Rawlings of the United States Marijuana Party, Greg Stocks and his Law Med Blog, Ryan Burrage, and veteran Wayne Hoehn.

Maryland Defendant Continues to Push Back; Righthaven Fails To Oppose Motion To Dimiss

2011-09-24T14:00:00.000-05:00

Righthaven Fails To Oppose Our Motion To Dimiss

Righthaven LLC had 14 days in which to file a response to our Motion to Dismiss with Prejudice for Failure to Serve the Complaint, Willful Deceit, and Failure to Comply with a Judicial Order, filed in Nevada Federal District Court on September 6th. They have failed to do so…and we did not think they would risk filing one since the only reason to would be to oppose our motion on the basis that our allegations of their multitude of lies before the court was false. In other words they would have to lie again to the court. They may finally have recognized that, even for them, there is a limit to their arrogance blinding them to their stupidity.

See: Blog post in full
See: Defendant's Motion to Dismiss with Prejudice

Attorneys for Wayne Hoehn File Motion for Seizure of Righthaven's Bank Accounts

2011-09-18T18:49:00.000-05:00

Attorneys representing Wayne Hoehn filed a motion Sunday asking the court to issue a writ of execution for Hoehn's judgment against Righthaven after the group defied the court ordered payment due date last week. The motion states, "No stay prohibiting Hoehn’s execution of his judgment is in place, nor would any such future stay have retroactive effect." It also states that the "Court is entitled to authorize the U.S. Marshalls to execute Hoehn’s judgment" through seizure of bank accounts.

Court is entitled to authorize the U.S. Marshalls to execute Hoehn’s judgment through seizure of Righthaven’s bank accounts, real and personal property, and intangible intellectual property rights for levy, lien, auction or other treatment appropriate for satisfaction of Hoehn’s judgment.

See: Motion for Writ of Execution
See: Affidavit and Request for Issuance of Writ of Execution
See: Proposed Writ of Execution for completion by the court

Former Defendant Posts on Veterans Website

By Michael Leon
In August 2011, Wayne Hoehn was awarded $34,045 in attorneys’ fees and costs in a judicial order that doomed Righthaven LLC, a fraudulent outfit operating out of Las Vegas pretending to own copyrights and then suing 100s of defendants, scaring them into settlements.
Righthaven has filed some 275 federal copyright lawsuits claiming text from the Las Vegas Review-Journal and [formerly] the Denver Post has been used without regard to copyright law by the Internet users including bloggers and message board posters.
Righthaven lost its case against Hoehn who knew that he could not live up to his oath he once gave to defend the U.S. Constitution if he gave up without a fight. Hoehn stood up for fair use and free speech – and he prevailed.

See: Related Veterans News Now article

LTN: September Has Been a 'Particularly Bad Month' for Righthaven; Group Seems 'Troubled'

2011-09-16T00:02:00.000-05:00

Righthaven's House of Cards

September has been a particularly bad month for Righthaven. First, MediaNews Group let its contract expire with the company, leaving original investor Stephens Media as the only newspaper partner. MediaNews' new chief executive, John Paton, took a 180-degree turn from his predecessor Singleton in explaining the change, noting via Wired.com that "the idea that you would hire someone on an essentially -- success fee to run around and sue people at will who may or may not have infringed as a way of protecting yourself … does not reflect how news is created and disseminated in the modern world." Not only is he challenging the merits of the suits, he disagrees with the foundation Righthaven is built on.

Legal Fees Pay Date Looms for Righthaven; 'Nobody is Playing a Violin' for Them Either

2011-09-12T17:19:00.001-05:00

The date for Righthaven to pay $34,000 dollars in legal fees to defendant Wayne Hoehn is Wednesday, September 14. Thus the emergency motion by Righthaven last Friday to stay U.S. District Judge Philip Pro’s order to pay the fees. In an article published by Wired today, Hoehn's attorney Marc Randazza of Randazza Legal Group said that Righthaven should hand over the fees. "Remember, it’s not like we sued them," Randazza said. He added, "Nobody is playing a violin for these guys."

It's unknown how Rigthaven can pursue multiple appeals and pay attorney Dale Cendali, a partner at Kirkland and Ellis. According to PaidContent.org, Kirkland was one of the first firms where some New York partners "broke the $1,000-per-hour billing ceiling a few years back." Righthaven is in a needy position to be sure. Yet it is of their own making, which has cost the financial and emotional suffering of at least 500 victims if one includes codefendants in Righthaven's 276 "no warning" lawsuits.

Judge Denies Attorney's Fees to Defendant Who Inspired Many Other Victims to Fight Back

2011-09-09T19:38:00.000-05:00

Earlier today, U.S. District Judge John Kane denied a motion by defendant Brian Hill’s attorneys that Righthaven be required to pay his legal fees. Brian Hill, who suffers from autism and other disabilities, captured the attention of the New York Times, Reporters Without Borders and many other groups and individuals for refusing to cave into Righthaven's intimidation tactics. After the ruling, Brian Hill's attorney David Kerr told VEGAS INC that he was disappointed in the ruling but that he respected it.

"I think Brian deserves to be recognized for being the first Colorado defendant to really refuse to give into Righthaven’s heavy-handed tactics and stand up and fight. I certainly do think there is a correlation between Brian’s case and the MediaNews Group’s decision not to continue their relationship with Righthaven," Kerr said.
MediaNews Group, owner of the Denver Post, disclosed this week it’s not renewing its copyright protection contract with Righthaven. The decision came after several public relations debacles, most notably about the Hill case.

Righthaven LLC Issues Bankruptcy Warning; Who Could Have Foreseen?

2011-09-09T12:24:00.000-05:00

Righthaven Says it Might Have to File for Bankruptcy

Despite its backing by the billionaire Warren Stephens family, Las Vegas copyright lawsuit filer Righthaven LLC warned today it may have to file for bankruptcy because of a series of setbacks in its litigation campaign.
The warning came in an emergency request by Righthaven to a federal judge in Las Vegas that he stay his order that Righthaven pay $34,045 in legal fees to attorneys who successfully defended Kentucky message board poster Wayne Hoehn against a Righthaven lawsuit.

See: Related VEGAS INC article

Desperation is never fun to watch, but do read the full article. It's packed with jewels including, "the software could be sold to any one of a host of infringers or other supporting organizations that would attempt to reverse engineer the software in order to devise methods for evading detection."(?) PaidContent.org also writes about this news (See: Righthaven: We Might Have To Declare Bankruptcy) and offers a delightful "plain language version" of Righthaven's emergency filing.

Blogger Ken: MediaNews Group Will Not Renew Contract with Copyright Troll Righthaven

2011-09-08T09:19:00.000-05:00

UPDATE 09/08/11: VEGAS INC has published an important update to the MediaNews Group announcement (See: Denver Post owner not renewing Righthaven contract after PR debacles). The article discusses the numerous PR blunders that likely led MediaNews to its decision, including "headaches" caused by defendants Brian Hill, Dana Eiser, Denise Nichols and Reporters Without Borders. The now broken relationship may have legal implications for 34 open Righthaven cases.

MediaNews Group Will Not Renew Contract with Righthaven

The Denver Post is reporting that MediaNews Group, its parent company along with the Salt Lake Tribune, will not be renewing their contract with the controversial drive-by litigation group Righthaven. According to the report MediaNews Group stopped working with them "some time ago."
--snip--
MediaNews Group’s relationship with Righthaven dealt almost exclusively with one image that of the TSA agent performing a patdown that became a symbol of the "Don’t touch my junk" movement. This image had gone viral because of the national debate over the enhanced pat-downs and both MediaNews Group and Righthaven thought they had a potential goldmine. They began suing bloggers by the scores including Matt Drudge of the Drudge Report. In the beginning most settled including Drudge until Righthaven made the fatal tactical mistake of suing a mildly autistic blogger from North Carolina.

See: Related blog post in full

The news comes just after opponents appealed again to a Colorado judge to end Righthaven lawsuits over Denver Post material. See related news article: Foes seek decisive ruling against Righthaven.

Two More Cases Dismissed Due to Lack of Service; Defendant Files Motion to Dismiss

2011-09-05T02:21:00.000-05:00

Judge Throws Out 2 More Righthaven Copyright Lawsuits

Two more Righthaven LLC newspaper copyright infringement lawsuit defendants can rest easier this holiday weekend after a judge dismissed their cases Friday.
The cases against Peter Ashton and Kathleen Peddle were dismissed by U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt in Las Vegas after Righthaven failed to show the defendants had been served in time.

The cases were dismissed without prejudice, so Righthaven can choose to sue again over the same alleged infringements. The VEGAS INC article reminds readers of the central argument Righthaven has given in response to its lack of service -- an inability to find the defendants. One of these unserved defendants, Greg Stocks, fired back with a motion to dismiss with prejudice stating that Righthaven has his current address on file, but still has not received a summons or sanctions information.

See: Defendant's Motion to Dismiss with Prejudice

August 2011 Righthaven Victims

2011-09-01T12:35:00.000-05:00

Lawsuit count: Aug (0), Jul (0), Jun (0), May (9), Apr (2), Mar (25), Feb (10) and Jan (34). View a list of 2010 Righthaven victims.

Righthaven Files Responses; Judge Hunt Again Raises the Issue of Unauthorized Practice of Law

2011-08-27T15:55:00.001-05:00

Week's Recap:

Back in June, attorneys for defendant Dana Eiser filed an amended counterclaim against Righthaven with a laundry list of complaints, including defamation. This past week, Righthaven denied that statements made by Steve Gibson defamed the defendant and filed papers to dismiss the case.

Righthaven Denies Defaming Copyright Defendant

"The Gibson statement does not identify Eiser as someone 'caught violating the law' so that the statement fails to satisfy the element of defamation that it is 'about the plaintiff,'" Righthaven’s filing said.
"Righthaven contends that when considering the statement in the context in which Eiser asserts it should be understood, it could not reasonably be interpreted as stating false statements with a defamatory meaning of and concerning Eiser," Righthaven’s filing said.

In a separate case, Righthaven attorney Shawn Mangano argued that the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is jeopardizing its due process rights and also disputed arguments by Citizens Against Litigation Abuse (CALA) that its litigation campaign involves the unauthorized practice of law.

Righthaven Says Foe is Jeopardizing its Due Process Rights

“In a stroke of legal irony, an organization that claims to protect free expression seeks to unquestionably deny Righthaven the fundamental right of procedural due process by asking the court to enter summary judgment when this ground for relief was not requested in defendant’s motion,” Mangano’s brief said. “EFF disregards the fundamental right of procedural due process because it seeks to advance its organizational goal of obtaining a decision from this court that can qualify as an adjudication on the merits so that it can attempt to bar future Righthaven actions.”

Lastly, in a July 14 hearing, U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt stated that the "arrangement between Righthaven and Stephens Media is nothing more, nor less, than a law firm -- which incidentally I don’t think is licensed to practice law in this state." On Wednesday, Hunt suggested this theme again:

Judge Again Suggests Righthaven is Practicing Law Without a License

"The court is dubious as to whether Righthaven can essentially create standing in the middle of a case so as to either prosecute the case independently or intervene. Further, the court questions whether Righthaven can even have a legitimate interest under any agreement (no matter the rights purportedly transferred) because Stephens Media and Righthaven’s arrangement seems very much like a contingency fee arrangement with an entity unauthorized to practice law," Hunt wrote in his order Wednesday.

Question: Does Righthaven LLC Consist of 'Activities Other Than the Practice of Law'?

2011-08-22T11:00:00.000-05:00

UPATE 08/22/11: In a filing submitted to a Colorado court yesterday (Unopposed Motion to Withdraw as Counsel), attorney Steven Ganim asked to withdraw as counsel for Righthaven LLC in the case against Leland Wolf, the subject of our August 8th post. Ganim stated that the reason for his withdraw was due to no longer being employed by Righthaven. Observers learned last week that Ganim filed for an address change, from an office address to a P.O. Box, foreshadowing yesterday's court filing.

08/08/11
Back in May, we noted that according to a statement written by Righthaven attorney Shawn Mangano in an April 19, 2011 letter, "Mr. Ganim is admitted to practice in the State of Florida and he is awaiting his bar examination results from the State Bar of Nevada." (See: Affidavit of J. Malcolm Devoy in Support of Motion for Attorney’s Fees). In the subsequent posting of these examination results May 12, Unofficial February 2011 Nevada Bar Pass List, Ganim's name was not listed.

In the State of Nevada, in-house counsel, such as Ganim, seeking non-standard admission to practice law (an individual who is licensed to practice law in another state but has not taken or passed the Nevada Bar Exam) are allowed to practice under limited conditions set by Nevada Supreme Court Rule 49.10. One of the areas restricted from practice is with businesses who primarily engage in the practice of law, which is exactly what Righthaven LLC appears to largely participate in.

Limited Practice for Government or In-House Counsel:
Nevada Supreme Court Rule 49.10 provides for limited practice of an attorney who is admitted to practice law in any other jurisdiction, and who is employed exclusively for a single governmental entity or as in-house counsel for a single corporation (including its subsidiaries and affiliates), association, partnership, or other business entity situated in or qualified to do business in Nevada, whose lawful business consists of activities other than the practice of law or the provision of legal services.

Rule 49.10 further defines the limitations of activities in part seven:

7. Limitations of activities.
(a) Unless otherwise permitted by law, an attorney certified under this rule may not: (1) Appear as counsel of record for the employer in Nevada in any court, before any administrative or political agency, or in any arbitration, mediation, or alternative dispute resolution proceeding which is court ordered or annexed or authorized by law or administrative rule;

Given all of this together, it must be noted that in Righthaven's recent Opposition to Defendant's Motion to Dismiss in the case involving Leland Wolf filed July 29, Steven Ganim is listed as Attorneys for Plaintiff Righthaven LLC along with Shawn Mangano. That document was filed in a Colorado court where the laws may be different than Nevada. It still though raises questions of why Ganim's name is listed on that document as an attorney for Righthaven LLC.

To summarize: 1.) Ganim is licensed to practice law in Florida 2.) Ganim is living and practicing law in the role of in-house counsel in Nevada 3.) Ganim did not pass the Nevada Bar Exam in February. If he took the July exam, the results will not be known until October and 4.) IF Ganim is practicing under Rule 49.10, Judge Hunt made it very clear that Righthaven is nothing more, nor less, than a law firm masquerading as a company, thus Ganim could be facing some consequences.

Five More Righthaven Copyright Lawsuits Dismissed for Lack of Service

2011-08-22T10:15:00.000-05:00

UPDATE 08/22/11: Over the weekend, VEGAS INC reported that one more case, the lawsuit against Sevvan Franks, was dismissed after Righthaven failed to serve the defendant on time. The same article stated that on Friday, U.S. District Judge Kent Dawson dismissed Righthaven’s lawsuit against Bill Hyatt. Back in February, The Media Bloggers Association intervened in Hyatt's case after the defendant defaulted. This is the seventh case dismissed due to lack of standing since June 14.

08/18/11
Five Righthaven Suits Dismissed for Lack of Service

As a mass copyright lawsuit filer, Righthaven LLC of Las Vegas continues to struggle to actually prosecute many of the lawsuits it files.
That was illustrated this week when five Righthaven lawsuits in Las Vegas were dismissed after the company failed to show it had served the defendants by the deadlines set in each case. These bring to six the number of such dismissals since July 20.

See: Related VEGAS INC article

Each case was dismissed without prejudice and can re-filed if Righthaven chooses. Defendants included: Duncan Shields, John Lundberg and Mark Pilkington, Peter May-Ostendorp, Lisa Vinci (the case against codefendant Inform Technologies Inc. was dismissed earlier) and Bob G. Bell.

Boing Boing: Copyright Troll Handed Ass (Again), Tries Saddest Trick Ever...

2011-08-16T19:51:00.001-05:00

Copyright Troll Handed Ass (Again), Tries Saddest Trick Ever...

Everyone's favorite copyright troll Righthaven has once again had its ass handed to it. The company, which was spun out of a Nevada newspaper, sublicenses the right to sue people from copyright holders, then sends legal threats to bloggers and website owners who publish articles or images from newspapers, including short quotations or thumbnails. Judges keep telling Righthaven that this isn't legal -- there's no such thing as a sub-licensable right to sue -- but Righthaven keeps on keeping on.

See: Related Boing Boing blog post

Judge Orders Righthaven to Pay Attorney's Fees to Defendant Wayne Hoehn (34k+)

2011-08-15T20:27:00.008-05:00

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Philip Pro signed an order requiring Righthaven to pay attorney's fees and costs to defendant Wayne Hoehn, who is represented by Randazza Legal Group. The amount awarded by Pro is $34,045.50 and must be paid no later than September 14, 2011. On July 5, U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro ordered Righthaven to pay attorney's fees for defendant Michael Leon, also represented by Randazza Legal Group. –Kudos to some great lawyering by this group!

In this case, the Court finds that Defendant Hoehn is the prevailing party and the attorney’s fees and costs sought on his behalf are reasonable and supported by Defendant’s Memorandum of Law and the Affidavit of J. Malcolm Devoy, Esq.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Defendant Hoehn’s Motion for Attorney’s Fees and Costs (Doc. #32) is GRANTED, and that Plaintiff Righthaven, shall not later than September 14, 2011 pay to Defendant Wayne Hoehn the sum of $34,045.50 as and for reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

See: Judge Pro's order in full

Former Defendant Michael Leon

Leon's blog, MAL Contends, posted about this news and offers additional details:

Congratulations are in order for Vietnam War veteran, Wayne Hoehn (Recon Company, E 2/12, 12th Cavalry Regiment (1969-70)), who won another major First Amendment victory over Internet troll, Righthaven LLC today.
It was announced today in the United States District Court, District of Nevada that Hoehn was awarded $34,045 in attorneys' fees and costs...

See: Blog post in full

Free Speech Advocate Ken Bingham

Free speech advocate Ken Bingham also posted about this news at his OneUtah blog:

Chock up another win for the amazing Randazza Legal Group. U.S. District Judge Philip Pro of Nevada ordered Righthaven to pay $34,045 in legal fees for war veteran Wayne Hoehn of Kentucky. Judge Pro also dismissed the case for lack of standing on Righthaven’s part and said even if Righthaven had standing Mr. Hoehn’s use of the Las Vegas Review Journal article was protected by fair use. Righthaven said they will appeal but they are already appealing several cases with no guarantee the appeals court will be anymore receptive than the lower courts.

See: Blog post in full

VEGAS INC (The Heavy Lifters)

The heavy lifters over at VEGAS INC have of course posted about this news as well.

In yet another stunning reversal for Las Vegas copyright lawsuit filer Righthaven LLC, the company won’t be collecting any damages from a man it once branded as a copyright infringer.
Instead, it’s Righthaven that must pay the man's legal fees of $34,045.

See: Related VEGAS INC article

Including Codefendants, There May be 500 Righthaven Victims; Codefendant Sends Mail

2011-08-11T21:41:00.004-05:00

There is an accurate count of lawsuits filed by Righthaven (275)[1]; an accurate count of funds owed by Righthaven ($8,815) and an estimated count of funds seized by Righthaven ($350,000). There is not, however, a count of the actual number of persons sued in these lawsuits. In many cases, Righthaven names two or more persons in a lawsuit. Though there are unknowns, basic math after reviewing our internal spreadsheet shows an estimated 500 Righthaven victims.

A codefendant recently sent an email to Righthaven Victims alerting us to this overlooked fact. The Media Awareness Project (MAPinc.org) was part of the second lawsuit filed by Righthaven, the case against The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), first filed in March 2010. The source of the article in the lawsuit originated from MAPinc.org. After discovering this, Righthaven amended its lawsuit to include MAPinc and re-filed April 6, 2010 (No: 2:10-cv-0351-PMP).

The Media Awareness Project is a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit that has gathered newspaper, magazine and web articles about drug policy since 1995. At the time of the lawsuit, NORML was a client and was able to display articles on their website under the indicia that originated from the MAPinc archive. While many followers of the copyright trolling group Righthaven LLC know how the NORML case settled, many do not know that this settlement did not include MAPinc.

The Media Awareness Project is yet another modest nonprofit sued by Righthaven and was fortunate enough to secure pro bono legal representation from Ridder, Costa & Johnstone LLP, a San Francisco-based intellectual property law firm. MAPinc ultimately settled with Righthaven on July 8 and August 3, 2010. Having just contacted Righthaven Victims now -- a full year later -- clearly the pain and difficulty of the lawsuit, even with pro bono legal representation, has not been forgotten.

[1] According to Vegas INC, Righthaven has filed 275 copyright infringement lawsuits involving R-J and Denver Post content. There have been 276 lawsuits if one counts a case about sports betting material. The lawsuit filing number in no way reflects the actual number of persons sued by Righthaven who wind up with disrupted lives, increased health issues and drained savings accounts.

Standing in Colorado Lawsuits Heats Up; Righthaven Accused of Being a 'Liar'

2011-08-11T13:07:00.000-05:00

Righthaven’s Standing to File Copyright Suits Challenged

“MediaNews Group (owner of the Denver Post) did not transfer any rights (to news content) to Righthaven, and thus Righthaven has no basis to sue for infringement,” their filing said. “It would be bad enough if Righthaven were merely punishing others’ free expression based on rights it actually acquired from MediaNews Group. But, for the truth to come out — that Righthaven filed this suit and many others without receiving any rights from MediaNews — makes this lawsuit mill operation not only abusive, but fraudulent as well.
“This court must dismiss this lawsuit and treat Righthaven as what it is — a liar,” their filing said.

Attorneys for defendant Leland Wolf, Randazza Legal Group and Contiguglia/Fazzone P.C., also argued in the filing that Righthaven is hoping that Judge Kane will dismiss its pending cases in Denver without prejudice, giving Righthaven the opportunity to sue again under an amended contract.

See: Related VEGAS INC article
See: Reply to Righthaven's Opposition to Defendant's Motion to Dismiss

Public Interest Law and Policy Group Distributes Righthaven Informational Paper to Hundreds

2011-08-10T11:12:00.000-05:00

On Friday, Washington Legal Foundation (WLF), a nonprofit public interest law and policy group based in Washington D.C., released a paper regarding the severe harm Righthaven is inflicting upon copyright holders and groups who seek to advance educational and informational exchanges. WLF distributed the paper, Selling Legal Standing? Righthaven LLC and the Judiciary’s Response to Copyright Trolling, to hundreds of judges, lawyers, reporters, business leaders and others.

Those involved with or affected by intellectual property lawsuits are likely familiar with the term “patent troll.” “Patent trolls” have been described as patent-holding entities that do not use their patents for actual production; instead, they accumulate patents to pursue profit through litigation. This practice is controversial to say the least, but it pales in comparison to the actions of the recently formed litigation group “Righthaven LLC.” Righthaven was incorporated to be a “copyright troll,” and its actions, as courts are beginning to rule, have little justification under the law.

See: Legal opinion paper in full (PDF format)

The two page paper summarizes what Righthaven LLC has been up to since March 2010 and how U.S. federal courts are responding to the copyright trolling group. Issues covered include Righthaven 1.) Exploiting a loophole in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA); 2.) Using a "shoot first ask questions later" approach to propel defendants to quickly settle; 3.) Lacking the legal standing to sue; 4.) Endlessly modifying the assignment agreement in hopes of meeting legal standards and more.

'Quadrillions' of Dollars in Potential Recovery Wrote Steve Gibson & J.D. Lowry in 2006

2011-08-07T16:41:00.002-05:00

Defense Attorneys Step Up Criticism of Righthaven

"As early as 2006, Las Vegas attorney Steven A. Gibson wrote about what he saw as a gold mine untapped by copyright holders. 'Steven A. Gibson & J.D. Lowry, The Need for Speed: The Path to Statutory Damages in Copyright. Multiplying estimates of online infringement by the statutory damages available under the Copyright Act, Mr. Gibson saw 'quadrillions' of dollars in potential recovery. In short, he saw a path to quick riches, if only the copyright owners could be persuaded to file suit," the EFF filing said.

See: Related VEGAS INC article

Righthavenlawsuits.com is Down -- Posting Links to Cached Pages Until Site Resurfaces

2011-08-07T16:15:00.006-05:00

UPDATE: The site is back online. It is unknown why the account was suspended or even if it was suspended as this may have been a default message when something else was actually at issue.

It is unknown at what point between last night and this afternoon that the Righthavenlawsuits.com website account became suspended. Righthaven Victims will tolerate absolutely no downtime of this very important website, particularly while the smell of rat emanates from this curious situation.

Cached Pages

Judge Hunt's Response to Extension: Focus on Material Issues, Not 'Wishful Research' Efforts

2011-08-03T08:54:00.004-05:00

In response to Righthaven's application for extension, Chief U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt granted the 10 additional days, then scolded the copyright trolling group and again clarified the July 14 order by defining legal terms such as "parties" and "pending matters" for Righthaven. Hunt also wrote that Righthaven's situation is "largely—if not entirely—of his and Righthaven’s own making" and that, "its counsel should concentrate their efforts on material issues and court orders, not wishful research."

First, as Righthaven points out in its motion, when the Court issued the sanctions the Court and counsel referred to “parties,” not merely cases. Accordingly, it is insufficient to merely file the required documents; Righthaven must produce the documents to the parties in those cases as the Court clearly stated. The reason for this is simple: the Court is fully aware of Righthaven’s practice of filing suit against a party and then entering settlement negotiations (and frequently settling) without ever serving the party. The Court concludes that depriving those parties of the benefit of the Court’s order would be unjust.
Second, Righthaven must produce the required documents to all parties in all pending matters. The Court stated that the order would “not apply to those cases that have been dismissed unless there’s going to be an appeal in those cases.” The Court clearly ordered that Righthaven produce these documents in cases that have been dismissed but are later appealed. This logically includes cases that have already been appealed. Further, if there are any pending motions in a case, that case is still pending in some fashion. Accordingly, Righthaven must produce the required documents in those cases as well even if all that remains pending is a request for attorney’s fees or some similar matter.

See: Judge Hunt's Response to Application for Extension

Service of process costs money; yet another fee Righthaven has been trying to avoid when filing their no-warning lawsuits. Hunt knows Righthaven's game and effectively just tightened up the screws.

July 2011 Righthaven Victims

2011-08-01T18:40:00.001-05:00

Victim count: July (0), June (0), May (9), April (2), March (25), February (10) and January (34).

No new Righthaven victims were recorded for this month. At least one person was revictimized.

Too Busy to Meet Terms: Righthaven Files for Extension to Comply with July 14 Order

2011-07-30T12:16:00.003-05:00

Righthaven appears too busy to comply with Judge Hunt's recent July 14 ruling, specifically with Local Rule 7.1-1, which requires the disclosure of interested parties in all actions. This includes providing each party with a copy of Judge Hunt's June 14, order, the transcript from the July 14 hearing, a copy of any order from the July 14 hearing to all parties involving Stephens Media and a copy of the Strategic Alliance Agreement (SAA). The application for extension requests 10 additional days.

Righthaven’s counsel has diligently investigated the number and nature of Righthaven’s pending cases concerning Stephens Media. Counsel has identified seventy-eight (78) cases that appear to fall within the Court’s Order. Counsel’s investigation has further revealed that service of process has not been made in a significant number of these cases. Counsel’s investigation has been extremely time consuming and has also been impacted by numerous pending responses dates in a significant number of Righthaven and non-Righthaven matters. In short, performing the degree of due diligence required vastly exceed the amount of time counsel anticipated dedicating to this portion of complying with the Court’s Order.

See: Application for Extension in full

In part 6, the document adds, "As of now, counsel still is investigating how to provide non-served parties with the materials required under the Order." In the past, Righthaven has wrongly served, not served on time or not served defendants at all. As stated not long ago by observer Eric Goldman, "I don't know if it's their staff turnover, general incompetence or something else, but Righthaven has made a surprisingly high number of unforced errors for a company whose sole business is litigation."

Righthaven Used as a Political Weapon; A Private Tattle Tailer's Letter Badly Misfires

2011-07-28T02:24:00.001-05:00

Righthaven Used as a Political Weapon

I received this email from one of the top lawyers defending Righthaven victims and it illustrates how low some will stoop to bring people down. He said this is a good example of how copyrights are being used to limit free speech, free enterprise and legitimate fair use and wanted me to share it.
Dear <lawyer redacted>
I am writing you this letter because there have been clear violations of Stephens Media property by two web sites. The owners of these two web sites knew that property was being violated but still allowed articles to be published. The web sites are as follows:
<websites redacted>
There have been threads posted by both sites that have criticized the actions of Righthaven and their policy of protecting copyright material. I would strongly urge that your law firm launch an immediate investigation and if warranted a lawsuit.
Thank you
A Concerned Citizen

See: Blogger Ken's post in full

A Little Backdrop

The first public tattle tailer to Righthaven was Las Vegas free-lance journalist Steve Friess who questioned in an August 23, 2010 blog post if Righthaven would sue Sharron Angle after finding parts of Review-Journal articles posted to her campaign website. In a separate post on the same day, Friess wrote about a conversation with Steve Gibson who said "I don't have time to review every case I receive a call about." Gibson then trumpeted the fact that his firm hasn't been "ideologically driven."

Only Righthaven knows how many private tattle tailers there have been, and of those, which were ideologically driven. One would imagine that there have been numerous "tattle tail" letters sent to Righthaven by ideological and business competitors. Possibly so numerous that some are now sending them to attorneys simply connected to Righthaven lawsuits at all, not even knowledgeable enough to know how badly they misfired -- sending it to an attorney defending a Righthaven victim!

Judge Mahan Dismisses Case Against Pahrump Life Blog; Offers Few Comments

2011-07-27T16:39:00.002-05:00

Judge Tosses Another Righthaven Copyright Lawsuit

U.S. District Judge James Mahan dismissed a long-running suit alleging the Pahrump Life blog infringed on a Righthaven copyright when the blog posted without authorization a Las Vegas Review-Journal story.
Mahan ruled Righthaven lacked standing to sue under its copyright assignment for the lawsuit under its original lawsuit contract with R-J owner Stephens Media LLC. Three other federal judges in Nevada have dismissed Righthaven lawsuits for the same reason.

See: Related VEGAS INC article

Mahan oddly dismissed the case without prejudice (meaning it can be re-filed), stating: "I want people to have their day in court." Otherwise, he did not comment on any rhinoceros in the room issues.

Righthaven Says Amici's Challenge is an 'Effort to Advance Its Policy Agenda'

2011-07-26T14:17:00.002-05:00

Righthaven Denies Perpetrating a Fraud Upon the Courts

"While Amici (friends of the court fighting Righthaven) apparently sincerely believe that the Internet should be a 'copyright free zone' whereby anyone can use another’s copyrighted works without permission or compensation, this point of view is clearly at odds with the U.S. Constitution’s grant of a limited (copyright) monopoly in order to incentivize creation,’’ said Righthaven’s filing.
"Amici’s challenge to Righthaven’s standing must be seen as what it is—an effort to advance its policy agenda. Such arguments are better made to Congress as opposed to overburdening the courts...

See: Related VEGAS INC article

The article also notes that Righthaven has paid $3,815 to Randazza Legal Group for its representation of former defendant Michael Leon. The same group seeks $34,000 for representing Wayne Hoehn and attorneys for prevailing defendant Thomas DiBiase seek $199,000 in fees from Righthaven.

Righthaven Continues to Fight Attorney's Fees; Case Against UK Website Operator Dismissed

2011-07-24T21:51:00.002-05:00

Righthaven Fighting Demand for Attorney’s Fees

U.S. District Court Judge Philip Pro in Las Vegas on June 20 found Kentucky resident Wayne Hoehn was protected by fair use in posting an entire Las Vegas Review-Journal column on a sports website discussion board; and that Righthaven didn’t have standing to sue over the post. Righthaven is appealing.
Hoehn’s attorneys, in the meantime, are seeking recovery of their $34,000 in fees, saying Hoehn stood up to what they called Righthaven’s bullying lawsuit tactics and won a victory for fair use and free speech.
-- snip --
U.S. District Judge James Mahan in Las Vegas dismissed a Righthaven lawsuit against Garry Newman, who is a resident of Great Britain and is associated with facepunch.com.

See: Related VEGAS INC article

Newman though, is still not free of Righthaven. Upon Mahan's dismissal of his case -- due to Righthaven's failure to respond by the deadline to Newman’s dismissal motion -- Righthaven responded with an emergency motion for reconsideration. In a separate case involving the R-J Vdara hotel "death ray" story, Mahan refused for a second time to dismiss a lawsuit against Azkar Choudhry and Pak.org. It is anticipated that Mahan will eventually dismiss that case based on lack of standing.

Attorneys Respond to Re-Filing of Mostofi Claim; Key Pahrump Hearing Next Week

2011-07-22T12:37:00.002-05:00

Attorneys: Righthaven’s Latest Action Amounts to Fraud

The day Dawson dismissed that suit, July 13, Righthaven simply filed a new suit over the same alleged infringement against Mostofi. Only this time, Righthaven says its standing to sue is bullet-proof as it has obtained complete control of the copyright at issue with the latest amendments to the Stephens Media lawsuit contract, called the Strategic Alliance Agreement (SAA).
That contention is false, attorneys in another case involving the Pahrump Life blog charged in a new court filing this week.
“The restated SAA seeks to perpetuate, in fact, to revitalize Righthaven’s fraud by denying its victims the dismissals of Righthaven’s claims that they deserve,” said the filing by attorneys including Laurence Pulgram.

See: Related VEGAS INC article

More from CALA's Request to File Amicus Brief

Blogger Ken recently highlighted parts of CALA's request to file amicus brief in the claim against Leland Wolf. (CALA is also a friend of the court in the Pahrump Life and DU cases.) Another part of the motion addresses Righthaven's continuous re-filing of claims with an amended SAA.

However, there is a much deeper, much more fundamental problem with Righthaven's standing, one wholly unrelated to the Copyright Act. CALA's amicus brief presents arguments and authorities that conclusively demonstrate—as a matter of black letter law—that Righthaven's assignments are void ab initio and no amendments could ever rescue them. The CALA brief presents a way for this Court and others to conclusively resolve these issues with permanence, which will save Righthaven defendants from endlessly defending themselves against rewritten agreements.

Also, U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben in Reno dismissed a Righthaven lawsuit against a “Ben Jones”, after Righthaven served the wrong Ben Jones with the lawsuit -- and failed to show it had served the correct Ben Jones with the suit. That claim was originally filed over a year ago.

The Words 'Chilling Effect' Simply Do Not Do it Justice, Says New CALA Amicus Brief

2011-07-19T19:38:00.013-05:00

South Carolina lawyer Todd Kincannon along with Citizens Against Litigation Abuse (CALA) have sent an amicus brief to Colorado Federal Judge John L Kane. Judge Kane presides over all Righthaven cases in Colorado and has ordered a stay on all cases pending his decision on Righthaven's standing to sue over their agreement with MediaNews Group which is similar to the SAA agreement between Righthaven and Stephens Media.

The brief underscores the political nature of Righthaven's attacks and the chilling effect their actions have over discussing political issues where it pertains to the news of the day.

The Righthaven cases directly implicate freedom of speech and have an obvious chilling effect on core political speech on the Internet. A large proportion of Righthaven cases involve core political speech, as one would expect with lawsuits filed over material appearing in newspapers. Righthaven has sued political speakers from all over the political spectrum. From left to right, from radical to moderate, no group has escaped Righthaven‟s litigation campaign.

The following politically-oriented defendants jump out from just a quick scan of a list of Righthaven cases:
The Democratic Party of Nevada
The Democratic Underground website
Free Republic LLC, a conservative website
The Drudge Report, a major political news website
The Center for Intercultural Organizing
Thoughts From A Conservative Mom
Pajamas Media, a major political blogging association
The Second Amendment Foundation
Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
Climate Change Fraud
The United States Marijuana Party
Americans Against Food Taxes
America's Independent Party of Iowa
Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee
American Political Action Committee
Second Amendment Sisters, Inc.
Americans for Immigration Reform
Americans for Democratic Action, Inc.
Independent Political Report
No Quarter, a national security and terrorism blog
Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Inc.
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws
As Judge Mahan noted in Righthaven v. Jama, "Righthaven's litigation strategy has a chilling effect on potential fair uses of Righthaven-owned articles, diminishes public access to the facts contained therein and does nothing to advance the Copyright Act's purpose of promoting artistic creation."

Righthaven does not sue people who have downloaded pirated movies or music. Righthaven sues people who are communicating their views about issues of the day and discussing important matters of public interest. CALA submits that Righthaven's litigation strategy is so brutal and abusive that the words “chilling effect” simply do not do it justice. The free and open exchange of ideas is fundamental to American democracy.

See: Amicus Curiae Brief of Citizens Against Litigation Abuse, Inc

Attorneys for Eiser File Supplemental Notice; Request Full Transcript of July 14 Hearing

2011-07-16T01:55:00.012-05:00

On Friday, attorneys representing Dana Eiser filed a supplemental notice to her previous motion to dismiss. The new filing requests a full transcript of Judge Hunt's July 14 sanctions hearing and any written connection to it, as well as the consideration of a public statement recently penned by "Sherm." As readers recall, "bully-hater" Sherm vacated his roles as CEO of Stephens Media and publisher of the R-J in November 2010, but continued his column, which time and again gets him into trouble.

Yesterday, Frederick authored a blog post about Sharron Angle and media reaction to her unsuccessful Senate campaign. This post is attached as Exhibit 1.9 The Angle posting elicited comments, and Frederick responded to several of the comments. In one of those responses, Frederick referenced the Righthaven lawsuit against Sharron Angle:
Frederick’s remark, “I even sued her for lifting our material”, is a statement that is of substantial relevance to Defendant’s claims that the Righthaven-client relationship is a sham. It constitutes a public admission by Stephens Media’s then-CEO that he—and by extension, Stephens Media—was truly in control of the Righthaven litigation. It is ironic that several hours before Judge Hunt’s sanctions hearing, Sherman Frederick made a public statement confirming everything that Judge Hunt would find later that same day.

Attorneys for Eiser, who are now litigating against Righthaven in four U.S. courts, requested in the filing that the court withhold ruling on the cross motions to dismiss until Righthaven provides the court with materials from the July 14 hearing. As pointed out in the filing, Hunt not only issued a monetary sanction against Righthaven on that day, he also ordered Righthaven to provide specific materials to every court currently handing a Righthaven case, including items requested in Friday's filing.

South Carolina attorneys representing Dana Eiser include: Todd Kincannon of The Kincannon Firm, Bill Conner of Horger and Conner LLC and Thad Viers of Coastal Law LLC.

See: Eiser's Supplemental Notice Regarding Cross Motions to Dismiss
See: Eiser's Amended Response to Righthaven's Motion to Dismiss

The Kincannon Firm Accepting New Righthaven Targets as Clients

2011-07-14T18:20:00.002-05:00

Media Advisory – For Immediate Release, July 14, 2011

The Kincannon Firm Accepting New Righthaven Targets as Clients

Today, Todd Kincannon of The Kincannon Firm announced he is accepting past and present Righthaven defendants as new clients for class action or mass action litigation against Righthaven, its media clients, and others involved in the Righthaven operation.

If you have been sued by Righthaven, even if you have already settled your case, you are invited to call or email. Cases will be taken on contingency, meaning if there is no recovery, clients will not have to pay for The Kincannon Firm’s services.

If you are interested, call The Kincannon Firm at 877-99-COURT or email Todd@TheKincannonFirm.com.

Judge Hunt Fines Righthaven $5,000 for Misleading Court; 'Masquerading as Company'

2011-07-14T17:29:00.003-05:00

Earlier today, VEGAS INC reported in a brief article that U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt fined Righthaven LLC $5,000 for misleading the court about its lawsuits. No attorneys for Righthaven were personally punished by the judge. Shortly thereafter, the newspaper published a follow-up with more details. There were indeed damning aspects of Hunt's ruling, including his belief that Righaven's failure to disclose Stephens Media as an interested party was not an oversight, but intentional.

Judge: Righthaven Masquerading as a Company

Besides the $5,000, Hunt ordered Righthaven to disclose its original lawsuit contract with Stephens Media in active lawsuits over R-J material. He also ordered that a transcript of today’s hearing, in which he made several negative comments about Righthaven’s conduct, be posted on Righthaven court dockets.
--snip--
“In the court’s view, the arrangement between Righthaven and Stephens Media is nothing more, nor less, than a law firm — which incidentally I don’t think is licensed to practice law in this state — with a contingent fee agreement masquerading as a company.”

See: Related VEGAS INC article

Blogger Ken Comments on Possible Results of $5,000 Sanction Ordered by Judge Hunt

2011-07-14T13:43:00.002-05:00

Righthaven Sanctioned for Lying to a Federal Court

Judge Robert Hunt of the Federal Court of Nevada has issued a rule 11 citation against Righthaven for misleading a Federal Court. The fine is $5000 but the actual result of this will be DEVASTATING to Righthaven. The Nevada State Bar will have to act on this and perhaps even the Nevada Attorney General. Righthaven, Steve Gibson, and Shawn Mangano’s reputations will forever be tarnished. Righthaven is finished.
This stems from a case against the Democratic Underground who was sued by Righthaven over copyright infringement. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) defended the DU against Righthaven. Judge Hunt has already dismissed the case due to lack of standing and now has fined Righthaven for claiming they were the owners of the copyright in question even though Stephens Media only assigned them the bare minimum right to file lawsuits...

See: Blog post in full

However, after gathering a few quick opinions, the concern is that the State Bar of Nevada will drop its investigation. Why get involved after a federal judge has already meted out punishment?

Third Judge Rejects 'Alliance' Agreement; Dismisses Case Against Website Operator

2011-07-14T13:02:00.003-05:00

UPDATE 07/14/11: Late last night, when the updated information became available, it was not known if Righthaven had filed a new case against Mostofi. This is exactly what Righthaven has done. (See: Righthaven LLC v. Mostofi) The new case, bound by the third revision of the SAA, only enjoys non retroactive status by its third revision. It was expected that Righthaven would re-file at least one case under the third revision of the SAA to show the rest of the defendants how far they are willing to go.

UPDATE 07/13/11: VEGAS INC reports that just hours after Judge Dawson dismissed the copyright lawsuit against Dean Mostofi, Righthaven sued Mostofi again -- this time based on the third version of the SAA. Righthaven has been called many names in the past including: copyright extortionists, parasitic bottom feeders, un-American, shameful, engaging in unclean hands and just recently a gang of con artists. It's hard to know what to add to this list in light of this re-filing. Denialist scavengers?

Third Judge Rejects R-J Copyright Suit Arrangement

In today’s ruling, Dawson rejected the first set of amendments Righthaven and Stephens Media made to their lawsuit contract in May. The contract is called the Strategic Alliance Agreement (SAA). In this case, a second set of amendments unveiled this month apparently weren’t presented to Dawson before his ruling.
"Here, plaintiff and Stephens Media attempt to impermissibly amend the facts to manufacture standing. Therefore, the court shall not consider the amended language of the SAA, but the actual assignment and language of the SAA as it existed at the time the complaint was filed," Dawson wrote in his ruling.

See: Related VEGAS INC article
See: Order to Dismiss (Righthaven v. Dean Mostifi)

This news is critical to existing defendants who fear that Righthaven will continue to churn out new versions of the Strategic Alliance Agreement (currently in its third form) until one sticks. As stated now by both U.S. District Judge Kent Dawson and Chief U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt, "the court shall not consider the amended language of the SAA, but the actual assignment and language of the SAA as it existed at the time the complaint was filed." Amendments to the agreement are not retroactive.

A grand congratulations goes out to defendant Dean Mostofi who was sued last June and embarked upon his legal journey pro se. For everyone else, keep your dancing shoes handy. The highly anticipated sanctions hearing with Judge Hunt is tomorrow and may mean the END of RIGHTHAVEN.

Righthaven Wrangles Over Legal Fees; Hit with New Charges, 'Just a Gang of Con Artists'

2011-07-13T15:50:00.006-05:00

UPDATE 07/13/11: TechDirt reports that judge Navarro wasted little time in responding to the situation. In a decision dated July 12, she ordered Righthaven to pay the full fee award by July 25.

New developments occurred this week in the ongoing dispute of attorney's fees in the case against former defendant Michael Leon. On July 5, U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro's ordered Righthaven to pay attorney Malcolm DeVoy and Randazza Legal Group $3,815 for representing Leon on a pro bono basis. Righthaven allegedly balked at the order, so on Saturday the Randazza firm asked for an injunction against Righthaven, freezing $3,815 of its assets to ensure payment. On Tuesday, Righthaven responded by asking Navarro to temporarily stay judgment of the fee award.

Details of the argument, as reported by VEGAS INC, include that Righthaven is refusing to pay based on the belief that any fee award would go to a non-profit legal group not to opposing council. "Had this fact been made clear, Righthaven would have unquestionably dismissed its claims against Leon with prejudice," they argued. Except that Righthaven did not agree to this and only agreed to dismiss Leon's case without prejudice. Later the same day, the Randazza group filed a brief opposing Righthaven's motion to stay the fee award. See parts of this brief below:

The Firm is well aware of the fact that scores of poor defendants in Righthaven cases have been bullied into making payments to Righthaven, despite the clear indications that the cases had no legally supportable foundation. If Righthaven can simply frustrate pro bono counsel’s efforts to collect fees, there will be less of an incentive for experienced counsel to get involved in these kinds of cases. For example, while the Electronic Frontier Foundation (“EFF”) is a non-profit entity with a noble mission to protect civil liberties on the Internet, it likely would have found it frustrating to secure co-counsel if there was a certainty that there would be no possible fee award, and no possibility of collecting that award...
--snip--
The undersigned made numerous offers to Righthaven to resolve the attorney’s fee issue at the then much lower costs of the fees by donating them to non-profit entities such as the EFF or the Citizen Media Law Project, which Righthaven rebuffed. The Firm’s interest in rewarding non-profit organizations is evident from the Firm’s Reply briefing in the fee motion dispute. Righthaven cannot now complain that it would have made a different decision, had it only known that a firm, which took this case for public interest purposes, would be the recipient of a fee award rather than a non-profit entity. Not only should it make no difference where the fee award is paid, Righthaven’s “would have, could have, should have,” arguments are not in line with the facts...
--snip--
Finally, it is not as though the relief sought is in any way extreme. All the Firm has sought is the maintenance of the status quo – that Righthaven should not be able to disgorge any of its assets, such as they are, until it pays the lawfully entered fee award. This injunctive relief is so soft in nature that it is shocking that Righthaven would even oppose it – unless it has some design or scheme up its sleeve to do exactly what the undersigned suspects. Righthaven’s stated reason for the stay is to ensure that “potential appealable issues related to the July 5th Order are properly evaluated and, if sufficient grounds exist, allow of adequate time to post any security required for appeal.” A stay would change nothing; the Firm has already met the requirements for a preliminary injunction.

See: Opposition to Temporary Stay of Fees Award

The same VEGAS INC article also addresses the Denise Nichols case, who was not awarded attorney's fees by Navarro on Monday. Former defendant Leon, a friend of Nichols, expressed disappointment, but predicted that "Righthaven will get their comeuppance before the end of this calendar year." Lastly, attorneys for Dana Eiser, who are now litigating against Righthaven in four U.S. courts, filed a new motion Monday. Attorney Todd Kincannon wrote in the filing, "The lies worked for a while, but now the jig is up," and "Righthaven is just a gang of con artists, and bad ones at that."

See: Eiser's Amended Response to Righthaven's Motion to Dismiss
See: Related VEGAS INC article

Righthaven-Denver Post Agreement Made Public; Similar to Review-Journal Contract

2011-07-09T18:12:00.001-05:00

UPDATE 07/09/11: A Saturday article by VEGAS INC sheds more light on the Righthaven-Denver Post contract. The Copyright Alliance Agreement between Righthaven LLC and MediaNews Group confirms that along with the Denver Post, other MediaNews newspapers are included in the contract for Righthaven's no-warning lawsuits. Thus far, no lawsuits have been filed over content from them:

Contra Costa Times (CA)
Long Beach Press-Telegram (CA)
Los Angeles Daily News (CA)
Oakland Tribune (CA)
San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Torrance Daily Breeze (CA)
Pioneer Press (MN)
El Paso Times (TX)
Salt Lake Tribune (UT)

07/08/10
Righthaven/Denver Post Pact Made Public, Criticism Follows

A new round of criticism erupted Friday over the Righthaven copyright infringement lawsuits after the Las Vegas firm’s litigation contract with the Denver Post was made public.
The contract, obtained by attorneys in one of the Righthaven Colorado cases, is similar to Righthaven’s contract for Las Vegas Review-Journal lawsuits with R-J owner Stephens Media LLC in that the Denver Post receives a 50 percent cut of lawsuit revenue, minus costs.
And it has the same flaws as the Review-Journal contract in that it doesn’t give Righthaven standing to sue, defense attorneys said Friday.

See: Related VEGAS INC article

Attorney's at Randazza Legal Group made the contract public in a court filing Friday. Persons sued under the pact -- many of whom posted the TSA pat-down photo -- must be thrilled by today's news.

Righthaven Amends Lawsuit Contract for Second Time; Files Five Amended Complaints

2011-07-08T17:02:00.001-05:00

Righthaven Amends Lawsuit Contract Again

On Friday, Righthaven responded to an order to show cause why 10 more lawsuits shouldn’t be dismissed for lack of standing. That order was issued last month by U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks in Reno and covered all 10 Righthaven cases he is presiding over.
In filings Friday, the Las Vegas company said the third version of the lawsuit contract with Stephens Media addresses the reasons Pro threw out a lawsuit against Kentucky message board poster Wayne Hoehn on standing grounds...

See: Related VEGAS INC article

Righthaven also filed five amended lawsuits today based on the revised Strategic Alliance Agreement. Cases include: Brien Smith, Chris Brown Web Network, Charles Coker, John Kirk and Bob Sieber.

Righthaven Runs Afoul The Nevada Rules of Professional Conduct

2011-07-08T09:42:00.010-05:00

It appears that Righthaven could be violating many of the provisions contained in the Nevada Rules of Professional Conduct. Many have already been raised by lawyers representing Righthaven victims, particularly the "unauthorized practice of law", but there are many other rules that Righthaven may also be brought to account.

Rule 5.4. Professional Independence of a Lawyer.

(a) A lawyer or law firm shall not share legal fees with a nonlawyer, except that:

(1) An agreement by a lawyer with the lawyer’s firm, partner, or associate may provide for the payment of money, over a reasonable period of time after the lawyer’s death, to the lawyer’s estate or to one or more specified persons;

(b) A lawyer shall not form a partnership with a nonlawyer if any of the activities of the partnership consist of the practice of law.

(c) A lawyer shall not permit a person who recommends, employs, or pays the lawyer to render legal services for another to direct or regulate the lawyer’s professional judgment in rendering such legal services.

(d) A lawyer shall not practice with or in the form of a professional corporation or association authorized to practice law for a profit, if:

(1) A nonlawyer owns any interest therein, except that a fiduciary representative of the estate of a lawyer may hold the stock or interest of the lawyer for a reasonable time during administration;

(2) A nonlawyer is a corporate director or officer thereof or occupies the position of similar responsibility in any form of association other than a corporation; or

(3) A nonlawyer has the right to direct or control the professional judgment of a lawyer.

Under the Strategic Alliance Agreement (SAA) agreement between Righthaven and Stephens Media appears to be violating section (a) by sharing 50% of proceeds with Stephens Media as well as giving Stephens Media veto power over who is sued which would violated section (c) and (d).

In Righthaven's lastest court filing regarding possible sanctions they accuse subbordinate "former inhouse counsel" as being responsible for failing to disclose Stephens Media as an interested party but according to the Nevada Rules of Professional Conduct it is managment that is responsible when failings occur.

Rule 5.1. Responsibilities of Partners, Managers, and Supervisory Lawyers.

(a) A partner in a law firm, and a lawyer who individually or together with other lawyers possesses comparable managerial authority in a law firm, shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the firm has in effect measures giving reasonable assurance that all lawyers in the firm conform to the Rules of Professional Conduct.

(b) A lawyer having direct supervisory authority over another lawyer shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the other lawyer conforms to the Rules of Professional Conduct.

(c) A lawyer shall be responsible for another lawyer’s violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct if:

(1) The lawyer orders or, with knowledge of the specific conduct, ratifies the conduct involved; or

(2) The lawyer is a partner or has comparable managerial authority in the law firm in which the other lawyer practices, or has direct supervisory authority over the other lawyer, and knows of the conduct at a time when its consequences can be avoided or mitigated but fails to take reasonable remedial action.

Since Righthaven CEO Steve Gibson claims to employ "The top lawyers in the nation", you would think they would have spotted many of these problems early or could it be they never considered the SAA would become public nor did they imagine the resistance they would receive from victims?

See: Nevada Rules of Professional Conduct
See: Related VEGAS INC Article

Righthaven Ordered to Pay Attorney's Fees to Group Who Provided Pro Bono Representation

2011-07-05T22:59:00.007-05:00

UPDATE 07/06/11: In the early hours of Wednesday, VEGAS INC posted an article about Navarro's order for Righthaven to pay attorney's fees. What remains striking is the volume of litigation errors made by Righthaven whose "sole business is litigation," commented observer Eric Goldman. Such errors also run in stark contrast to Steve Gibson's recent appearance on the Jon Ralston Show where he voiced oddities like: "Righthaven has hired some of the top lawyers across the country..."

07/05/11
You read the title correctly. U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro's order was issued today: Righthaven must pay for the pro bono legal services provided to defendant Michael Leon by attorney J. Malcom DeVoy of Randazza Legal Group. The case against Leon was dismissed without prejudice on April 20. Shortly thereafter, DeVoy submitted an affidavit in support of the motion for attorney's fees. The requested amount of $3,815.00 was granted by Judge Navarro on July 5 and ordered to be paid.

This is a very interesting and endearing development in Righthaven's Shakedown Operation. In the case against Leon, Righthaven failed to serve him properly, which helped his case be dismissed. (Other defendants have also been improperly served or not even served at all.) Leon was represented on a pro bono basis in the April 20 hearing. DeVoy and the Randazza Legal Group successfully argued in subsequent motions that Righthaven still must pay their legal fees -- the judge agreed.

See: Judge Navarro's order to pay attorney's fees

VEGAS INC reported today on far pricier demands for defendant's legal fees!

Former Righthaven Defendant Creates How-To Guide for Bloggers and Forum Board Operators

2011-07-05T01:00:00.002-05:00

Michael Nystrom of DailyPaul.com

In a recent blog post, "Attn: Bloggers! Why You Need a DMCA Disclaimer & Copyright Registration," Michael Nystrom, the founder of DailyPaul.com and former Righthaven victim, explains the steps that bloggers and forum board operators should take in order to avoid a lawsuit from Righthaven and future copyright trolls. As Nystrom points out, though Righthaven is currently on the ropes, "someone else will come along and tighten up and improve on Righthaven's arguments and procedures."

Attn: Bloggers! Why You Need a DMCA Disclaimer & Copyright Registration

By Michael Nystrom
So, you've set up your blog or forum and it is totally awesome! You've created a platform for yourself, and/or a community where like-minded individuals can interact. You've spent uncounted hours researching the best software platform for your project, how to get your domain name, where to host your site, how to get traffic -- and keep it! Not to mention everything that goes into maintaining a community, and if you're lucky, how to monetize your efforts. Congratulations! Lots of people dream about hosting a website of their own - you've actually gone and done it. You've made a great contribution to this vast expanse of information known as the Internet, as well as to everyone who is touched by your website or community.
So don't let it all be threatened by neglecting a minor detail. Register it with the U.S. Copyright Office and put a DMCA disclaimer on your site. This is something I wish I knew before I got sued.

On Getting Sued
You do not ever want to get sued. Trust me. And even if your risk is small, it is something that you need to be aware of so that you can manage that risk properly. The purpose of this short article is to introduce you to some information that I wish someone had told me.

See: Blog post in full | See: Blog post after Nystrom's case was dismissed

We encourage forum board operators to a post a link to Nystrom's How-to Guide within the rules section of your forum so that readers and moderators can learn how to avoid a copyright infringement lawsuit. An additional step might be to educate new users -- in the New User Registration Agreement -- about how to correctly link to a news article. The Democratic Underground, also a former Righthaven defendant with exceptional legal help, uses the following language in their agreement:

Copyrights: Do not copy-and-paste entire articles onto this discussion forum. When referencing copyrighted work, post a short excerpt (not exceeding 4 paragraphs) with a link back to the original.

A special thanks to Michael Nystrom and DailyPaul.com for sharing this critical prevention guide and the Daily Paul's DMCA site disclaimer (two super fantastic freebies!).

English Professor and Former Righthaven Victim Fires Off Rounds in July Fourth Post

2011-07-04T19:00:00.039-05:00

Last August, Margaret Soltan, an English professor at George Washington University was sued after excerpting part of a Las Vegas Review-Journal article on her blog. In a reflective July Fourth post, Soltan notes details about the "eager beaver" Righthaven attorney she corresponded with during her case, who now may be facing consequences. Soltan also reminds readers that although Righthaven is collapsing, "a lot of damage has been done, and that’s damage that you don’t ever really undo..."

UD’s July Fourth Post

By Margaret Soltan
Last summer, at just this time, my freedom to blog ended.
I lay next to my husband in bed one afternoon and said to him:
I’m going to stop. I’m going to shut the whole thing down and not write another word. This firm that has sued me – Righthaven – they could sue me again, for something else I’ve excerpted from a newspaper. Any other firm with the Righthaven business model could also sue me. Righthaven is seeking damages of hundreds of thousands of dollars from us. All because I excerpted part of a newspaper article. I named and linked back to the source of that excerpt, the way millions of bloggers do every day. I got no commercial benefit from it, because my blog has no advertising. But a man just came to our door and served me with legal papers that say that if I lose this copyright infringement case they’ve filed against me we will be ruined. I don’t have any choice. I have to shut down University Diaries.

See: Blog post in full | See: Related VEGAS INC article

It can't be measured how many former and existing Righthaven victims, and the law groups defending them, appreciate this post. All of us thank you for this Fourth of July contribution Margaret!

South Carolina Group (CALA) Granted Approval to Appear as Friend of Court in Pahrump Case

2011-07-02T21:16:00.000-05:00

New Attacks Launched on Righthaven Litigation Campaign

In another development, Righthaven will have to deal with South Carolina attorney Todd Kincannon and his group, Citizens Against Litigation Abuse Inc., in the Pahrump Life case in Las Vegas.
Mahan has granted the group’s request to appear as a friend of the court, where it will argue Righthaven has been practicing law without a license.
“The court has reviewed the proposed brief and agrees that it may be useful to the court in ruling on the pending order to show cause why the case should not be dismissed for lack of standing,” Mahan wrote in a June 29 order.

See: Article in full | See: Brief of Amicus Curiae by CALA

The Kincannon law group is already litigating against Righthaven in three courts. Gibson and MediaNews Group (The Denver Post) must really be kicking themselves for filing the case against activist Dana Eieser.

June 2011 Righthaven Victims

2011-07-01T12:55:00.000-05:00

Victim count: June (0), May (9), April (2), March (25), February (10) and January (34).

No new Righthaven victims were recorded for this month.

Reduced Settlement Amount: $1,000 in 10 Monthly Installments for Richard Rawlings

2011-07-01T12:45:00.000-05:00

Righthaven Settles $150,000 Copyright Suit for $1,000

Righthaven revealed in a court filing this week it agreed to settle a lawsuit over a Las Vegas Review-Journal story against Richard Rawlings and the United States Marijuana Party in Peoria, Ill., for just $1,000 — payable in 10 monthly installments of $100.
That’s a far cry from the $150,000 in statutory damages and seizure of the defendants’ website domain name that Righthaven demanded in its Sept. 8 lawsuit.

See: Article in full

It was reported back in February that Righthaven demanded $6,000 from blogger Brian Hill. As suggested by VEGAS INC, the settlement amount for Rawlings -- of which the defendant has so far made no payments toward -- can hardly cover the cost of filing and closing the lawsuit. If Righthaven attempts to enforce the written settlement agreement, it may run into lack of standing issues.

Righthaven Throws 'Former In-House Counsel' Under the Bus

2011-06-29T20:43:00.016-05:00

First it was a "clerical error" that caused Righthaven to sue an Ars Technica journalist for using an image that was part of a court filing, now Righthaven is blaming an undisclosed "Former In-House Counsel" for not disclosing Stephens Media as an interested party in hundreds of cases they have filed over copyright infringement.

Righthaven submitted their answer to Judge Roger Hunt's order to show cause why they should not be sanctioned for the omission. Their only answer was this unnamed rogue in-house counsel screwed up.

For the foregoing reasons, Righthaven respectfully requests that the Court find its failure to comply with Local Rule 7.1-1 through its former in house counsel does not rise to the level of sanctionable conduct given the circumstances described herein. Moreover, Righthaven has taken corrective action in response to the Court’s June 14th Order by filing amended disclosure statements in almost 120 pending cases in within this District and within the District of Colorado. Dated this 28th day of June, 2011.

See: Shawn Mangano's response

Since so many lawyers have left Righthaven it is difficult to determine exactly who Righthaven is blaming which cannot go over well for any lawyer that has ever worked for Righthaven.

After reading their reply it is not only a question of how much the sanctions will be, which is almost a certainty, but which "former in-house Counsel" will be the first to inflict some pay-back on Righthaven?

Didn't Steve Gibson just say on a TV interview that Righthaven hires some of the smartest laywers in the country?

10 Cases Hinge on Dismissal; Righthaven Given 10 Days to Show Cause

2011-06-29T11:31:00.001-05:00

Another Judge Threatens to Dismiss Righthaven Copyright Suits

A fifth federal judge is threatening to dismiss newspaper copyright infringement lawsuits filed by Righthaven LLC.
--snip--
U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks in Reno on Tuesday gave Righthaven 10 days to show cause why 10 suits he is handling should not be dismissed for lack of standing.
These cases are against Chris Brown Web Network, Fullthrottletv.net, Jeffrey L. Nelson, Hush-Hush Entertainment Inc., Wehategringos.com, Charles Coker, Gunner’s Alley LLC, Computer Services One LLC, John Kirk and Bob Sieber.

See: Article in full

Also, it appears Righthaven failed to file a response to Judge Hunt's order to show cause why it should not be sanctioned. What does it mean to fail to file this response?

Sherman Frederick's Lifting GametimeIP's Content Takes on a Life of Its Own

2011-06-28T21:25:00.017-05:00

Sherman Frederick may have more headaches besides defending himself against a lawsuit in South Carolina. We reported that Sherman Frederick had lifted parts of three paragraphs from the blog gametimeIP.com. Patrick Anderson is an IP lawyer with a good sense of humor where IP goes. He is offering up for sale at GametimeIP, with FULL copyrights, the three articles in question and not just the right to sue. It will be interesting to see if anyone takes him up on it.

Others are now weighing in on this story as well.

Techdirt: Want to give Righthaven's backers a Taste of Their Own Medicine

Patrick Anderson, who had been inundated with questions about this, has decided to put the copyrights for the three blog posts in question up for sale, so that if someone wants to sue Stephens Media and the LVRJ over Frederick's potential infringement, they can do so.

See: Full Techdirt article

EFF: Righthaven Cheerleader Wanted by Irony Police

If you don't agree that these excerpts are fair use, however, you'd be interested to know that Anderson decided to put the copyright rights for each of the three articles up for sale. Unlike Stephens Media's deal with Righthaven, GametimeIP is offering a total assignment, including the right to sue for past infringement.

See: Full EFF article

Related blog post:
06/19/11: Sherman Frederick Lifts Content from Blogger

South Carolina Groups Petition High Court for Injunction Against Righthaven LLC

2011-06-27T23:39:00.033-05:00

Petition Underscores "Sham" Assignments

Earlier today, Citizens Against Litigation Abuse, Inc. (CALA) and the Lowcountry 9/12 Project filed a petition for original jurisdiction in the State of South Carolina Supreme Court. Attorneys representing CALA, Righthaven victim Dana Eiser and her nonprofit advocacy group filed the petition. The petitioners seek a declaratory judgment and injunction against Righthaven from proceeding with unauthorized practices of law in South Carolina -- aka sham copyright assignment lawsuits.

The petition cites abusive debt collection cases determined in numerous states including, Utah, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, New Mexico, West Virginia and Iowa, involving identical assignment lawsuits found to be a "sham perpetrated on the court to enable unauthorized practice of law." Such an assignment-lawsuit-kickback scheme was also addressed by the high court of South Carolina just four years ago and met with a similar fate (cited in the petition: Roberts v. LaConey).

Some illustrative portions from the petition:

Righthaven's overreaching chills freedom of speech and expression.
Were Righthaven solely filing suit against real content pirates instead of innocent people and people who unintentionally commit de minimus infringement, its activities would still violate the law of unauthorized practice, but Righthaven would not post a broader threat to free speech. Such a course of action would require Righthaven to exercise some level of restraint and judgment, something that is apparently impossible within the confines of its offices. A direct result of RIghthaven's sue-first-ask-questions-later strategy has been the severe chilling of legitimate, constitutionally protected speech.
As U.S. District Judge James Mahan noted, "Plaintiff's litigation strategy has a chilling effect on potential fair uses of Righthaven-owned articles, diminishes public access to the facts contained thereif and does nothing to advance the Copyright Act's purpose of promoting artistic creation."(Page 28)
--snip--
The idea of a professional responsibility is entirely lacking in the Righthaven enterprise, and understandably so, because it is not a professional company. Instead of being a respectable law firm, Righthaven calls itself an "enforcer." And that is certainly what Rigthhaven is, in the most pejorative sense of the term. Righthaven's complaints are not requests for a court to remediate injustice, they are clubs used by thugs in the service of a protection racket.
Responsible law firms don't initiate suit over the reposting of four out of 34 paragraphs of a newspaper article. Responsible law firms don't sue disabled people with autism and try to leverage them out of their social security benefits. Responsible law firms don't mandate that opposing counsel lie in a press release as a condition of settlement. Responsible law firms don't try to dismiss with prejudice while claiming to be uninterested in the case, then seek to intervene after being dismissed without prejudice.
But Righthaven is neither responsible nor a law firm. It does not comply with the ethical standards of the profession because it doesn't have to. (Page 29)
--snip--
While the cases cited herein are not crystal clear on this point, it seems extremely likely most if not all of the assignors in those cases were debt collectors collecting real debts of a sum certain that were only due and owing. If the assignment-lawsuit-kickback method is barred as to judgment enforcement and cum-certain debts, it most certainly must reach Righthaven conduct. A debt collector assignee's leverage is almost certainly limited to the true upper limit of the debt. Even an unrepresented, unsophisticated defendant is unlikely to be suckered into paying more than he actually owes on a judgment or a sum-certain debt.
There is far greater need to protect the public from the harm caused by Righthaven. Righthaven isn't using improper means to collect true, legal debts, Righthaven uses improper means to convince targets they have far more exposure than they actually do, tricking them into paying out far more than the claims are worth even if brought by true copyright holders. (Page 31)

See: Petition in full (CALA v. Righthaven LLC) | See: VEGAS INC article, TechDirt article

The comparison of Righthaven to a "thug bill collector" by the authors of the petition could not be more on point. One must always remember what truly lies beneath Gibson & Company's constitutional law and founding father "clatter" that bubbles up in media stories from time-to-time -- good old-fashioned predatory debt collection. A special thanks to the South Carolina attorney team for pointing to other cases where courts have found similar third party assignments a sham.

Attorneys for petition: Todd Kincannon of The Kincannon Firm, Thad Viers of Coastal Law LLC and Bill Conner of Horger and Connor LLC.

VEGAS INC Provides Insightful Commentary and Back Story About the 'State of Righthaven'

2011-06-26T20:46:00.001-05:00

Righthaven Hurts News Industry, One Ruling at a Time

Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist and former Publisher Sherman Frederick’s column today involving his “little friend” Righthaven could be Exhibit A in the case against Righthaven’s litigation strategy.
The case is this: Thanks to Righthaven, newspapers and other media organizations now have less copyright protection for their hard-earned content than they did just three months ago. And that’s more than a little odd, given Righthaven’s stated mission of protecting newspapers from online content infringers.

See: Article in full

This is a long and thoughtful piece by journalist Steve Green. The title encompasses only parts of it.

Righthaven Uses Patent Law Analogy in Recent Filing Signed by Dale Cendali

2011-06-25T09:46:00.004-05:00

Righthaven Now Likening Itself to Patent Enforcers

As for Righthaven likening its business model to “nonpracticing entities” in the patent field, one Righthaven observer was skeptical Friday.
“The invocation of patent law as a guide for a copyright case struck me as a little desperate. While courts sometime cross-pollinate between the two doctrines, the copyright statute has very specific requirements for standing to sue as well as a 9th Circuit (Court of Appeals) case directly on point. Righthaven reached for patent law analogies because the more directly applicable law wasn’t favorable,” said Associate professor Eric Goldman of the Santa Clara University School of Law in California and director of its High Tech Law Institute.

See: Article in full

The VEGAS INC article also discusses the extensive answer and counterclaim filed by attorneys representing Dana Eiser and the appearance of Steve Gibson on "Face to Face with Jon Ralston."

Attorneys for Dana Eiser Blast Righthaven in Amended Answer and Counterclaim

2011-06-24T01:59:00.007-05:00

Civil RICO Raised as Defense1

South Carolina attorneys representing Righthaven defendant Dana Eiser filed a 119 page amended answer and counterclaim yesterday along with 16 attachments. The new filing amends the complaint filed June 13, 2011. Plaintiff's attorneys raised several new interesting defenses in the amended filing including the: Lanham Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, Sherman Act and Civil RICO.

I've bulleted out the defenses of the new filing to show how the recent rulings by Chief U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt and U.S. District Judge Philip Pro are now being used to bolster cases of existing Righthaven victims. The filing also includes many defenses raised by past defendants and adds to the them. This filing serves as an excellent historical marker that summarizes and captures Righthaven's sham operation from start to present.

Amended Answer and Counterclaim

First Defense: Response to Factual Allegations
Second Defense: Lack of Standing
Third Defense: No Right to Sue
Fourth Defense: Fraud on the Copyright Office
Fifth Defense: Abandonment of Copyright
Sixth Defense: Copyright Misuse
Seventh Defense: Unclean Hands
Eighth Defense: Failure to Join an Indispensible Party
Ninth Defense: Failure to Prosecute Lawsuit in the Name of the Real Party in Interest
Tenth Defense: Barratry
Eleventh Defense: Illegal Syndication of Lawsuits
Twelfth Defense: Rule of Professional Conduct Prohibition Action
Thirteenth Defense: Public Policy Violations
Fourteenth Defense: Champerty
Fifteenth Defense: Maintenance
Sixteenth Defense: License
Seventeenth Defense: Implied License
Eighteenth Defense: Equitable Estopple
Nineteenth Defense: Promissory Estopple
Twentieth Defense: Fair Use
Twenty-First Defense: De Minimis Non Curat Lex
Twenty-Second Defense: Innocent Infringement
Twenty-Third Defense: Waiver
Twenty-Fourth Defense: Laches
Twenty-Fifth Defense: First Amendment
Twenty-Sixth Defense: Statutory Damages Barred by Due Process
Twenty-Seventh Defense: Failure to Timely Register
Twenty-Eighth Defense: Failure to Mitigate Damages
Twenty-Ninth Defense: Failure to State a Claim
Thirtieth Defense: Frivolous Proceeding
Thirty-First Defense: Sham Transaction Doctrine
Thirty-Second Defense: Betterment
Thirty-Third Defense: Charitable Immunity
Thirty-Fourth Defense for a First Cause of Action: Civil Conspiracy
Thirty-Fifth Defense For a Second Cause of Action: Declaratory Judgment
Thirty-Sixth Defense For a Third Cause of Action: Fraud
Thirty-Seventh Defense For a Fourth Cause of Action: Constructive Fraud
Thirty-Eighth Defense For a Fifth Cause of Action: Negligent Misrepresentation
Thirty-Ninth Defense For a Sixth Cause of Action: Lanham Act
Fortieth Defense For a Seventh Cause of Action: Breach of Contract
Forty-First Defense For an Eighth Cause of Action: Breach of Contract Accompanied by a Fraudulent Act
Forty-Second Defense For a Ninth Cause of Action: Breach of the Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing
Forty-Third Defense For a Tenth Cause of Action: Breach of the Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing Accompanied by a Fraudulent Act
Forty-Fourth Defense For an Eleventh Cause of Action: Abuse of Process
Forty-Fifth Defense For a Twelfth Cause of Action: Malicious Prosecution
Forty-Sixth Defense For a Thirteenth Cause of Action: Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Forty-Seventh Defense For a Fourteenth Cause of Action: Negligent Supervision
Forty-Eighth Defense For a Fifteenth Cause of Action: Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
Forty-Ninth Defense For a Sixteenth Cause of Action: Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act
Fiftieth Defense For a Seventeenth Cause of Action: South Carolina Unfair Trade Practice Act
Fifty-First Defense For an Eighteen Cause of Action: Defamation
Fifty-Second Defense For a Nineteenth Cause of Action: Sherman Act
Fifty-Third Defense For a Twentieth Cause of Action: Civil RICO

927. Defendant Eiser asserts a cause of action for relief under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act by way of counterclaim against Plaintiff Righthaven. 928. The material within this cause of action is also pled as a setoff defense, recoupment defense, and reduction defense. 929. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c), allows suit against members of a criminal enterprise when certain designated predicate acts have occurred within a ten year time period. 930. Defendant submits those connected with the Righthaven scheme formed an Enterprise, which was at all relevant times engaged in interstate commerce. 931. Defendant Righthaven was obviously associated with the Righthaven scheme and conducted a pattern of racketeering activity. 932. The racketeering activity consisted of extortion, mail fraud, and wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1951, 1341, and 1343. 933. Specifically, Righthaven engaged in an intentional scheme to extort and defraud its targets and to obtain money or property from them through false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, threats, and promises.

Fifty-Fourth Defense For a Twenty-First Cause of Action: Veil Piercing
Fifty-Fifth Defense For a Twenty-Second Cause of Action: Permanent Injunction
Fifthy-Sixth Defense for a Twenty-Third Cause of Action: Indemnification

See: Second Amended Answer and Counterclaim (Righthaven v. Eiser) | See: Attachments

Attorneys for Plaintiff: Todd Kincannon of The Kincannon Firm, Thad Viers of Coastal Law LLC and Bill Conner of Horger and Connor LLC.

1It's about time Civil RICO has been raised as a defense!

Amended Corporate Disclosure Statement Shows Fear and Potential Sham Agreement

2011-06-23T19:57:00.007-05:00

Is the Righthaven-Denver Post Agreement a Sham?

Righthaven LLC filed an Amended Corporate Disclosure Statement today that shows that the Denver Post (aka MediaNews Group, Inc) had a stake in the litigation brought by Righthaven against persons and website operators who allegedly infringed against the Post. The filing reveals that though not threatened with sanctions by a Colorado judge (yet), Righthaven is afraid that it will be. The document also shows that the "agreement" between Righthaven & Company and MediaNews Group is apt to be very similar to the sham Strategic Alliance Agreement it struck with Stephens Media LLC.

See: Amended Corporate Disclosure Statement

Two federal Nevada judges have already determined that the Strategic Alliance Agreement is a sham and have begun dismissing cases governed by it. The countdown clock is ticking Righthaven...

Sherman Frederick Lifts Content from Blogger

2011-06-23T01:17:00.005-05:00

UPDATE 06/23/11: I have confirmed from Patrick Anderson from GametimeIP.com that he did not give Sherman Frederick permission to post parts of the three article on Sherman Frederick's column. Patrick Anderson is now offering on his blog to sell the rights to any interested party of the three articles in question. Makes you wonder if Sherman Frederick or the LVRJ will take him up on the offer as a defensive move.

UPDATE 06/21/11: Other blogs and sites have picked up on the fact the Sherman Frederick lifted content from another blog to decry lifting content:

TechDirt.com: Righthaven's Biggest Fan Copies Content As Part Of His Argument Against...
PaidContent.org: Righthaven Loses Another—And LV R-J Columnist Has A Strange ‘Defense’

06/19/11
This is interesting. Sherman Frederick, The former editor of the Las Vegas Review Journal and staunch Righthaven supporter as well as current defendant in a counter-suit involving Righthaven may very well have his hands in the cookie jar himself. He has an article on the LVRJ called "Content protection -- Night of the unthinking commentator" Here is the Google Search link for the article in question to avoid giving a direct link to the LVRJ.

Frederick's article contains content from three paragraphs of posts from the blog GametimeIP.com. Frederick fails to even use basic netiquette for citing other sources. The parts taken are not attributed to the author except for a link and not even set in quotation marks which could leave the reader to assume those are Frederick's words and not those of GametimeIP. To prove this point I put one of the portions used by Frederick into a Google search and both GametimeIP and Frederick's column came up.

It is interesting that Sherman Frederick writes about protecting his own content while taking the content from others. This is not the first time this has happened. Frederick embedded a Youtube video of a Saturday Night Live Skit that was later removed by NBC over copyright, as reported by Techdirt.com.

Sherman Frederick may claim he is within fair use, and probably is, but there are so many others that were also within a reasonable definition of fair use who have been called "content thieves" by Frederick and Righthaven so the hypocrisy is quite astounding.

Sherman Frederick once likened cutting and pasting someone else's content to stealing a Cadillac. I ask you Sherman Frederick, why did you take GametimeIP's Cadillac?

Judge Hunt Dismisses Another Righthaven Lawsuit Due to Lack of Standing

2011-06-23T00:43:00.005-05:00

Judge Tosses Righthaven Suit Against Former Prosecutor

Another bitterly-contested Righthaven copyright infringement lawsuit was dismissed in Las Vegas today – but this time there was no determination about fair use.
Roger Hunt, chief U.S. District Court judge for Nevada, today dismissed the Righthaven LLC lawsuit alleging copyright infringement against former federal prosecutor Thomas DiBiase.
Just as he ruled last week in the Democratic Underground case, Hunt today found Righthaven lacked standing to sue DiBiase.

See: Article in full | View: Dismissal Ruling by Judge Hunt

Hunt also noted that Judge Philip Pro found this week that Righthaven still lacks standing to sue after it's May 9 "clarification" of the Strategic Alliance Agreement.

Related articles:
06/14/11: Judge Rules Righthaven Does Not Have Standing to Sue; Threatens Sanctions
04/19/11: EFF Releases Important Commentary About Friday's Crucial Discoveries
10/20/10: EFF Files Counterclaim on Behalf of Site that "Benefits the Public Interest"

Dismissed for Lack of Standing; Defendant Entitled to Summary Judgment

2011-06-20T15:42:00.017-05:00

Righthaven v. Wayne Hoehn

In the ongoing case of Righthaven defendant Wayne Hoehn, who is represented by Randazza Legal Group, U.S. District Judge Philip Pro has ordered the case dismissed due to lack of standing and has granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment. Hoehn was sued by Righthaven in January 2011 after posting an editorial in full (Public employee pensions - we can't afford them) to madjacksports.com, originally published by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

See: Order to Dismiss: Righthaven v. Wayne Hoehn

Pro ruled that at the time of the posting, "Righthaven was not the owner of the Work, rather the Work was owned by Stephens Media." Pro then cites damning portions of the Strategic Alliance Agreement (SAA). Further on, he states: "The Court finds the SAA in its original form qualifies the Assignment with restrictions of rights of reversion, such that in the end, Righthaven is not left with ownership of any exclusive rights," and effectively, "does not have standing to bring a suit for infringement."

Judge Pro's ruling also denies that Righthaven's May 9 "clarification" to the SAA contract (pdf) was meaningful or significant, stating that, "It does not provide Righthaven with any exclusive rights necessary to bring suit." Pro adds, "The May 9, 2011, clarification provides Righthaven with only an illusory right to exploit or profit from the work, requiring 30 days advance notice to Stephens Media before being able to exploit the work for any purpose other than bringing an infringement action."

Lastly, the ruling states that the defendant is entitled to summary judgment -- a procedural device used during civil litigation to dispose of a case without a trial -- on the grounds of fair use. Pro states that Righthaven failed to present "an affidavit showing the specified reasons it needs to conduct discovery to oppose summary judgment, or, the types of facts it hopes to elicit, that these facts exist, and that these fact are necessary to oppose summary judgment." Pro denied additional discovery.

See: Related VEGAS INC article

Congratulations Wayne! Gold star lawyering Randazza Legal Group!

State Bar of Nevada Investigates Righthaven and Its Attorneys; Updates on Denise Nichols Case

2011-06-16T18:27:00.001-05:00

State Bar Still Reviewing Grievances Against Righthaven

A federal judge’s comment that Las Vegas-based copyright enforcer Righthaven LLC likely engaged in deceitful and dishonest conduct has not gone unnoticed by the State Bar of Nevada.
The State Bar regulates attorneys. Since September or earlier, it has been looking into multiple grievances involving Righthaven and its CEO, Las Vegas attorney Steven Gibson. Righthaven says it has obtained copyrights from the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Denver Post and has filed 274 infringement lawsuits over those copyrights since March 2010.
Gibson hasn’t responded to a request for comment on the State Bar inquiry.

See: Article in full

The VEGAS INC article quotes some whoppers from Eric Johnson, associate professor of law at the University of North Dakota. Such as, "This is strong language for a federal court. It's the kind of stuff that, if you are on the wrong side of it, would likely cause all the blood to rush to your stomach."

MAL Contends: Counterpunching Righthaven, aka Wronghaven the Net Troll

2011-06-16T18:07:00.000-05:00

Righthaven, Say Hello to my little friend—Justice

The reference above echos Sherman Frederick [aka Shermy], a columnist for Stephens Media who in an infamous warning, writes "I promise you, you will meet my little friend called Righthaven [LLC]." (Las Vegas Review-Journal, September 1, 2010)
Frederick and his shady outfit should apologise to Oliver Stone and Al Pacino after they have been revealed to be running a fraudulent enterprise that has earned the enmity of an increasing number of federal judges, but a scheme lacking Tony Montana's pathological charm.
Not sexy, headline-grabbing news, but a small group of writers and public interest-minded intellectual property attorneys have taken on a billionaire-funded organization of fraudsters, Righthaven LLC, and are winning a victory for the First Amendment.

See: Article in full

Blogger MAL Contends, who was case was dismissed in April, offers a recap of recent events as well as a handy, "Visual Guide To The Business Model of Copyright Troll Righthaven LLC."

Wired Interview Shows a Defiant Steve Gibson

2011-06-15T16:00:00.005-05:00

Righthaven CEO Steve Gibson gave a very defiant response in a telephone interview given to WIRED. Gibson said “As of today, there should be no question whether Righthaven has standing,”. Oh has something changed? Is Gibson referring to the changes that Judge Hunt has already deemed "Cosmetic". Is Righthaven and Stephens Media again altering the agreement? If so it would show continued bad judgment on Stephens Media's part that has already subjected themselves to potentially massive liabilities over Righthaven.

Gibson also says they may refile suits that are either dismissed over standing or if any of those that have settled are vacated. Gibson is being defiant at a very bad time when a Federal Judge has ordered his company to explain why they should not be subject to sanctions. My guess is that these pronouncements by Gibson is not going to impress the judge.

Sorry Steve Gibson but you are no longer in a position to threaten people anymore. The Jig is up. Game Over. Checkmate. You lose!

Read Wired Story: Bloggers Mulling Legal Action Against Righthaven

Intellectual Property Law Expert Weighs In: 'Righthaven's Entire Enterprise is on the Ropes'

2011-06-15T11:08:00.003-05:00

Eric Goldman, an intellectual property law expert and Righthaven critic, comments on the ruling by Chief U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt in a blog post today. Among other aspects, Goldman addresses the judge's severe criticisms of Righthaven, such as the rejection of Righthaven's basic substantive argument as "flagrantly false—to the point that the claim is disingenuous, if not outright deceitful." Given the tenor of the opinion, Goldman writes, "it seems like a sanctions order is inevitable."

Righthaven Benchslapped in Ruling Saying It Lacks Standing--Righthaven v. Democratic Underground
--snip--
In addition to the adverse substantive ruling, the judge criticized Righthaven unusually harshly in this opinion. The "high"lights:
the judge rejects Righthaven's basic substantive argument as "flagrantly false—to the point that the claim is disingenuous, if not outright deceitful."
the judge emphatically rejects Righthaven's attempt to argue that other judges had already upheld the copyright assignment, saying that "at best, this argument is disingenuous." Righthaven took the very aggressive position of citing one of the judge's earlier rulings back to him--and he seemed pretty angry that Righthaven sandbagged him in the prior ruling and then tried to estop him.
the judge summarizes the overall ruling by saying "the Court believes that Righthaven has made multiple inaccurate and likely dishonest statements to the Court."
the judge then goes on to lambaste Righthaven for not identifying Stephens Media as an interested party in the lawsuit, calling that omission "brazen" and "egregious."

See: Article in full

Eric Goldman is an associate professor at California's Santa Clara University School of Law and director of its High Tech Law Institute.

Judge Rules Righthaven Does Not Have Standing to Sue; Threatens Sanctions

2011-06-14T18:49:00.011-05:00

Could Lead to Dismissal of Many Cases

Judge Rules Righthaven Lacks Standing to Sue, Threatens Sanctions...

A federal judge in Las Vegas today issued a potentially devastating ruling against copyright enforcer Righthaven LLC, finding it doesn't have standing to sue over Las Vegas Review-Journal stories, that it has misled the court and threatening to impose sanctions against Righthaven.
Because he found Righthaven doesn't have standing to sue, Chief U.S. District Judge for Nevada Roger Hunt dismissed Righthaven's copyright infringement lawsuit against the Democratic Underground.

See: Article in full | View: Ruling by Chief U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt

EFF Issues Announcement

Righthaven Copyright Troll Lawsuit Dismissed as Sham

San Francisco - In a decision with likely wide-ranging impact, a judge in Las Vegas today dismissed as a sham an infringement case filed by copyright troll Righthaven LLC. The judge ruled that Righthaven did not have the legal authorization to bring a copyright lawsuit against the political forum Democratic Underground, because it had never owned the copyright in the first place. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Fenwick & West LLP, and Las Vegas attorney Chad Bowers are defending Democratic Underground.
"We are pleased that the Court saw through Righthaven's sham assignment of the copyright and dismissed its improper claim," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Kurt Opsahl. "Today's decision shows that Righthaven's copyright litigation business model is fatally flawed, and we expect the decision to have wide effect on the over 270 other cases Righthaven has brought."

See: Article in full

Related articles:
04/19/11: EFF Releases Important Commentary About Friday's Crucial Discoveries
04/18/11: Recent Dismissal Filings Available for Active Righthaven Defendants - Download Now

VEGAS INC Offers Additional Insights About Lawsuit Filed by Eiser's Legal Team

2011-06-13T17:31:00.004-05:00

Tea Party Group Sues Righthaven, Denver Post Over Copyright Litigation Campaign

The Denver Post has been sued for the first time by one of the Righthaven copyright lawsuit defendants.
Attorneys for Dana Eiser, a blogger in Summerville, S.C., and her Tea Party movement group Lowcountry 9/12 sued the Post, its owner MediaNews Group Inc., Righthaven and others Monday in the Court of Common Pleas, a state court in South Carolina. Among other things, the lawsuit alleges barratry, or the improper incitement and prosecution of lawsuits, and unfair trade practices on the part of MediaNews Group and Righthaven.

See: Article in full

Journalist Steve Green also points out that this lawsuit is on top of a counterclaim they have already filed against Righthaven in the federal copyright suit.