Video: Righthaven Google Search Story 1.0

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Who is Steve Gibson of Righthaven?

• Steve Gibson is the CEO of Righthaven LLC, a company "grubstaked" by Stephens Media, who owns the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The objective of Righthaven is to sue thousands of innocent copyright infringers who, unbeknownst to them, are "at times" technically committing copyright infringement by pasting portions of news articles into webpages and blogs. Each infraction is sueable by $75,000.

How many websites has Righthaven sued?

• Righthavenlawsuits.com is one group that is tracking the number of "shake down" copyright lawsuits that Righthaven files. As of October 4, 2010, 144 lawsuits have been filed with an estimated monetary gain of $140,000 by Righthaven. The website describes the estimation as "based on 35 cases closed as of September 30, 2010 and an educated guesstimate of an average of $4,000 settled per case."

What is a copyright troll?

• According to Wired.com (borrowing a page from patent trolls), Righthaven acquires the copyrights to newspaper content for the sole purpose of suing blogs and websites that re-post those articles without permission. Typical Righthaven victims include 'Mom and Pop' websites that are cause related, such as, windaction.org. Righthaven's tactics are described as "parasitic bottom feeding."

Who is helping Righthaven defendants?

• The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) -- a group that confronts cutting-edge issues defending free speech, privacy and innovation and champions the public interest in battles affecting digital rights -- has come out with guns blazing in opposition to Righthaven. View the EFF's counterclaim against Rigthaven. Learn more about copyright trolls and how the EFF is trying to combat them.

Avoid a Righthaven lawsuit.

• Righthavenvictims.blogspot.com has created a web page with important links regarding how to avoid a lawsuit. Activists, webmasters and users can help spread the word about Righthaven lawsuits by posting the site's banner ad, "Once you're sued, you're screwed" and linking back to the site's prevention page. Users are also encouraged to post an "I support Righthaven Victims" web button.

Who is Allegra Wong?

• Allegra Wong is a poet (See: A Pure Bead). Wong was sued by Righthaven after posting a Review-Journal story to her small website, City Felines Blog, that was written from the point of view of a cat. Wong represents all that is wrong with Righthaven and why this group must be stopped. On September 21, Wong reached a confidential settlement with Righthaven. (See: here and here for more).