More Righthaven Cases Dismissed; Only 29 Still Open Since the Birth of this Copyright Troll

Seven More Righthaven Suits Dismissed

Righthaven LLC of Las Vegas suffered yet another setback Friday when a federal judge dismissed seven more of its newspaper copyright infringement lawsuits ... The suits dismissed Friday were against the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Thomas Chandler, Hawaii Tourism Association Inc., Ryan Burrage, Inkosonic Networks, Isaac Rosete and Ecological Internet Inc.

Of the 275 lawsuits filed by Righthaven, beginning in March 2010, only 29 cases remain open. VEGAS INC also reports that the remaining cases are all located in Nevada and are likely slated for dismissal. Given the incommunicado status of Righthaven's attorney Shawn Mangano and the company's empty bank account, it seems the days of filing "sham copyright assignment" lawsuits are over for Righthaven. How prevailing defendants will recover their legal fees continues to be unresolved.

See: VEGAS INC article in full

Investor Appetite Loss in Righthaven's Losing Business Model; The Irony of Judge Navarro

Judge Threatens to Dismiss 7 More Righthaven Lawsuits

In its latest setback Thursday, U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro ordered Righthaven to show cause within three weeks why the seven Righthaven cases she is handling should not be dismissed ...
Navarro’s order Thursday was ironic because she is one of a handful of judges handling Righthaven cases who has not yet ruled on the crucial issue of whether Righthaven had standing to sue under its copyright assignments from the Review-Journal and the Denver Post.

See: VEGAS INC article in full

Eight More Righthaven Lawsuits Thrown Out; Judge Hicks Does Not Revive Standing Issue

UPDATE 03/02/12: Another day and another ruling against Righthaven from U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks, who dismissed two more lawsuits Friday due to lack of standing: Jeffery Nelson and Hush-Hush Entertainment Inc. and codefendants PN Media Inc. and Andrew Stoddard. Separately, U.S. Magistrate Judge Peggy Leen ordered Righthaven to show cause by March 16th why it should not be sanctioned and held in contempt of court (motion granted to attorneys representing Thomas DiBiase).

03/01/12:
Eight More Righthaven Lawsuits Dismissed

Las Vegas copyright lawsuit filer Righthaven LLC struck out again in court on Thursday when a federal judge in Reno threw out eight more of its lawsuits...
Two of the Nevada judges who have not yet ruled on the standing issue, Hicks and Navarro, for months have kept Righthaven waiting for a decision. Both judges are presiding over multiple Righthaven cases.

U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks ruled on the standing issue Thursday, and he did so by throwing out eight cases. The cases include: Chris Brown Web Network, Fullthrottletv.net, Wehategringos.com, Charles Coker, Gunner’s Alley LLC, Computer Services One LLC, John Kirk and Bob Sieber (May each of your personal lives and businesses finally move on from the "legal terrorism" inflicted by Righthaven!). The remaining Nevada judge to rule on the standing issue is Gloria Navarro.

See: VEGAS INC article in full

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

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

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

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!)

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

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

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

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

Five More Righthaven Copyright Lawsuits Dismissed for Lack of Service

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.

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

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.

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

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?

Judge Hunt Dismisses Another Righthaven Lawsuit Due to Lack of Standing

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

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!

MAL Contends: Counterpunching Righthaven, aka Wronghaven the Net Troll

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."

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

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

Veteran Nurse Continues to Battle with Righthaven

Mal Contends Blog: Veteran Nurse to Righthaven: Your Screw-up, Not Mine

Updated: Righthaven Internet troll serves complaint that fails to mention defendant, now says defendant fails to negotiate in good faith in dismissal talks
In a bizarre turn of events, Righthaven LLC is now requesting a dismissal with prejudice of its own complaint in order to avoid paying the attorneys' fees of Denise Nichols, a retired Air Force nurse who served in the Vietnam War era and the first Gulf War.

See: Article in full

Veteran's Advocate Pushes to Alter Language in Dismissal; Updates on Numerous Cases

Veterans Advocate Not Satisfied With Offer to Drop Copyright Lawsuit

Righthaven LLC/Denver Post lawsuit defendant Denise Nichols remains unhappy — despite efforts by Righthaven to dismiss its lawsuit against her.
Nichols, a retired Air Force nurse, served in the Vietnam era and in combat in the first Gulf War.
As an advocate for veterans who works to provide them information, she ran into trouble with Righthaven for allegedly posting a Denver Post column of interest to veterans to the website veteranstoday.com.

See: Article in full

Updates on defendants Todd Taliaferro of Fort Lauderdale, David Rozzell of Katy, Texas, William Sumner of Dailykix.com, Virginia Citizens Defense League and Dean Mostofi.

Case Against Michael Leon Dismissed Without Prejudice

Righthaven Case Against MAL Dismissed

Thanks to the work of an array of brilliant attorneys and friends, [hat tip to J. Malcolm DeVoy of Randazza Legal Group], Righthaven's case against me was dismissed (without prejudice) this morning by the Honorable Judge Gloria M. Navarro, United States District Court for the District of Nevada.
--snip--
The status of litigation against my co-defendant, Denise Nichols, a Vietnam-era, Gulf War veteran, and a retired U.S. Air Force flight nurse—who spends her time when not fighting off ailments sustained in the '91 Gulf War—helping other veterans is not yet clear...

See: Article in full | See: Related Vegas Inc article

The copyright infringement lawsuit against Michael Leon and co-defendant Denise Nicoles, a Gulf War Veteran and a retired U.S. Air Force flight nurse, was filed in September 2010. The case against Leon was dismissed because he was not served on time. The was also true in the lawsuit against Michael Nystrom, whose case was dismissed in March.

As mentioned in Leon's post, the strain upon Denise has taken a heavy toll. His MAL Contends website is accepting legal and financial assistance to help Denise. A congratulations though, is still due: Congratulations! Your case is also the first to be dismissed since critical information was unsealed last week by Chief U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt.

EFF Releases Important Commentary About Friday's Crucial Discoveries

Why Righthaven’s Copyright Assignment Is A Sham – And Why It Matters
Commentary by Kurt Opsahl

For several weeks EFF and co-counsel Fenwick & West have been trying to persuade a federal district court to unseal a critical document Stephens Media produced in Righthaven v. Democratic Underground. The document, the Strategic Alliance Agreement between Righthaven and Stephens Media (publisher of the Las Vegas Review-Journal), and our accompanying supplemental brief were unsealed on Friday.

See: Article in full

More Bad News for Righthaven: Domain Name Claim Dismissed in DiBiase Case
Legal Analysis by Corynne McSherry

Nevada federal judge Roger Hunt was busy last week. In addition to his widely reported decision in Righthaven v. Democratic Underground to unseal Righthaven LLC’s business agreement with publisher Stephen Media – an agreement that shows Righthaven's claim of copyright ownership is a sham – Judge Hunt also granted Tad DiBiase’s motion to dismiss Righthaven’s request to seize his domain name. As the judge noted, there simply is no legal basis for Righthaven’s threat to seize domain names as a remedy for copyright infringment.

See: Article in full

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Since Friday, two Righthaven victims have filed for dismissals. Many more may be following suit. For examples of these dismissal filings, please click here.

Recent Dismissal Filings Available for Active Righthaven Defendants - Download Now

With the help of AmericanJustice.org, we've received copies of the two dismissals filed after Friday's damning unveiling of the Strategic Alliance Agreement between Righthaven and Stephens Media. The agreement reveals what nearly all of us have long suspected -- the copyright assignments between the two entities are invalid. They are in fact, a total "sham."

Active defendants in cases involving Righthaven and Stephens Media -- not the Denver Post or MediaNews Group -- are encouraged to download each of the filings to closely review and to copy and paste at will.

Defendant Wayne Hoehn

• Document 1 (declaration) 
• Document 2 (exhibit) 
• Document 3 (motion to dismiss)

Defendants Vote for the Worst LLC, Nathan Palmer and David Della Terza

• Document 1 (declaration)
• Document 2 (exhibit)
• Document 3 (motion to dismiss)

Former Righthaven Defendant, Michael Nystrom, Shares Story After Case is Dismissed

After Judge Mahan dismissed the case against Michael Nystrom, the owner and operator of DailyPaul.com, he created a blog post about the experience. Nystrom's story provides a first-hand telling of what being sued by Righthaven encompassed for him. He offers details about his case, other cases and hard-earned insights into Righthaven's shakedown business model. We thank Michael for sharing his account. Most other defendants either can't share their experience or are too afraid to.

Righthaven vs. Michael Nystrom / Daily Paul DISMISSED by Federal Judge

By Michael Nystrom
Last Tuesday U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan ordered the dismissal of Righthaven's lawsuit against me and the Daily Paul. As you may recall, copyright troll and legal terrorist Righthaven sued me on August 31st of last year, demanding $75,000 and forfeiture of this domain name to them. I first learned of the action from Steve Green of the Las Vegas Sun, Las Vegas's good newspaper. Righthaven itself is a partnership between seedy Vegas lawyer Steve Gibson and Vegas's evil newspaper, the Las Vegas Review Journal. They have combined forces to shakedown unsuspecting bloggers in a last gasp attempt to secure revenue for the dying newspaper industry, using a suspect "business model" that goes like this:

Step 1: Righthaven uses its "proprietary technology" (probably Google) to look for potentially infringing LVRJ content that has been reproduced on third party blogs or websites. In my case it was less than half of an article by a faux libertarian LVRJ columnist that was uploaded to the Daily Paul by a member of the DP community...

See: Article in full

Hats off to Michael Nystrom! May you now get back to the business of running DailyPaul.com!