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

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

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

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!

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

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

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!

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

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.

Follow Up: Veteran Nurse Seeks Attorney's Fees from Righthaven

The MAL Contends blog, written by veteran's advocate Michael Leon, reports a follow up about the copyright infringement case against veteran nurse Denise Nichols, yet another Righthaven victim (along with Leon) eligible to seek attorney's fees after her case was dismissed (or rather terminated in the case of Nichols). Also mentioned in the post is a potential Rule 11 Violation filing against Las Vegas attorney Shawn Mangano who continues to represent Righthaven in court proceedings.

"Righthaven and Attorney Mangano admitted in Court they made a mistake in serving on the me a complaint that fails to even mention my name. So, I should pay for their mistake? No. They should pay full attorneys' fees and costs, and that's giving these people a break," said Denise Nichols. "What should happen is Shawn Mangano should be slapped with a Rule 11 violation that sanctions lawyers for misrepresenting facts in federal Court. How can it be reasonable and diligent for attorney Mangano to file with the Court a complaint he has admitted was a mistake? Mangano needs to be stopped."

See: Article in full

For readers who do not know or have forgotten where the vitriolic nature of these lawsuits stem, writer Joel Hurska of HotHardware.com brought it back recently by resurrecting the September 2010 writings of Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Vin Suprymowicz. Recall that when Suprymowicz wrote, "They should have their goddamned hands cut off and nailed to the wall of City Hall," he was referring to his own fan club -- his trusted followers -- and those among the first batch of persons sued.

Adweek: Maybe Someone Should Sue Him for Posing Such an Unoriginal Question

Judge Takes Dim View of Righthaven

A newspaper publisher’s copyright attack dog got a swat on the nose last week. Righthaven LLC has filed over 250 infringement lawsuits in Nevada, Colorado, and California on behalf of Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Denver Post, and other newspapers.
But a federal judge has declined to indulge its latest episode of copyright trolling, ruling that 100 percent reproduction of an article for a website falls under fair use.

See: Article in full

Righthaven Commandeers the Las Vegas Sun in Latest Lawsuit

The first Righthaven Lawsuit to come out since the damning revelations concerning Righthaven and Stephens Media's agreement was released to the public and the first since January concerning a Las Vegas Review Journal article was filed on Thursday against a Utah based website. In their filing Righthaven alleges that the site also posted stories from the Las Vegas Sun.

The Las Vegas Sun and their staff writer Steve Green is the main source for information concerning Righthaven. Righthaven has taken it upon themselves to speak for a competing newspaper of the Las Vegas Review Journal and commandeered the name of The Las Vegas Sun for their law-suit. The Las Vegas Sun can choose to fight their own battles if they so choose and do not need Righthaven to choose it for them.

See: Related VEGAS INC article

Lawyers Cite Evidence of Fraud in Righthaven Copyrights

As posted on this site, lawyers for the EFF defending lawsuits in Nevada over LVRJ articles have uncovered the working agreement between Righthaven and Stevens Media, parent company of the Las Vegas Review Journal. The agreement was unsealed by a Nevada Federal Judge and has set off a firestorm of controversy as to the illicit nature of the agreement that proves Righthaven has absolutely no real interest in the works. They claim in their cookie-cutter law-suites to be the "exclusive owner" of the copyrighted works. Documents prove the exact opposite and Righthaven has no exclusive or even inclusive rights to anything except to sue.

"Despite any such Copyright Assignment, Stephens Media shall retain (and is hereby granted by Righthaven) an exclusive license to Exploit the Stephens Media Assigned Copyrights for any lawful purpose whatsoever and Righthaven shall have no right or license to Exploit or participate in the receipt of royalties from the Exploitation of the Stephens Media Assigned Copyrights other than the right to proceeds in association with a Recovery.."

However in their court filings:

• 7. Righthaven is the owner of the copyright in and to the Work.
• 30. Righthaven holds the exclusive right to reproduce the Work, pursuant to 17
• 31. Righthaven holds the exclusive right to prepare derivative works based upon the
• Work, pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 106(2).
• 32. Righthaven holds the exclusive right to distribute copies of the Work, pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 106(3).
• 33. Righthaven holds the exclusive right to publicly display the Work, pursuant to 17

Lawyers from the EFF now say this agreement shows FRAUD among Righthaven and Stevens Media and possibly Media Newsgroup, parent company of the Denver Post and Salt Lake Tribune. It is apparent now that Righthaven and their media masters are in deep trouble. Every new suit will only compound their troubles so we will see if any new suits are filed.

One thing we have learned from this is that Righthaven does nothing without Stevens Media approval. They are really just a front group for Stevens Media. All counter claims against Righthaven should include Stevens Media or in other venues include Media News Group. Stevens Media probably considers Righthavan to be a throw away company. In case there becomes massive lawsuit liabilities they can just fold up Righthaven and walk away from liable. The wording in their agreement shows this.

"Stephens Media's Potential Liability. Stephens Media understands and acknowledges that Stephens Media and Righthaven may be liable for an Infringer's attorneys' fees as required by Law in connection wi th an Infringement Action. Stephens Media further understands that a lawsuit brought solely to harass or to coerce asettlement may result in liability for malicious prosecution or abuse of process. If any Claim made by an Infringer in an Infringement Action results in Losses, other than Losses described in Section 8, Righthaven shall be solely liable for such Losses and shall indemnify Stephens Media from and against any such Losses but only if such Losses do not arise out of a missrepresentation by Stephens Media or other breach by Stephens Media of a provision of this Agreement."

This section shows malice of forethought among Stevens Media. They knew what Righthaven was doing was underhanded and had the great potential for counter-suits, so to get around this they set up Righthaven to take the fall for any such liability. Righthaven goes bankrupt and Stevens Media walks away with no liability. At least that was their plan. It will not work and Stevens Media WILL be subject to all Righthaven related liabilities possibly even those involving the agreement between Righthaven and Media News Group because RIGHTHAVIN IS STEVENS MEDIA.

One thing is for sure, Righthaven's REIGN OF TERROR IS OVER!

Righthaven Victim Petitions Judge to Dismiss Lawsuit; Starts Facebook Page

Righthaven defendant Brian Hill recently created a petition on the Care2 Petitionsite -- Care2.com was vicitmized by Righthaven in January -- directed at Judge Kane to dismiss the lawsuit against him. The reasons why include: "Brian Hill broke no copyright law. The usage of the TSA Enhanced Patdown Photo was for educational, political, bringing out the news, and non commercial purposes thus exempted from Copyright Law under Fair Use."

Hill also created a Facebook public event titled, "Boycott Righthaven newspapers and petition Colorado Court." A separate Facebook page, Stop the LVRJ/Righthaven Witch Hunt, was started last year after Righthaven teamed up with the Las Vegas Review-Journal. We encourage readers to sign Hill's petition and to offer support on both Facebook pages to increase visibility of the injustice that Righthaven and its partners continue to inflict upon innocent infringers.

2010 Faces and Roles of Righthaven Victims

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Campaign Begins to Delink the Denver Post and Las Vegas Review-Journal

Drudge Report: Urge Everyone to Delink the Denver Post and Las Vegas Review-Journal

The Petition instructs:

1. First, remove all potentially infringing content from your site or blog.
2. Then, remove any links you have to the DenverPost & the Las Vegas ReviewJournal or any of their other properties. Those domains include denverpost dot com, lvrj dot com, and reviewjournal dot com. Try not to send those sites any traffic or give them any “Google juice”. Generally speaking, the move links a site has the higher it will appear in Google searches. So, over time, fewer links to those sites will mean less traffic.
3. If you can’t completely remove your links to their sites, use bare URLs in the form above or similar. Don’t use HTML links (“a href”). If you absolutely have to use an HTML link, at least put a nofollow tag on it.

New Review-Journal Publisher Holds Fast on Righthaven Position

New Review-Journal Publisher Stands Behind Copyright Lawsuits

Interviewed on Nevada Public Radio KNPR’s State of Nevada with Dave Becker at News 88.9 KNPR, Bob Brown was asked about the newspaper’s relationship with Righthaven, a newspaper content copyright enforcement company that since March has sued 180 website operators and bloggers.
--snip--
“This is a business decision and it’s based on what’s right. For somebody to tell me that it’s not right for me to file a lawsuit based on them taking my information, I think is specious,” Brown said on the broadcast.

Read: Article in full

It certainly is "specious" to create sacrificial lambs like activist Dana Eiser.

Media Events Discussing Righthaven Copyright Lawsuits

June 22, 2011
Jon Ralston Show, Face to Face

Righthaven's LVRJ Lawsuits

Steve Gibson, CEO, Righthaven

April 22, 2011
On the Media, WNYC
Newspaper vs. The Internet
Joe Mullin, reporter for Paidcontent.org covering Righthaven lawsuits
Steve Gibson, CEO, Righthaven LLC

December 7, 2010
Nevada Public Radio, KNPR.org
The New RJ Publisher - Bob Brown
Bob Brown, Las Vegas Review-Journal publisher

September 21, 2010
Nevada Public Radio, KNPR.org
Righthaven Revisited
Eric Goldman, Associate Professor, Santa Clara University School of Law and Director of the High Tech Law Institute
Peter Menell, Professor of Law, Berkeley Center for Law & Technology
Colleen Lynn, blogger and activist
Steve Friess, freelance journalist

September 8, 2010
Bryan Cave's BC Edge
Can large-scale copyright enforcement save the newspaper business? (Coming soon)
Eric Goldman, Associate Professor, Santa Clara University School of Law and Director of the High Tech Law Institute
Barbara Wall, Gannett
Steve Gibson, CEO, Righthaven LLC

August 10, 2010
Nevada Public Radio, KNPR.org
Review Journal Lawsuits
Lawrence Lessig, Dir, Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics, and Prof of Law, Harvard Law School
Steve Gibson, CEO, Righthaven LLC
Steve Friess, freelance journalist

June 2, 2010
Jon Ralston Show, Face to Face
Righthaven's LVRJ Lawsuits, Seg. 1
Steve Gibson, CEO, Righthaven

August 30, 2009
Fox 5 News
"We Won't Allow You to Bully Us"
"The only way I know how to deal with a bully is to stand up and shine the light of day on him."
-Sherman Frederick, publisher of the Review-Journal