Righthaven LLC State Business License in Default (Again); Another Case Dismissed

Righthaven in Default Again with State

Righthaven LLC’s financial position appears to have deteriorated further: For the second year in a row, the Las Vegas company's state business license has expired and now it’s listed in default ... The development indicates the copyright infringement lawsuit filer either can’t or won’t come up with the $200 needed to reactivate the license. A request for comment was placed with Righthaven on the issue.

The most recent VEGAS INC article continues the dissolving tale of the former "copyright enforcement partner" of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Denver Post known as Righthaven. Separately, U.S. District Judge Richard Mark Gergle in Charleston, South Carolina, recently dismissed Righthaven's sole lawsuit in the state against Tea Party activist Dana Eiser. Kudos out to defendant Dana Eiser and attorney Todd Kincannon representing her. Next up is Eiser's request for attorney's fees.

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

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

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.

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

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

The Kincannon Firm Accepting New Righthaven Targets as Clients

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.