U.S. Magistrate Judge Revives Action in DiBiase Case; Attorney Shawn Mangano on the Hook

Just when you believed all bad things finally come to an end, such as the copyright troll known as Righthaven, the awful karma is whipped up again. In this instance, U.S. Magistrate Judge Peggy Leen revived a longstanding issue in Righthaven's lawsuit against Thomas DiBiase. The issue concerns attorney Shawn Mangano failing to respond to her previous orders. Leen wrote in her order Tuesday that Mangano has one last chance to file a required brief by Oct. 2 and to attend the Oct. 16 hearing.

Leen, in setting an Oct. 16 hearing in the case, wrote in her order Tuesday that the problems in the case developed as outside Righthaven attorney Shawn Mangano failed to respond to her orders in the case...
Failure to appear at the hearing will result in an order directed to the U.S. Marshal’s office to find and bring Mr. Mangano before the court. Failure to respond to this order by Mr. Mangano may result in sanctions, including contempt of court against Mr. Mangano," Leen wrote in her order.

See: VEGAS INC article in full

9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Dismisses Righthaven Case That Won Key Fair Use Ruling

Court Tosses Righthaven Fair Use Appeal

The dismissal was requested by the nonprofit Center for Intercultural Organizing (CIO) in Portland, Ore., which won a key fair-use ruling last year against Righthaven.
The dismissal was granted Wednesday by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which cited case law that appeared to back arguments by the CIO that Righthaven could no longer participate in the case since creditors had seized the copyrights it sues over. In layman’s terms, the CIO argued Righthaven no longer had a dog in the fight so the fight was over.

Recall that back in January, Google filed a friend of the court brief in this case concerning the 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: VEGAS INC article in full

New Convoluted Legal Situation Involving Righthaven Intensifies; Awaiting On Courts

In yet another "convoluted legal situation involving the Las Vegas-based copyright lawsuit filer," writes VEGAS INC, the struggle of who really controls Righthaven LLC lurches forward. After the court-appointed receiver, attorney Lara Pearson, moved to fire CEO Steve Gibson last week as well as ordering attorney Erik Syverson to stop acting on behalf of the "original" Righthaven, Syverson filed documents with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday on behalf of the entity anyway.

According to the same news article, Syverson will stand by, awaiting guidance from the court on how to proceed. Whether Judge Phillip Pro (who approved the receivership) or the 9th Circuit will resolve this new complicated situation involving Righthaven and Steve Gibson is unclear. What's at stake in this appeals case is if Righthaven had standing to sue Wayne Hoehn, who posted a Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial in full on a message board, and if Hoehn's posting was protected by fair use.

After Firing Steve Gibson, Receiver Gains Representation by First Amendment Attorney

News about Righthaven continues to pick up. It began at the start of the week when the court-appointed receiver, Lara Pearson, fired CEO Steve Gibson and his wife, formerly the COO, Raisha “Drizzle” Gibson after learning that Gibson had engaged an attorney to write a 30-page reply brief (6-months after it was due) for Righthaven v. Hoehn. That case is currently under review by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Righthaven had virtually ceased functioning by the end of September 2011, and by the time Pearson was appointed in December, Righthaven was immersed in debt.

See: Receiver’s Report to Court: Termination of Steve Gibson

In Monday's court filing, Pearson also attached a letter she sent to Gibson that stated Pearson "will be taking legal action against you for your ultra vires acts as well as for claims of legal malpractice, which led the company to its current state." On Friday, it was announced that First Amendment attorney Allen Lichtenstein, a private attorney and general counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, signed on in the capacity as a private attorney to represent the receiver in an effort to put an end to Gibson pursing its appeals. This is not Lichtenstein's first interaction with Righthaven.

See: VEGAS INC article in full

Righthaven Ordered to Pay Attorney's Fees in Case Involving the Democratic Underground

Righthaven Ordered to Pay Attorney's Fees in Another Case

Righthaven LLC, the Las Vegas copyright infringement lawsuit filer, was ordered Thursday to pay $131,457 in attorney's fees to a defendant that prevailed against Righthaven in court.
U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt in Las Vegas ordered that Righthaven pay the fees to attorneys for the Democratic Underground, a political website operator in the Washington, D.C., area.

The order raises the amount Righthaven has been ordered to pay copyright defendants to $318,138. The article also notes that only 24 of its lawsuits remain open, excluding four appeals cases.

See: VEGAS INC article in full

Nonprofit Asks Appeals Court to Dismiss Case; No News from State Bar; More Updates

Last week, VEGAS INC reported the following notable updates in the Righthaven saga:

• The Center for Intercultural Organizing (CIO), an Oregon-based nonprofit, asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to dismiss its case given that Righthaven has been stripped of its copyrights and can no longer participate. The case involves the nonprofit reposting an entire R-J story to its website.
• The State Bar of Nevada continues to work on an inquiry concerning grievances filed by unidentified parties against Righthaven's bluetooth headset sporting CEO Steven Gibson and two other attorneys that formerly worked for his copyright trolling operation. The grievances were opened in January.
• Stevens Media LLC and Righthaven defendant Democratic Underground settled a motion requesting that Stevens Media pay $774,000 in attorney's fees to the Democratic Underground's attorneys. The settlement was disclosed May 25, but its terms have not been revealed.

See: VEGAS INC article in full

Righthaven Copyright Auction Re-Launched Today; Scant Interest in First Auction

UPDATE 05/07/12: Apparently, there were no bidders in the second eBay auction either. The latest auction ended Saturday. In an article published Monday by VEGAS INC, attorney Marc Randazza, whose firm is trying to recover legal fees after defeating a Righthaven lawsuit on behalf of a client, said: "It would seem that everything that Righthaven and its parade of idiots touch turns to garbage."

05/03/12:
It seems when (and if) they start to auction off the real "memorable" items, such as the RJ story of the bird sanctuary catching fire, there might be more interest in these auctions. The May 2nd VEGAS INC article, Scant interest so far in acution of Righthaven copyrights, goes into more details.

Righthaven copyright auctions to re-launch today 
Incline Village, NV, USA – May 03, 2012
Seventeen Righthaven copyrights are being auctioned off on eBay starting 8:00 a.m. PDT today and ending at approximately 8:00 p.m. PDT on Saturday May 5, 2012. This is the third auction of Righthaven property to satisfy court judgments against the Las Vegas company. The RIGHTHAVEN service mark was sold for $1025.00 in an auction that closed this morning. The auctions are being conducted by the court-appointed receiver for Righthaven, Lara Pearson, Esq., operating under the eBay seller name courtappointedreceiver. The auction listings are as follows:

• Ebony Princess #3
• Browns Damn right I'm backing Cleveland 11-14-10
• UTAH The pointspread took a big plunge on Tuesday 12-22-10
• Ebony Amateurs Vegas Edition #10
• Rockets 11-10-10
• OREGON Let's go over some undisputed facts. 01-10-11
• Ravens If you haven't heard it by now 11-11-10
• Analysis Thank Ohio University for this play 11-17-10
• Over the total Michigan is going to score points 11-13-10
• Hawks 11-10-10
• Tonight's top play 01-15-11
• Temple How can a team 11-16-10
• Ravens These two very good teams meet 11-11-10
• ROCKETS (plus the points and money-line) 7-0 That's the Rockets'...
• Suns Absolutely ridiculous pointspread 11-17-10
• TENNESSEE How do you lay points 01-05-11
• RAVENS 80-116. You know what that is? 01-09-11

Another Righthaven Appeals Case Dismissed, Another Fair Use Ruling Stands

Fourth Righthaven Copyright Lawsuit Appeal Dismissed

Copyright lawsuit filer Righthaven LLC of Las Vegas saw another one of its appeals dismissed Wednesday after Righthaven apparently abandoned the case. A deputy clerk at the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco dismissed Righthaven’s appeal of a 2010 ruling finding Las Vegas real estate agent Michael J. Nelson was protected by fair use in posting part of a Las Vegas Review-Journal story on his commercial website without first gaining permission from the R-J to do so.

The caveat with this fair use ruling is that U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks acknowledged that Nelson used the R-J story for commercial purposes, which often counts against fair use, but found that the posted portion was "factual" (not creative) and that Nelson's posting of the first eight sentences of the 30-sentence article was “likely to have little to no effect on the market for the copyrighted news article.” The is the fourth appeals case that has been dismissed after being abandoned by Righthaven.

See: VEGAS INC article in full

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

In Fighting New Sanction, Righthaven CEO Steve Gibson, Blames Outside Counsel

In Fighting Sanction, Righthaven CEO Complains of Foes' 'Ambush Tactics'

The CEO of copyright lawsuit filer Righthaven LLC is complaining that he's the victim of "unconscionable" ambush tactics by opposing attorneys in one of several lawsuits filed by the company.
Steven Gibson, who is facing a fine of $500 per day over Righthaven's failure to turn over financial information in the case, says the attorneys are unfairly trying to pin the blame on him for not producing the data. He claims the responsibility lies not with him or the company but with an attorney who has represented Righthaven, Shawn Mangano.

See a related blog post at Gametimeip.com, A 'Bike Lesson' From Dickinson Wright Partner (And Righthaven CEO) Steve Gibson On IP Monetization, that digs deeper into the How To guide of everything not to do when starting your own IP monetization outfit. Now all eyes are on the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and how they will respond to Gibson's most recent scapegoating attempt. It will be interesting to see if Mangano re-emerges as well. Mangano has been unreachable for weeks.

See: Steve Gibson's filing in full
See: VEGAS INC article in full

Righthaven's Slow Motion Implosion Continues; 'Superstar' Litigator Withdraws from Cases

Top Copyright Litigator Withdraws from Righthaven Cases

Dale Cendali, one of the top U.S. copyright attorneys, made it clear Wednesday that she’s no longer representing struggling copyright enforcement company Righthaven LLC of Las Vegas ... Cendali, who signed on to represent Righthaven in a couple of cases last year as it struggled to beat back challenges to its lawsuits, hasn’t been heard from in months in relation to Righthaven.

News about "superstar" litigator Dale Cendali is a longtime in the coming. No one understood as far back as September 2011 how Righthaven could pay 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." There's still no word on Righthaven's other outside attorney, Shawn Mangano, -- withdrawing or otherwise -- who has been absent for weeks.

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

'Moribund' Righthaven Defeated Again; Recap on Important Democratic Underground Case

Problems Pile Up for Righthaven with New Ruling

Legal problems are snowballing for Las Vegas copyright lawsuit filer Righthaven LLC, with a judge on Wednesday entering yet another judgment against the firm.
In Righthaven’s 2010 lawsuit against the Democratic Underground political website, U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt in Las Vegas granted a motion by the Democratic Underground that final judgment be entered against Righthaven.

Why was Righthaven's lawsuit against the Democratic Underground so significant?

• Attorneys for the defendant, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, brought to light the Strategic Alliance Agreement establishing Righthaven's lack of standing to sue.
• Through these actions, the term "sham copyright assignment" was born.
• Chief U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt then threw out the case against the Democratic Underground and fined Righthaven $5,000 for misleading the court.
• Later, in a Democratic Underground counterclaim filed against Stephens Media, the media group admitted that the defendant's use of the material was fair use. 
• On Wednesday, Judge Hunt found that his June dismissal of the case "was a dismissal on the merits" and granted a dismissal "with prejudice."

The Democratic Underground now seeks to recover the legal fees it racked up defending itself.

See: VEGAS INC article in full

Righthaven is Finito; Judge Strips Bottom Feeding Group of Copyrights and Trademark

Judge Strips Righthaven of Rights to 278 Copyrights and Its Trademark

Like a gunfighter with no bullets, Las Vegas copyright company Righthaven LLC no longer has any copyrights to sue over.
A federal judge in Las Vegas on Monday stripped Righthaven of whatever interests it has in its 278 federal copyright registrations as well as its trademark.
Judge Philip Pro ordered that the copyrights and trademarks be transferred to a court-appointed receiver so they can be auctioned to cover some of Righthaven’s debts.

Isn't this a fine ending for our "little friend" called Righthaven? The legal outfit didn't have standing to sue before this ruling and now they don't even own the copyrights. This is it finito -- except for defendants seeking attorney fees and recovering damages. The ruling came Monday in the case of defendant Wayne Hoehn. Marc Randazza, a Las Vegas attorney representing Hoehn, said that Pro’s order wipes out Righthaven’s interest in all of its pending lawsuits and appeals -- "It moots them."

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

Righthaven Misses Another Appeals Deadline; Failed to Pay Sanctions Ordered Last Summer

According to a recent VEGAS INC article, Righthaven failed to file its opening brief with the 10th U.S. District Court of Appeals in Denver in the case involving Leland Wolf and his It Makes Sense Blog. The brief was due February 22. The 10th Circuit court clerk has extended the deadline to March 5 and warned Righthaven that it would dimiss the appeal if the document isn’t filed by then.

This is hardly the first time Righthaven has failed to file court documentation in a timely matter. The kicker is that this case -- as well as the Gary Newman case -- are both appeals cases brought by Righthaven. On December 28, 2011, Righthaven saw the Newman case thrown out by the 9th U.S. District Ciruit Court of Appeals after Righthaven missed a "procedural deadline."

Separately, the article also notes that Righthaven never paid that $5,000 fine imposed by Judge Hunt last July. The charge was made by Kurt Opsahl, an attorney for the EFF, who has been reviewing Righthaven bank records in hopes of collecting over $100,000 in fees it was awarded after successfully representing defendant Thomas DiBiase. Opsahl also charged in Monday's filing:

"A sanction payable only by Righthaven would not be an effective form of coercion," Opsahl wrote in his court filing. "Righthaven already owes Mr. DiBiase over $120,000, but has refused to pay a single penny. Righthaven has already been sanctioned $5,000 by Judge Roger Hunt. As with this court’s other judgments and orders, Righthaven ignored Judge Hunt’s sanctions order."

Indicating that CEO Steve Gibson ought to be held personally liable for court imposed sanctions.

See: VEGAS INC article in full

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.

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

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.

See: Related VEGAS INC article in full
See: Motion for Contempt (Righthaven v. Wayne Hoehn)

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

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

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