Righthaven extends copyright lawsuit campaign to individual Web posters

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Las Vegas Sun

Las Vegas copyright enforcement company Righthaven LLC is now suing individual message-board posters, not just website operators.

Righthaven, which files copyright infringement lawsuits over unapproved online postings of material from the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Denver Post, filed seven infringement lawsuits Tuesday and Wednesday in U.S. District Court for Nevada, lifting its lawsuit total since March to at least 203.

Among the defendants sued Monday were message board posters identified as James Higgins and Wayne Hoehn.

Higgins, according to Righthaven, posts as Jim_Higgins on a Google Groups message board. Records indicate that on Nov. 21 he posted a Review-Journal column about Transportation Security Administration pat downs of the elderly and disabled at Reno-Tahoe International Airport. The post credited columnist John L. Smith but didn't credit the Review-Journal, records show.



Read more: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/jan/12/righthaven-extends-copyright-lawsuit-campaign-indi/

---

These are the scumsuckers who tried to sue DU!

[hlthe2b]

1. The judge needs to nip this in the bud...

How on earth could a casual internet poster be expected to defend against this kind of BS. We are all operating under the expectation of "fair-use" protections. How many of us could afford to defend against this as an individual?

[alfredo]

11. They don't want people who can fight back. Bullies

[SkyDaddy7]

17. EXACTLY! The classic BULLY!

[liberalmike27]

57. Douchebags

It's like Sony sueing someone who downloaded a song. It just makes 'em look bad.

[Poll_Blind]

2. I am K&R'ing this because people need to see how horrible this bullshit is.

Because in this bad economy they sharks get hungry and eat any way they can.

PB

[denbot]

3. These assholes tried to take a bite out of DU.

I hope Skinner takes a huge bite out a them.

[Downwinder]

4. I don't think this will increase their readership. Wonder if they will

file a suit if one reads an article to someone else in a care facility?

[CLANG]

31. They don't have a "readership". They are simply blood-sucking parasites.

[Turborama]

5. K&R They didn't learn anything from the DU case?

I thought they said they were going to stop this shit in their response?

[TheEuclideanOne]

21. I think that they did learn something

Don't pick on people who can kick your ass!

Now they are picking on individuals who clearly do not have the same resources as DU. Scumbags.

[Anakin Skywalker]

6. Greedy ass bastards!

[chollybocker]

7. Righthaven is like the Phelps Family of the internet.

[Lint Head]

8. Right Haven sounds like a haven for the right

to suppress free speech.

[JDPriestly]

9. What news media does RightHaven represent?

On behalf of what news media do they file lawsuits?

[RamboLiberal]

10. There's a list at bottom of this story

http://www.examiner.com/finance-examiner-in-national/media-outlets-strike-back-court-against-righthaven-money-grab

I need to be getting to bed so I can't research further. One group they represent is http://www.stephensmedia.com/

And I know they picked up another group plus Denver Post.

[Maat]

13. Thanks - if the client in question has a newspaper or magazine ...

I won't be buying it.

If you're willing to harass people like this, I don't want to be patronizing you.

It would be one thing if a person was stealing material, publishing it, and making a gazillion dollars off of it - under that person's name.

That is not the case here, however.

[Buenaventura]

35. their clients are tiny, tiny publications

with a few exceptions - denver, st. paul ... so how the hell can they afford to be clients - and who cares?

[kestrel91316]

43. The Denver Post is THE big paper in CO. Not tiny at all.

Guess they don't want their articles cited.

[chrisa]

69. They actually just buy rights to individual articles, I think. Most of them older.

Which is stupid, considering that this is the internet. The Denver Post can't refuse because they're basically getting free money for stupid shit (articles they have already written that have served their purpose and are now useless). Ravenhaven LLC makes this offer, and then, in their dickheadish ways, holds the copyright only to try and sue others to make money off it.

Basically, it's like somebody who pours water on your sidewalk from their faucet, waits 2 hours for it to freeze, and then runs outside and trips themselves on it in order to try and sue you. It doesn't get much lamer than this.

[tinrobot]

53. Those sites are going into the block list on my browser

[kevinbgoode]

63. I agree. . .couldn't someone start a campaign to encourage

millions of online users to simply block them on their browsers and discourage any purchase of the product?

[tinrobot]

71. Here's instructions how to do it in Firefox

http://righthavenvictims.blogspot.com/p/block-stephens-media-sites.html

[somone]

12. Righthaven websites should be put in a dark, untouched corner of the net

Maybe somebody could come up with a browser thingy to alert/block all instances

[sakabatou]

14. Oh for fuck's sake...

[The Wizard]

15. They have the obligation of

proving damages.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

59. They don't. Not with this type of tort.

In fact, they are entitled to a flat amount, if my memory serves me. Copyright infringement is a different animal.

[tomm2thumbs]

16. companies who abuse our intellectual property laws should have their business licenses revoked

plain and simple - they are bottom feeders who need to be fought to the bitter end and kicked out of society's privileges of doing business with the rest of the world

[No Elephants]

18. Would a national web ID be useful to folk like Righthaven?

[Buenaventura]

33. damnit - you made me laugh! n/t

[ejpoeta]

19. these folks aren't very smart. most sites I go to do not allow posting the whole thing.

People post snippets and then post a link to the article. This helps with site traffic for those papers online sites if they have them. It's like they are cutting off their nose to spite their face.

[rasputin1952]

20. They take these suits to court in the hope that there will be an

out of court settlement.

They are now going after individuals that don't have the funds to mount a defense. Bottomfeeders of the lowest order.

[Joanne98]

22. Just stop posting anything from these publications

Below are many of the online media sources and publications for which Righthaven has on its client list.

Alameda Times-StarCaliforniaAlameda
Enterprise-RecordCaliforniaChico
Times-StandardCaliforniaEureka
ArgusCaliforniaFremont
The Daily ReviewCaliforniaHayward
Lake County Record-BeeCaliforniaLakeport
Press-TelegramCaliforniaLong Beach
The Monterey County HeraldCaliforniaMonterey
Marin Independent JournalCaliforniaNovato
Oakland TribuneCaliforniaOakland
Inland Valley Daily BulletinCaliforniaOntario
Oroville Mercury-RegisterCaliforniaOroville
Pasadena Star-NewsCaliforniaPasadena
Tri-Valley HeraldCaliforniaPleasanton
Red Bluff Daily NewsCaliforniaRed Bluff
Redlands Daily FactsCaliforniaRedlands
The SunCaliforniaSan Bernardino
San Jose Mercury NewsCaliforniaSan Jose
San Mateo County TimesCaliforniaSan Mateo
Santa Cruz SentinelCaliforniaSanta Cruz
Daily BreezeCaliforniaTorrance
The Ukiah Daily JournalCaliforniaUkiah
The ReporterCaliforniaVacavilleT
imes-HeraldCaliforniaVallejo
Contra Costa TimesCaliforniaWalnut Creek
San Gabriel Valley TribuneCaliforniaWest Covina
Whittier Daily NewsCaliforniaWhittier
Daily DemocratCaliforniaWoodland
Daily NewsCaliforniaWoodland Hills
Daily CameraColoradoBoulder
The Denver PostColoradoDenver
Fort Morgan TimesColoradoFort Morgan
Journal-AdvocateColoradoSterling
Sentinel & EnterpriseMassachusettsFitchburg
The SunMassachusettsLowell
North Adams TranscriptMassachusettsNorth Adams
The Berkshire EagleMassachusettsPittsfield
The Detroit NewsMichiganDetroit
St. Paul Pioneer PressMinnesotaSt. Paul
Alamogordo Daily NewsNew MexicoAlamogordo
Carlsbad Current-ArgusNew MexicoCarlsbad
The Deming HeadlightNew MexicoDeming
The Daily TimesNew MexicoFarmington
Las Cruces Sun-NewsNew MexicoLas Cruces
Public OpinionPennsylvaniaChambersburg
The Evening SunPennsylvaniaHanover
Lebanon Daily NewsPennsylvaniaLebanon
The York DispatchPennsylvaniaYork
York Daily Record - York Sunday NewsPennsylvaniaYork
El Paso TimesTexasEl Paso
The Salt Lake TribuneUtahSalt Lake City
Bennington BannerVermontBennington
Brattleboro ReformerVermontBrattleboro
Charleston Daily Mail West Virginia Charleston

http://www.examiner.com/finance-examiner-in-national/media-outlets-strike-back-court-against-righthaven-money-grab

This is a bad business decision. Avoid posting articles from these newspapers and watch their readership fall.

[rox63]

24. Egads - My hometown newspaper is on that list

They are a RW rag, of course. :(

[Downwinder]

26. I don't think your list includes the Stephens Media chain. It should.

Arkansas

* Southwest Times Record<2>, Fort Smith, Ark. (DAILY)
* Pine Bluff Commercial, Pine Bluff, Ark. (DAILY)
* North Little Rock Times, North Little Rock, Ark. (Weekly, Thur.)
* Press Argus Courier, Van Buren, Ark. (twice Weekly, Wed. & Sat.)
* Jacksonville Patriot, Jacksonville, Ark. (Weekly, Wed.)
* Sherwood Voice, Sherwood, Ark. (Weekly, Thur.)
* Maumelle Monitor, Maumelle, Ark. (Weekly, Wed.)
* Cabot Star-Herald, Cabot, Ark. (Weekly, Wed.)
* Lonoke Democrat, Lonoke, Ark. (Weekly, Thur.)
* Carlisle Independent, Carlisle, Ark. (Weekly, Wed.)
* Hot Springs Village Voice, Hot Springs Village, Ark. (Weekly, Wed.)
* Van Buren County Democrat, Clinton, Ark. (Weekly, Thur.)
* Booneville Democrat, Booneville, Ark. (Weekly, Wed.)
* Charleston Express, Charleston, Ark. (Weekly, Wed.)
* Greenwood Democrat, Greenwood, Ark. (Weekly, Wed.)
* Paris Express, Paris, Ark. (Weekly, Wed.)
* White Hall Progress, White Hall, Ark. (Weekly, Wed.)
* Lincoln Leader, Lincoln, Ark. (Weekly, Wed.)
* Farmington Post, Farmington, Ark. (Weekly, Wed.)
* Prairie Grove Enterprise, Prairie Grove, Ark. (Weekly, Wed.)

The company also publishes an online-only site focused on state politics, Arkansasnews.com.

Hawaii

* Hawaii Tribune-Herald, Hilo, HI (DAILY)
* West Hawaii Today, Kailua-Kona, HI (DAILY)
* Big Island Weekly, Hilo, HI (Weekly, Wed.)
* North Hawaii News, Waimea, HI (Weekly, Thur.)

Iowa

* Ames Tribune, Ames, IA (DAILY)
* Boone News-Republican, Boone, IA (DAILY)
* Dallas County News, (Weekly)
* Algona Upper Des Moines, Algona, Ia (Weekly)


Nevada

* Las Vegas Review-Journal, Las Vegas, NV (DAILY)
* Las Vegas CityLife, Las Vegas, NV (Weekly, Thur.)
* El Tiempo, Las Vegas, NV (Weekly, Fri.)
* Las Vegas Business Press, Las Vegas, NV (Weekly, Mon.)
* Boulder City Review. Boulder City, NV (Weekly, Thur.)
* Ely Times, Ely, NV (Weekly, Fri.)
* Rebel Nation], Las Vegas, NV (Monthly, 1st of month)
* Pahrump Valley Times, Pahrump, NV (twice Weekly, Wed. & Fri.)
* Eureka Sentinal, Eureka, NV (twice Weekly, Wed. & Fri.)
* Tonopah Times-Bonanza, Tonopah, NV (twice Weekly, Wed. & Fri.)
* Lincoln County Record (Weekly)

North Carolina

* Courier-Tribune, Asheboro, NC (DAILY)

Oklahoma

* Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Bartlesville, OK (DAILY)
* Pawhuska Journal-Capital, Pawhuska, OK (twice Weekly, Wed. & Sat.)

Texas

* The Herald Democrat, Sherman/Denison TX (DAILY)
* Anna-Melissa Tribune, Anna, TX (Weekly)
* Grayson County Shopper, Sherman, TX (Weekly)
* Prosper Press, Prosper, TX (Weekly)
* Van Alstyne Leader, Van Alstyne, TX (Weekly)
* Lake Texoma Life, Kingston, TX (Monthly, 1st of month)

Tennessee

* The Daily Herald, Columbia, TN (DAILY)
* The Advertiser News, Spring Hill, TN (Weekly, Wed.)
* The Value Guide, Columbia, TN (Weekly, Tues.)
* Franklin Life, Franklin, TN (Monthly, 15th of month)
* Brentwood Life, Brentwood, TN (Monthly, 1st of month)
* Healthy Living, Columbia, TN (Monthly, 3rd Wed. each month)

Washington

* The Daily World, Aberdeen, WA (DAILY)
* The Vidette, Montesano, WA (Weekly, Thur.)
* The North Coast News, Ocean Shores, WA (Weekly, Wed.)
* The South Beach Bulletin, Westport, WA (Weekly, Wed.)
* East County News, Elma, WA (Weekly, Wed.)

News Bureaus

* Carson City, NV
* Washington, DC
* Little Rock, AR http://arkansasnews.com/

[Joanne98]

34. Thanks

[Violet_Crumble]

23. This might be a dumb question, but how can they sue foreigners?

I'm not American, so how could they sue someone like me?

[Seedersandleechers]

29. I think you're probably safe,

especially where you reside.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

60. They can sue you by claiming the infringement took place in their jurisdiction.

They can get a judgment. Collecting is the hard part.

[blogslut]

25. I'm reminded of a the business model for a certain despicable company

Google:

Acacia + "low hanging fruit"

[Ian David]

27. We need to scrub every reference to any RightHaven client from anywhere on the web.

I'm still seeing people link to The Denver Post from DU, and IMHO, that needs to stop.

No excerpts, no links.

[BrightKnight]

66. Nobody decides what I discuss but me. I'll cite any source I want. - n/t

[Heywood J]

72. And screw the site in the process?

That's considerate of you.

[BrightKnight]

73. No, does DU need a free speech fund?

I would be happy to contribute to that. I have no pressing need to cite any of these irrelevant birdcage liners. I will not pretend that I do not have the right to cite any published source that I want. I will not surrender that right to anybody.

[asjr]

28. This is entrapment! This is not about

copyright infringement. This is about hiding behind a bush and waiting for one of us to pass by so they can jump us. It is about money!

[Angry Dragon]

30. K&R

[mahatmakanejeeves]

32. Godfrey Daniels!

They'll take my Packard!

[angryfirelord]

36. Here's a list of the sites they've gone after

Just so everyone knows, they go after people on both sides of the political aisle. They tried to sue Free Republic too back in July.

http://righthavenvictims.blogspot.com/

[RamboLiberal]

41. FreeRepublic settled with them so I assume they got a payment from FR

[Bernardo de La Paz]

68. Free Republic simply cowardly (by their standards). Decided not to send pitchforks & machine guns/nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

37. DU should ban links to those two publications.

Why send any hits to their websites?

[fatbuckel]

42. I just blocked both from our corporate network.

[BrightKnight]

62. Notifying the various corporate internet black list

companies might be helpful. Most companies don't manually set most of the rules. I am sure that a lot of their clients would choose to avoid sites that might have higher litigation risks.

A lot of sites are set to opt in for a lot of reasons.

[TheEuclideanOne]

38. Look at how cnn.com covers him. Very positively as if he is breaking new ground with his work.

Pretty sick, IMHO. They treat him like he is some type of hero, breaking new ground in the copyright protection field. Also, note that he refers to the targets as "Liberal and others". Gotta Love CNN. Hopefully I won't be sued for this post.


http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/01/06/righthaven-qa-cd-letters-dont-stop-infringement/

[fatbuckel]

39. I mysteriously got "followed" on Twitter by the Denver Post. So I blocked them.

copyright troll Motherfu....

[felix_numinous]

40. It is probably

a good idea to familiarize ourselves with these people. Here's a good place to start:

http://www.righthavenlawsuits.com/articles.html

Knowledge is power. Will post anything else I find :)

[mzmolly]

44. Do they WANT to be come irrelevant?

:crazy:

[begin_within]

45. Maybe now people will finally get it: don't post copyrighted material.

Post what you created and you own the copyright to, but don't post something that someone else owns the right to. A link to it is fine, but don't post the material itself. It's so simple.

[still_one]

46. Another way to deal with it is boycott the Denver Post and Las Vegas Review-Journal /nt

[BrightKnight]

54. I try to cite reputable sources.

I imagine that a lot of people will be reluctant to cite from these sources for a number of reasons now. If their actions tend to restrict the free discussion of what they publish then it might not be worth discussing.

[Democrats_win]

47. They buy the copyright and then sue people even before the purchase of the copyright.

This should be stopped. Hopefully there are a lot of counter suits. Good info from all the posters above!

[mistertrickster]

48. Fer heaven's sake. Judges need to hammer these rascals. nt

[sulphurdunn]

49. I'm confused.

If I use an article excerpt that I retrieved from a public source, cite the source by name and provide a link to the source, and there are no notices at the source stating that the owner prohibits any use of it without prior consent, how am I infringing on anyone's copyright?

[felix_numinous]

50. If Righthaven succeeds

(may they FAIL!) I wonder if websites such as this one would benefit from prompting or blocking access to all known copyrighted websites & articles? Just a question/idea for the geeks.

[Downwinder]

51. Everybody has a Copyright. Even © 2001 - 2010 Democratic Underground, LLC

[BrightKnight]

56. No copyright law has ever been written to restrict the free discussion of anything published.

You can't discuss something that you cannot cite.

If they are trying to abuse copyright laws to do that the courts should put an end to it.

[RKP5637]

61. What would really be nice is a Firefox extension that allows one to block

all known sites and give an option of an outright block or a warning.

Here is one that does it - BlockSite for FireFox Users

http://righthavenvictims.blogspot.com/p/block-stephens-media-sites.html

[BrightKnight]

64. I have the right to discuss anything published.

I choose not to read the publications but I will not run from them.

[RKP5637]

70. You can just set a warning on those that sue as an FYI. Frankly, many of them are

not that relevant IMO.

[nyc 4 Biden]

52. If I rec this, will I be sued?

oh well... Who says I don't live dangerously...

k&r

[Broderick]

55. Some lawyer jokes come to mind

and believe me when I say I think the end of freedom on the internet draws near. It is coming from all sides, and those that think the government is on the side of people rather than corporations is living in a fantasy land in my estimation.

[PatrynXX]

58. Bend the law and usually gets an unhappy judge

reminds me of the RIAA. with judges who were just waiting for RIAA to slip up because they don't like their tactics

[SoapBox]

65. This copyright crap has gone TOO far.

So typical of some scumbag, money vulture, creeps to do...

[chrisa]

67. lol. How the fuck are they even a company? When did

copyright trolling become legal? I mean, copyright trolling isn't just something they do - it's the entire purpose of the company.

[Liberty Belle]

74. Haven't they heard of the fair use doctrine?

Unless these bloggers were dumb enough to post the entire article (in which case they did infringe copyright) then this is off base. Rule of thumb has always been you can quote a reasonable excerpt as fair usage, usually less than 4 paragraphs, but never more than half of an article (if it's a very short piece.)

Judge needs to throw this garbage out of court and award defendants attorney fees paid for by the plaintiff in this nuisance suit.