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Daily Paul / Michael Nystrom Sued by Righthaven LLC in Massive Blogger Copyright Shakedown

Submitted by Michael Nystrom on Wed, 09/01/2010 - 22:08

LVRJ / Righthaven Lawsuit Info

! Reddit !

The first I heard that I was being sued came in an email from Las Vegas Sun reporter Steve Green. Green and the Las Vegas Sun have been doing a tremendous job covering the saga of Righthaven LLC, a firm that has filed 107 suits against bloggers and website owners since March of this year, including one yesterday against yours truly.

Righthaven's standard shakedown seems to go as follows: The firm goes trolling the web, looking for content that from the Las Vegas Review-Journal that has been reposted on other blogs or websites. Once it finds a match, it acquires the copyright from the Review-Journal, then - without first contacting the accused blogger / website owner - files a lawsuit in Nevada Federal court. The standard damages seem to be for $75,000 and forfeiture of the domain name to Righthaven. I assume that is what I am being sued for as well, though I have yet to see it.

Most of the content on the Daily Paul is user-generated, and my understanding has always been that I am protected by the DMCA against liability for user uploaded content. Under the law, standard procedure is for the copyright holder to contact the website owner and ask that the offending content be removed. This is a request that I have complied with numerous times for other parties. In this particular case, I was never contacted by Righthaven, nor the Las Vegas Review Journal, nor, as far as I can tell, were any of the other 107 defendants.

You can see Steve Green's reportage of the suit against me at the end of this article.

The sidebar of that article contains an excellent archive of the Green's meticulous documentation of each of the 107 suits filed so far, as well as the relevance of these suits in his September 1 article, Why we are writing about the R-J copyright lawsuits

Many of the smaller bloggers have settled their cases for a few thousand dollars, leading lawyers to term this operation as a 'shakedown.' Some are unable to settle for that sum, as their websites don't make any money at all.

Of great interest to our community is that Alex Jones is also being sued by Righthaven. See here, here, and here. Alex is quoted as saying,

“This claim is totally without merit and appears to be purely predatory and I’m weighing all options with counsel including a possible counterclaim, not just to protect myself from being squeezed but also the other sites that have been sued,” said Jones, who said his national talk show is heard on 60 stations around the country.

Also being sued, according to the Las Vegas Sun, are The Armed Citizen (which has since shut down to avoid further legal trouble - see the letter on their website), Free Republic, and NORML, among many, many others.

On August 25th, the Electronic Frontier Foundation announced that they will make efforts to assist Righthaven defendants to the best of their ability. I have initiated contact, as I have absolutely no intention of settling.

Also reporting on this story:

Law.com - Birth of the Copyright Troll

Wired.com - Newspaper Chain’s New Business Plan: Copyright Suits

LA Times: - Las Vegas Review-Journal bares its claws

- - -

While it sucks for me personally to be sued, I intend to fight this battle to the end, resources permitting. I am in the process of assembling a legal team to deal with this. After I get an idea of how best to approach this, I may ask for help in creating a legal defense fund, and I hope that I can count on your support in this battle.

I want to thank the members of the Liberty community who gave me great support today as I digested this news, including bigmikedude, Kurt Wallace, Trevor Lyman, Michael Boldin of the 10th Amendment Center, and others.

Based on what I have heard so far from my fellow patriots, and what other defendants are planning, I believe that Righthaven picked the wrong community to mess with!

In the mean time, I suggest that fellow bloggers and webmasters scour your sites for any links back to lvrj.com. Righthaven has sued websites that published just four paragraphs of a 36 paragraph story, including a link. To be safe, I wouldn't even link back to those bastards at all. Who knows - they might even sue you for that.

If you have any information that may be of value, please do not hesitate to contact me using the contact button on this website above.

Thank you again for your support.

Michael

bumping, because--

Submitted by 1988vote on Fri, 09/17/2010 - 09:27. Permalink

I saw this on the main page--

—

it's hard to be awake; it's easier to dream--

Just in case anyone asks,

Submitted by RustySanchez on Sat, 09/11/2010 - 22:34. Permalink

Just in case anyone asks, anything I post or write on this website is released as public domain, retroactively and in perpetuity.

I own a small publishing business myself, so I know all about protecting copyrights, but nine times out of ten, it's nothing more than a waste of time chasing geese that will only result in alienating customers, so I don't bother, but believe me, people post my copyrighted material all over the net.

Do I care? Not really. It doesn't affect my bottom line adversely at all. If anything, it's free advertising.

—

I am out of touch with most Americans precisely because I am not out of touch with reality.

Keep up the great work Rusty

Submitted by RawfoodLiberty on Fri, 09/17/2010 - 09:35. Permalink

~If your not having fun during a revolution, your not doing it right!~

"It's better to get there slow, than to not get there fast". - ATruePatriot

—

And never forget, “Humans, despite our artistic pretensions, our sophistication and many accomplishments, owe the fact of our existence to a six-inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains.”

Micheal find out if you have actually been sued yet ..

Submitted by lancealotlink on Sat, 09/11/2010 - 22:19. Permalink

Or if this is just a threat . It might not be too late to obtain Legal Insurance at a minimal rate of just 50 dollars a month. Just google legal insurance and to obtain the coverage you need.It also a tax write-off.

Whoa

Submitted by MoRtiS NoCTu on Sat, 09/11/2010 - 21:16. Permalink

Michael I am sorry to hear this. You know you can count on us here at DailyPaul to help you though.

I don't see how they could possibly legally force someone to surrender a domain name. That is your property and they should have no right to it.

I'll let you know as soon as I'm back up in Boston, and if you need any help I would be glad to assist you. I'm not a legal expert or anything, but if there's something I can do to help I will do it.

They will not take our internet home away from us!

For Liberty!

—

--------------
"So this is how liberty dies... with thunderous applause."

* * * * * * * NEW R3VOLUTION HIP HOP TRACKS!! * * * * * * *
Http://www.YouTube.com/mortisnoctu

Concur-Legal Defense Fund

Submitted by clint4liberty on Sat, 09/11/2010 - 21:41. Permalink

We need to think about a legal defense fund for when the Daily Paul.com is sued now or in the future. This law suit regarding copyright law is baseless, but local district court judges have a problem with common sense and following precedents.

Domain name

Submitted by realedreform on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 23:47. Permalink

Ever since first reading about this a few days ago, I can't seem to get the surrendering of the domain name out of my head. I find it so deeply disturbing that it qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment and I can't even begin to speculate as to why they have asked for it. "dailypaul.com" is unique in the world and cannot be used for any other purpose, so to steal it from the world is an attack on the world itself.

Any idea why they are asking for this? Right now it just seems downright evil to me. If someone knows of a reason that makes sense I'd sure like to hear it.

Congratulations, Mike, you've finally made it in the real world.

Submitted by Mell_o_Drama on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 22:17. Permalink

You have proved your legitimacy as a webmaster, you mean something to somebody. So, they're not after damages, they're after your domain name, which is part of your holdings -- since it can be transferred or sold. They claim they have a problem w/ what you do to shut you down & get your domain name. Since you can't prevent anybody from suing you the only thing you can do is say do I do this website or not do it & you did it! Welcome to the real world. Just think, not that this comes as a convenient time, but this would be an experience you didn't have if it hadn't happened. However, may this not be the 1st of many lawsuits.

Cheers! I'm having a hot cup of coffee to celebrate, you?

finish auto-reply

Thank God for bugs, they're company for people in solitary confinement, including Phil. Rezko (sp), who was put in solitary confinement & prevented from testifying at R. B.'s trial in Ill.. Stay out of jail, & that means stay away from the police! The next time you receive a traffic citation & have to pay it, inform your church that they were just denied a donation.

—

For some reason, we're expected to know every law that exists in America & in our state so we don't break it. We're supposed to know this when we're 18. There's no litmus test for them, as in the 10 commandments or rhyme or reason. C.U.R.E.

Sounds more like Sue Lowden

Submitted by Gmartine on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 12:19. Permalink

Sounds more like Sue Lowden is getting her cronie LV friends to get some vengeance for her losing the Senate candidacy.

Is the post that they are accusing the DP of even still available? They need evidence and if there isn't then they have nothing.

I have been searching over the lists

Submitted by ATruepatriot on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 09:05. Permalink

provided by Jon and the stuff I found in the last few days and can't help thinking that there may be some "Entrapment" posts.If just one of these could be proved to tie in with RH or RJ it could raise the question of intent by them.Everyone implicated in suits with them should check for these type of posts,It would only take one to disprove intent and credibility.

—

"They used to come get you and lock you up because you were insane, Now they come get you and lock you up because you are sane"

My thought is

Submitted by POW on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 22:58. Permalink

for them to use or access DP at any time to build a case would involve copyright infingement on their part. DP is Mike's and they need his permision to access the records and posts to built a case from.
The legal service is using copyright from DP to build a case. It's all within commercial use. They are using what is on DP forin a commercial enrterprise.They are running a professional business, making money or professional livelyhood

Unfortunately from what I have been chasing

Submitted by ATruepatriot on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 23:04. Permalink

It isn't quite that simple.

—

"They used to come get you and lock you up because you were insane, Now they come get you and lock you up because you are sane"

Be sure to email Michael

Submitted by northstar on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 12:11. Permalink

Explain your thoughts in detail to him, so he can maybe connect dots or something.

—

Real eyes realize real lies

2012, we want our country back

2012 is the year for Ron Paul!

Northstar?

Submitted by ATruepatriot on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 12:39. Permalink

Have been in touch,he is on it with everything he can muster.He's watching everything we post very closely,Which reminds me,we should not post any links to RJ,They are also being watched an counted.
Let's not give them any traffic at all,They don't deserve it.

—

"They used to come get you and lock you up because you were insane, Now they come get you and lock you up because you are sane"

So what's next?

Submitted by GigiBowman on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 08:55. Permalink

Will every facebook member next be sued for posting a link to the news (like everyone does) and putting a "quote" from the article above it?

The implications of this are limitless

Hey GigiBowman Great Idea

Submitted by Thomas on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 12:26. Permalink

everyone paste links to lvrj.com with the entire text intact by the thousands and the anonymously notify mr whateverhaven... he gets all excited at the prospect of "owning" facebook and they squash him like a bug in the lawsuit...

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http://www.dailypaul.com/152976/diebold-vs-paper-ballots
http://www.ncel.w4sp.com/
http://www.blackboxvoting.org/
http://www.votefraud.org/
http://www.hulu.com/hacking-democracy

Great idea, but...

Submitted by Bob-45 on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 17:56. Permalink

Now that you have posted it, it becomes conspiracy.

Better to file an extortion complaint with the Nevada Attorney General's office.

If you have a lawyer

Submitted by London_Chris on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 08:21. Permalink

you are deemed incapable of handling your own affairs and consent to being bound by the statues of the law society. Not a path i would follow.

Tell them to validate their claim.
All the best, good luck.

Unfortunately,

Submitted by vlbc on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 09:17. Permalink

most individuals ARE incapable of handling their own affairs when defending themselves against the machine of the court system.
Defending yourself in court is a great concept, in theory, but virtually impossible, for most people, in reality.
Akin to an individual taking on a SWAT team, and we all know how well those events usually turn out.

…in a lifetime of chance

Submitted by the strangerr on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 11:43. Permalink

Damn good points, it can’t be stressed enough.

The court system doesn’t exist to give you justice, it exists to give you chance at justice. And that chance has diminished greatly over time. Pretty much all judges were lawyers first, but that’s not how it all began. Perhaps old Billy was right…

Swat team, great analogy; the mechanisms in place amount to that kind of weaponry, training, and precision. Defending yourself in court at one time was probably common. It comes at great cost now. Sometimes, your only chance at survival is to represent yourself, but still at enormous cost – your knowledge, skill, and execution will need to overpower every obstacle in real time.

Another thing; for someone who is being prepped for surgery, telling them that the operation is routine, when they already know that, doesn’t give them comfort.

But in reading on this I have found

Submitted by ATruepatriot on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 11:49. Permalink

That there may be certain limits in damages applied to sole owner operators that are not extended when it becomes something larger with council.It needs to be studied very thoroughly.

—

"They used to come get you and lock you up because you were insane, Now they come get you and lock you up because you are sane"

Avoiding Stephens Group altogether

Submitted by dalesvp on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 07:45. Permalink

How To Make Sure You Don't Accidentally Visit Organizations That Don't Want You

To make sure that you don't unintentionally copying and pasting too much, and getting sued by Righthaven LLC, it is perhaps wisest to not visit any of the news organizations associated with the Stephens Group - who apparently are funding at least part of Righthaven's actions. The Stephens Group has a lot of different newspapers. While the list of these organizations has been floating around for a couple of weeks, someone pointed out this useful Firefox add-on.

http://claytonecramer.blogspot.com/2010/08/how-to-make-you-d...

—

http://www.svpwiki.com/

nice ~ new facebook group

Submitted by photoshopwiz on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 06:11. Permalink

~
facebook: stop the LVRJ/RIGHTHAVEN witch hunt!

Description:
The Las Vegas Review Journal, a newspaper located in Las Vegas, Nevada, has hired lawyer group Righthaven LLC, to basically sue any and all web site owners who they accuse of copyright infringement over improper use of their news articles. These lawsuits are being issued without ANY previous contact or cease and desist orders as far we know. This is a blatant money making venture, not simply an attempt at copyright protection.

See Discussions for further information, let's get the word out that while every business has the right to protect their property both real and intellectual, there is no ethical reason to not simply give notice to these website owners and allow them to comply with the wishes of the copyright owner.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/stop-the-LVRJRIGHTHAVEN-witch-...

Moderators "trimming" posts?

Submitted by AAAAANDRE on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 04:13. Permalink

Now that we're on the subject, I've noticed some threads where there are more than "a few" paragraphs posted from other sites. Should/could the moderators here step in and trim these down? Maybe add some guidance text to the Create Forum Topic posting area?

This is covered under #3

Submitted by IamVoting4RonPaul on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 05:28. Permalink

under the DP Posting Guidelines: http://www.dailypaul.com/node/78343

I can't speak for the other moderators, but I do trim articles when I come across them. I have also encountered, more than once, people who will repost the article in full after it has been trimmed. Moderators are not always around, so it's up to the community to be personally responsible for their own posts and to self-regulate. No moderator wants to be like the government.

If you notice an article that needs to be trimmed, let the poster know. If they don't do anything about it, ask for a moderator.

Thanks AAAAANDRE.

—

Ron Paul "Sign Wave Across the USA" -- November 5th!

I've tried to be nice about

Submitted by Velveeta Underground on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 16:32. Permalink

I've tried to be nice about it, but there are a few who take umbrage at any suggestion they need to follow rules.

—

Support freedom and liberty candidates in 2012... Ron Paul... Gary Johnson...

enjoy this demotivational (or motivational) poster

Submitted by libertybrewcity on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 01:04. Permalink

Number 3 :)

http://i51.tinypic.com/14bhjbs.jpg

Don't worry Michael - We're behind you all the way.

Submitted by pawnstorm12 on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 00:47. Permalink

You'll get donations from us if you need a defense but...I say again...who is profiting from using any content from their publication?

Where are the damages?

To my knowledge, the DailyPaul isn't a commercial site where someone is profiting from the posts here.

It's simply an interactive forum for thoughts, learning, and exchanges of ideas and philosophies.

I have learned countless things from this site and hopefully have even taught a few things on occasion.

This lawsuit is NONSENSE and any judge worth his salt would just throw it out of his court and not waste his time on it.

—

"We have allowed our nation to be over-taxed, over-regulated, and overrun by bureaucrats. The founders would be ashamed of us for what we are putting up with."
-Ron Paul