Copyright Troll Refuted in Fair Use Appeal - coxyourock

Attempts by a copyright trolling to overturn two "fair use" decisions against it were opposed in federal official appellate court Friday away such prominent voices as the Physics Frontier Base (EFF), Google, Public Knowledge, and the Digital Media Law Project at Harvard University.

In 2 cases before the court in Nevada, Righthaven, a law firm that specializes in the good-hearted of soprano volume copyright litigation known as troll, is trying to overturn inferior court actions that are preventing the firm from going to tryout with its lawsuits.

"These cases should never suffer been filed in the first point," EFF Senior Staff Attorney Kurt Opsahl, who worked connected both "friend of the court" briefs filed in the cases by the foundation, said in a statement.

"They are based on a sham right of first publication assignment, run roughshod over fair use, and feature abused the legal system aside forcing bloggers and web sites to pay cost of defense settlements," he said. "It's obvious Righthaven's litigation dodge has failed, and we urge the court of appeals to traverse Righthaven's high ditch effort to resuscitate its business simulation."

In one of the cases being appealed by the law unwavering, Righthaven v. DiBiase, the inferior court found that the firm couldn't pursue its judicial proceeding because it didn't have the rights to the copyright it sought to enforce.

Righthaven has filed hundreds of copyright suits based on an agreement it has with Stephens Media, publisher of the Las Vegas Journal-Review. Under that agreement, Stephens retained just about of the rights to its copyrighted material, but allotted the right to sue for infringements to Righthaven.

That transcription worked fine As long Eastern Samoa the targets of Righthaven's lawsuits settled their cases out of court. But once a case landed before a judge, Righthaven found itself challenged.

Righthaven has never won a single case on the merits and has been placed to pay more than $200,000 for defendants' attorneys fees and $5000 in sanctions, the Love says. Righthaven's domain constitute, righthaven.com, was auctioned to help pay these judgments, and its give and CEO, Las Vegas attorney Steven A. Gibson, is existence investigated by the Nevada State Bar.

"Righthaven is now in the hands of a receiver," EFF said in a brief (PDF) filed with the court. "This ingathering, along with several others currently pending ahead the Ninth Circuit, represents Righthaven's forlorn hope to salvage its extortionist business model."

What's more, one-time Righthaven ally Stephens Media has started funding off copyright claims formerly pressed by the law firm. Antepenultimate November, for instance, the company stopped contesting fair use arguments in a case involving Journal-Review bodied posted on the website of the Democratic Underground.

In its other appealingness, Righthaven argues that its case against the Center for Intercultural Organizing shouldn't have been unemployed on the ground of fair use because an total article from the Diary-Review was posted to the group's website. Lifting an smooth article isn't a fair use of the material, it maintains.

However, that's non the case in law, according to the brief (PDF) filed by Google. "Righthaven ignores the fact that the Supreme Court, this Court, and numerous courts outside this Circuit have expressly found fair use in cases involving complete copies of a plaintiff's work," it aforesaid.

Pursue freelance technology author Whoremaster P. Mello Jr. and Now@PCWorld connected Twitter.