Coupons.com DMCA Fight Over... Again

from the nobody-wins? dept

We'd been covering the Coupons.com DMCA legal saga for a few years now, and we thought it had ended back in November, when Coupons.com dropped its case against John Stottlemire. If you don't recall, Stottlemire was sued because he'd realized that if you deleted a few files on your hard drive, you could reprint coupons issued via Coupons.com's software. The company claimed this was a DMCA anti-circumvention violation -- though it seemed odd to claim that simply telling people to delete some files eliminated any sort of copy protection. Also there were significant questions as to whether or not what Coupons.com was doing was actually copy protection. Stottlemire was doing a pretty good job (as an individual) fighting back, and the company finally dropped the case.

But... apparently after Stottlemire bragged that he "kicked [Coupons.com's] ass," the company tried to reopen the case, claiming that Stottlemire had breached the non-disclosure agreement on the settlement and claiming that they need to reopen the case to "set the record straight." It's difficult to see how claiming you "kicked their ass" breaches any disclosure agreements, since it's hardly giving away much of anything. And, it appears, a judge has agreed, denying the request to reopen the case. The judge did say that Stottlemire's statement was a breach, but hardly an egregious one, and certainly not a big enough deal to reopen the case.
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Filed Under: copyright, coupons, dmca, john stottlemire
Companies: coupons.com


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  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 14 Apr 2009 @ 6:09am

    Who cares about coupons.com?

    Not sure if its every Walmart, but the ones around here are no longer accepting computer printed coupons.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 14 Apr 2009 @ 6:36am

    Well, Coupons.com loved to create new printer drivers and such to prevent people from getting double coupons on a $0.45 off deal. Then, if I remember right (I could be wrong) they started suing people who printed two coupons off from the same IP address for violation of DCMA.

    Maybe they forgot sometimes people have more than one computer behind their public IP address.

    "Hey, can you run this coupon off on your computer" some Mom may say to their child. Suddenly, they are DCMA infringers entitled to millions! Wooo! For $0.75 off coupon for StoveTop Stuffing.

    For fucks sake. Are you kidding me?

    If you buy two copies of the Sunday news, you get two coupons. Why the hell Coupons.com thinks they are entitled to a DCMA infringement is beyond me. It just makes people not want to use Coupons.com or any online coupon site.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      chris (profile), 14 Apr 2009 @ 7:24am

      Re:

      Why the hell Coupons.com thinks they are entitled to a DCMA infringement is beyond me. It just makes people not want to use Coupons.com or any online coupon site.

      i think it's an emotional reaction to being outsmarted. if you put a digital protection in place and some guy on the internet circumvents it, you feel foolish and your investors and board members start wondering what it is they are paying you to do.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 14 Apr 2009 @ 12:24pm

    "It's difficult to see how claiming you "kicked their ass" breaches any disclosure agreements,....."

    "The judge did say that Stottlemire's statement was a breach,..."

    It can't be that difficult to understand !. Perhaps the Masnicks should try harder to understand the things they don't want to be true.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    DannyB, 14 Apr 2009 @ 1:44pm

    Material breach

    Saying that he "kicked their ass" might in fact be an actual disclosure of what he agreed not to disclose. :-)

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Nate, 14 Apr 2009 @ 5:37pm

    perchase

    Who needs to reprint coupons. I go to http://couponsearcher.blogspot.com/ and reprint new ones. Or any other site that has coupons for that matter. The internet makes finding coupons so easy. Forget about coupons.com.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Ronald J Riley (profile), 15 Apr 2009 @ 2:32am

    Gag agreements

    John Stottlemire should not have been forced to accept a gag agreement by the court in the first place. It is far too common for bad players to try and cover up their dirty deeds in this manner.

    We need decent anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) laws in every state of the union.

    Ronald J. Riley,


    Speaking only on my own behalf.
    Affiliations:
    President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
    Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
    Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
    President - Alliance for American Innovation
    Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
    Washington, DC
    Direct (810) 597-0194 / (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    John Stottlemire, 15 Apr 2009 @ 4:53pm

    Setting the story straight.

    The comment I made, "and in my opinion, I kicked their ass" was not what Judge Lloyd said was a breach. The fact that I posted to my blog that Coupons, Inc. would dismiss the lawsuit against me with prejudice is what the Court determined was a "breach." Had I left the words "with prejudice" off of that statement, there would have been no breach at all since Coupons, Inc. had (just a few days earlier) released a statement that they were dismissing the lawsuit against me. -john

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Jasmin, 25 Apr 2009 @ 2:25pm

    Coupons ROCK!

    I like http://couponsearcher.blogspot.com. What I do is use that site to search for everything I want to buy before I go shopping and it saves me tons of money. Can’t beat that!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    GSM Alarm DIaler, 1 Jun 2009 @ 7:56am

    Coupons can save you a wad

    Always do a quick check before you order online, you don't know what you will save.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Guildford Web Site Design, 1 Jun 2009 @ 7:58am

    I saved £300 off a holiday on expedia, coupons can get you a bargain.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    bhaskar263, 14 Aug 2009 @ 2:22am

    Incomedia discount coupons and online free coupon codes

    Online shopping is a wonderful way to save time as well as money. Incomedia often have great sales and many even have free shipping. These tips will help you find the coolest gifts for the best prices, all without leaving your house. Discount coupons or free shipping voucher policies are normally entered during the checkout process or in the shopping cart. As each online store is different, it is important to read fine print regarding the e-voucher and prior to discount coupon codes or promotional offers use.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Jude, 14 Oct 2009 @ 5:05am

    Its true to check before ordering something online..

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    baluoct19, 18 Oct 2009 @ 11:54pm

    Deals365.us Coupon Codes || Deals365.us Coupons || Deals365.us Promotional Codes

    Thanks... good post, useful information. The best source for the Coupons, Discount Codes Promo Codes Deals, Coupons, Promo Codes, Discounts, Promotions and Promotional Codes you can save lot of money at Deals365.us

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    ABE SUROW, 9 Nov 2012 @ 8:23am

    Coupons.com locked in on outlook startup

    How to stop it. I don't want to go to Coupon.com when I start outlook express. They seem determined to prevent me from doing so. I need help!

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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