Another Court Makes Righthaven Pay Up For Its Trolling Ways

from the eine-kleine-schadenfreude dept

Thu, Oct 27th 2011 6:14am — Brady Kriss

The judgements against copyright troll Righthaven are starting to pile up. Righthaven recently tried (unsuccessfully) to convince a Nevada court that $34k was more money than it could reasonably scrape together to post a bond while it appealed the adverse judgment in that case. Now another Nevada court has ruled against Righthaven, awarding the defendant Thomas DiBiase reasonable attorneys' fees and costs; this time in the even larger amount of $119,488.00. That's got to hurt.

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Filed Under: attorneys fees, thomas dibiase
Companies: righthaven

65 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 27 Oct 2011 @ 6:18am

No one gives a flying fuck
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Oct 2011 @ 6:20am

Snore fest.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Oct 2011 @ 6:22am

Snore fest.
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Mr. Oizo, 27 Oct 2011 @ 6:23am

I actually do care about abuse of the legal system. Don't you ?
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Oct 2011 @ 6:24am

From the " This website sucks" Dept.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Oct 2011 @ 6:29am

No I don't. I love people getting hosed. They shouldn't have been a bad person in the first place. Righthaven is awesome.
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AJ (profile), 27 Oct 2011 @ 6:30am

It's kind of sad how these legal predators can build a shell company/corporation to shield them from personal loss, where the average person is held personally responsible for his/her actions.

I hope if this company folds up shop, that the judge goes after the lawyers personally. If the people they are extorting don't get the option of an easy out, neither should they.
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davnel (profile), 27 Oct 2011 @ 6:33am

WHY?
Mike:
I'm repeating what I said in Ars Technica, it still applies:

No, Righthaven won't pay anything to anyone. The only way the defendants will see anything is to have a judge include Stevens Media into the fray and get THEM to pay. Righthaven will be bankrupt by then.

What really frosts me is the fact that the courts have allowed this crap to go on for two years, and have essentially ignored Righthaven's pranks. If you or I went into court and pulled even ONE of their tricks, we'd find ourselves in jail for contempt so fast our heads would spin. Why was this allowed to go on? And why is it being allowed to continue????
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abc gum, 27 Oct 2011 @ 6:41am

Re:
"sad how these legal predators can build a shell company/corporation to shield them from personal loss, where the average person is held personally responsible for his/her actions"

Similar to the privatized profit - socialized debt problem.
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abc gum, 27 Oct 2011 @ 6:42am

Re: WHY?
If corporations are people, why do they not go to jail?
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the orangebox, 27 Oct 2011 @ 6:46am

now if they can get those damn patent trolling lawyers to stop these shit john DOE suits it will be great
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anonymous, 27 Oct 2011 @ 6:51am

Stephens Media, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Denver Post (hope i've got the names right), should be made to pay any monies that Righthaven themselves say they cant pay. after all, they were all in this 'scam' together, weren't they? they were all receiving payments from those that gave in, didn't fight back, weren't they? they cant all declare bankruptcy, surely, which seems to be the direction that Righthaven is going to head, in order to get out of paying for the cases it has lost/will likely lose.
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Anonymous American, 27 Oct 2011 @ 6:53am

Re:
I'll believe Mitt Romney's "Corporations are people" when we can imprison one.
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DannyB (profile), 27 Oct 2011 @ 7:06am

Re:
Yes, I do care about abuse of the legal system. Also abuse of copyright and patents.

I love Righthaven getting hosed.

Righthaven should have been a bad person in the first place.

Righthaven is a boil on the posterior end of humanity.
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DannyB (profile), 27 Oct 2011 @ 7:06am

Re: Re:
s/should/shouldn't/g

Sorry about that. Meant to say:

Righthaven shouldn't have been a bad person in the first place.
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DannyB (profile), 27 Oct 2011 @ 7:08am

Re:
I hope the financial pain comes home to Stephens Media.

After all, they wanted to inflict financial pain on others over the most trivial uses that could be wildly construed to be copyright infringement with no consideration of fair use.
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DannyB (profile), 27 Oct 2011 @ 7:08am

Re: Re:
I'll believe it when corporations can get the death penalty.
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FuzzyDuck, 27 Oct 2011 @ 7:11am

Copyright seizure
Here's an idea, how about seizing the copyrights on whatever righthaven was "protecting", and use that to reimburse the victims.

After-all isn't a person who gives an order to commit a crime equally if not more guilty of that crime? And since corporations are people... this should apply to them too.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Oct 2011 @ 7:14am

Guidance
The judge is just attempting to help Righthaven. It is offering them guidance on future legal battles. Please stop with these smear campaigns.
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Designerfx (profile), 27 Oct 2011 @ 7:27am

Re:
oh high, rightshaven employee! sucks to be you (or a lawyer on their team), doesn't it?

You know, techdirt has these little gravatar things, you might want to look into what they are, as we can see the last 6-8 spam comments you've made in a row(and every comment like it on other articles).
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Oct 2011 @ 7:51am

Re: WHY?
I don't understand why the DOJ doesn't go after them for anti-trust violations and anti-competitive behavior? Why are they going after Google instead?
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Oct 2011 @ 8:17am

Re: Copyright seizure
The big problem with copyright seizure is that most of these copyrights are now worthless. The value of news degrades rapidly as time goes by. So, seizure would not satisfy the judgment.
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davnel (profile), 27 Oct 2011 @ 8:23am

Re:
Ya know, it didn't dawn on me until you mentioned it, but if it can be proven that Stevens or any other organization tied by agreement to Righthaven, actually received money from Righthaven as a consequence of those agreements, they can be legally linked to the suits and made to pay.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Oct 2011 @ 8:26am

Hunt has really lost it. I hope the Ninth Circuit smacks down his shitty reasoning re: standing and here. He needs a bench-slap. Badly.
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davnel (profile), 27 Oct 2011 @ 8:27am

Re: Re: WHY?
The cases are much too small, with too little possible publicity or monetary value. The DOJ will leave these to the State courts, which don't seem to be particularly interested in controlling the likes of Righthaven.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Oct 2011 @ 8:29am

Re: Guidance
This is no laughing matter. Stop marking my previous post funny. I am informing you people of how things are, not making a joke. I'm glad you freetards think this it is a laughing matter.
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davnel (profile), 27 Oct 2011 @ 8:32am

Re: Re: Copyright seizure
And, in point of fact, they had very little value the day after they were published. Only Pullitzer material has any real value after publication, which makes this entire horse opera even more ridiculous.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Oct 2011 @ 8:42am

Re: Re: WHY?
Why are the corporations accomplices not in jail?
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Killercool (profile), 27 Oct 2011 @ 8:48am

Re:
Wow. Considering he based his ruling on a 9th Circuit ruling, I don't see how they can bench-slap him without invalidating their own circuit's stance on similar cases in the future (that is, the rewarding of legal fees to a defendant when the plaintiff's case is ruled as frivolous).
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Oct 2011 @ 8:48am

Re:
Really? Why do you say that? Seems like a perfectly reasonable judgement to me. Remember, be specific.Righthaven was suing people over what was obviously fair use.
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WDS (profile), 27 Oct 2011 @ 8:49am

Covering the bases.
I found it interesting that one of the first things Judge Hunt did was site precedent for the defendant being the prevailing party when the suit is dismissed for lack of standing. If memory serves me correct, this is one of things that Righthaven had tried to use for the basis of appeal in a previous case.
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Killercool (profile), 27 Oct 2011 @ 8:50am

Re:
Also, other courts before Hunt have found that Righthaven has no standing to initiate a lawsuit concerning copyrights that it does not own, as it was decided to be impossible to only transfer rights to sue.
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Killercool (profile), 27 Oct 2011 @ 8:54am

Re: Covering the bases.
California's... either progressive or crazy, when it comes to frivolous lawsuits. It's a regular thing in California for legal fees to be rewarded to the defendant when a case is dismissed as frivolous. But (I believe) it has to be dismissed as frivolous, not just dismissed.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Oct 2011 @ 9:09am

Re:
No more or less than you do for your monumentally poor reasoning skillz.
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me, 27 Oct 2011 @ 9:14am

Re: Guidance
So then righthaven is just really bad at legal matters, and is using the judge, like a mentaly challenged child would use a tutor. Thanks for clearing that up for me.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Oct 2011 @ 9:25am

Re: Re: Guidance
Sort of, but the language you're using takes it to an extreme. They just need guidance to know exactly what the courts are wanting to see. They aren't the kid down the block who has to wear a helmet all the time.
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BW (profile), 27 Oct 2011 @ 9:34am

You mean EXECUTE one. (In FL or TX at least.)
You mean EXECUTE one. (In FL or TX at least.)
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me, 27 Oct 2011 @ 9:42am

Re: Re: Re: Guidance
I think the courts wants to see righthaven pay for it's lost cases, and you the kid down the block who has to wear a helmet all the time.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Oct 2011 @ 9:49am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Guidance
Personal attacks don't bother me no matter how bad your grammar is. You do be dun thinkin' 'bout talking about you me then? You've proven your point about how retarded I must be. Good job!

With people like this supporting the Freetard movement, how can it fail?
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DogBreath, 27 Oct 2011 @ 9:59am

Righthaven should known by now this was coming ...
I mean the banjo music playing in the courts they appear in, would be a dead giveaway for most people.
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DogBreath, 27 Oct 2011 @ 10:01am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Guidance
With people like this supporting the Freetard movement, how can it fail?

Hire Righthaven!
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Oct 2011 @ 10:51am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Guidance
You have done a great job showing how retarded you are on your own, bur I am glad I helped you truly express it. Your welcome:)
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dwg, 27 Oct 2011 @ 11:12am

Re:
Hallo, Mr. Gibson. And welcome to the discussion.
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dwg, 27 Oct 2011 @ 11:14am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Guidance
Dude, this is so perfect: it shows up as you arguing with your shadow. Which is about right. Guidance? I'd love to see you across the counsel table from me if I were a judge. I'd give you guidance, friend.
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dwg, 27 Oct 2011 @ 11:16am

Re: Re:
The problem, ultimately, was knowingly "failing" to provide information that would have led to a finding that Righthaven had no standing in the first place, based on its lack of ownership of the copyrights in question.
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dwg, 27 Oct 2011 @ 11:19am

Re: Re: Guidance
Thanks for the information. Fine: I'm not laughing. It's sad how utterly wrong your information is--and you know it, if you've read any of the opinions and underlying caselaw. I'm pretty sure that (1) you have, and you're a sad shill, holed up in a SRO motel because of this shitstorm; or (2) you haven't, and therefore should.

Please: do not even attempt to claim that you're educating anyone. At the very best, you're incorrect. And I'm going to stick my neck out and guess that your motives are not what you claim, and that you're simply lying. Liar.
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dwg, 27 Oct 2011 @ 11:20am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Guidance
Nice spelling, grammarian. Fail x 2, even in form, let alone function.
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dwg, 27 Oct 2011 @ 11:22am

Re:
Again, great grammar: plural/singular fail.
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dwg, 27 Oct 2011 @ 11:24am

Re: Re: Guidance
You know there's a duty of competence among lawyers, right? And you know that "using the judge" doesn't really qualify, right again?
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Oct 2011 @ 11:37am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Guidance
Check the snowflakes. They're slightly different.
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hmm (profile), 27 Oct 2011 @ 12:47pm

Re: WHY?
Because the judges have allowed Stephens media to dig a hole for itself so deep that you can hear propaganda for the red army?

Stephens Media is pretty much doomed (as clearly shown by its shareholders trying to jump ship and offload as much of their assets as possible)
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dwg, 27 Oct 2011 @ 1:29pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Guidance
Please respond to my "duty of competence" post. The crickets are deafening, snowflake.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Oct 2011 @ 2:24pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Guidance
Even if I did, how would you know it was me responding? You can't tell the difference between the ill-educated, grammar murdering buffoon above and what I post.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Oct 2011 @ 2:45pm

Re: Re: Re: Guidance
I doubt you could guess my motives, friend. I can tell by the tone of your post that you haven't managed to guess them yet.
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dwg, 27 Oct 2011 @ 3:46pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Guidance
On this you're right. That's fixed now. I know which one needing guidance you are. Now please answer the question. I'll recognize you.
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dwg, 27 Oct 2011 @ 3:49pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Guidance
Well, then? Now that I know you're the more-educated of the two snowflakes, let's hear it. No use hiding the ball, professor--my imagination will be worse than what you tell me, no doubt.

Or are you under a gag order? That WOULD be telling.
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dwg, 27 Oct 2011 @ 3:55pm

Re: Re: Re: Guidance
Hey, friend: do you know when a defendant gets attorney's fees and costs in a copyright infringement action? When a suit is frivolous is when. And so, how many court findings of frivolous litigation by the same plaintiff, on the same facts = guidance, and how many = proof of wrongdoing by that plaintiff?

I've never heard the legal standard for this, but I sure want to hear it now. With citations, please. It sounds to me like you must have one.
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Anonymous Coward, 28 Oct 2011 @ 5:36am

Re: Re: Re: Guidance
I know that you were too stupid to be able to tell the difference between snowflakes earlier. Why would I think you knew anything about the law?
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dwg, 28 Oct 2011 @ 9:49am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Guidance
That's hysterical. So is your dodge. Pathetic--I would've loved for you to try to actually back up a single thing you said. I mean, you know, if this is actually the same guy with a different snowflake for a new day and all.

And you have the audacity to judge others' understanding of this matter? You're just a talking head--no substance behind a single one of your assertions. Either answer me or admit you're wrong.
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Anonymous Coward, 28 Oct 2011 @ 12:03pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Guidance
Either answer me or admit you're wrong.

Why? I don't know you and I don't owe you anything, unless you think I borrowed $5 from you at some point and never paid you back. Put on your big girl panties and realize that I'm not here for your amusement, enjoyment, nor am I here specifically to answer any of your questions no matter how much you froth at the mouth and demand things.

I'll tell you what. Admit that you've been trolled, you fell for it, and that you're dumber than whatever excreta has leaked into your underpants since you were concentrating harder on posting than keeping your bodily functions in order or go cry in a corner. Those are your choices. Pull your panties out of your butt and learn that some people just enjoy pissing in your Cheerios. Try to be less of an inbred moron.

There should be a duty of competence among posters, and it shouldn't be up to trolls to tell you when to just give it up because you're being purposefully led to look like a mouth frothing moron. Looks like you need some guidance as well.
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dwg, 28 Oct 2011 @ 2:30pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Guidance
That's what I figured. Except that when you started in with your "guidance" spiel, you gave away that you were actually trying to weigh in on the topic. And so, no, you're not trolling: you're failing. Good try tho: I always love the "Just kidding!" defense to complete know-nothingness. Keep it up.
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Oct 2011 @ 4:11pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Guidance
There was no weigh in. There was nothing of substance. I love being a troll. The original post was a callback to the following article:

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110624/02490614837/righthaven-ceo-judges-are-really-j ust-giving-guidance-to-righthaven-competitors.shtml

If you're too stupid to see that at this point, you're beyond help. It's a good thing I don't give a crap about these rulings one way or another. If there were something I truly wanted, I'd kindly ask you to be on the other side of the debate.....

P.S. I go up for a raise soon. Can you please go convince my boss why I don't deserve one?
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dwg, 31 Oct 2011 @ 4:15pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Guidance
Don't worry about a thing, huckleberry. You'll do just fine without me.
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Johnny Shade (profile), 31 Oct 2011 @ 7:33pm

Re: Guidance
I REALLY hope that you are being sarcastic. If you are not, please see about geeting a Darwin Award ASAP
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Johnny Shade (profile), 31 Oct 2011 @ 7:39pm

Re: Re: Guidance
My apologies. I did go back and read http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110624/02490614837/righthaven-ceo-judges-are-really-j ust-giving-guidance-to-righthaven-competitors.shtml

OMG, I would have paid money to have been there
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