Team Prenda Tries To Flip The Story Of John Steele's Mother-in-Law To Make Alan Cooper Look Bad

from the also:-eff-is-pure-evil dept

Mon, Oct 7th 2013 11:56pm — Mike Masnick

When we last left Team Prenda, they were dealing with the fallout from the Perry Mason-like moment in court in which Alan Cooper -- who has accused Prenda's John Steele of forging his name/identity on multiple occasions -- revealed that he first found out about his signature on copyright assignment documents from John Steele's mother-in-law, Kim Eckenrode. In response, the best that John Steele and Paul Hansmeier could say in response was (1) she's "religious" and (2) she spends a lot of time reading the popular anti-troll websites DieTrollDie and FightCopyrightTrolls. Late last week, Hansmeier filed a declaration from Eckenrode along with a memorandum that tries to support Team Prenda's position and to (once again) attack Alan Cooper's credibility. Unfortunately, as with so many Prenda filings, once you get past the surface story, everything else falls apart. Quickly.

First off, they claim that Cooper has been trying to hide the involvement of Eckenrode, because this would somehow undermine Cooper's argument:

There is a very simple reason why Mr. Cooper, his financial benefactors at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and his putative attorney, Paul Godfread, fought to avoid revealing Ms. Eckenrode’s identity. They knew that the moment Mr. Cooper revealed Ms. Eckenrode’s identity, Ms. Eckenrode would be contacted by Plaintiff to learn her side of the story.

Well, yes. But, uh, considering that Eckenrode is Steele's mother-in-law and supposedly reads all those sites, um, then wouldn't she have mentioned to Steele at some earlier point how she had texted Cooper about his signature? In all that time, she never brought it up? Really? That seems difficult to believe.

Either way, the filing suggests that Eckenrode's affidavit undermines Cooper's claims, but that doesn't appear to be true. In it, she claims that she didn't just text Cooper out of the blue, but rather she had seen a mention of Cooper on one of the sites (DTD or FCT, though she doesn't specify which...) and had told her own husband about it. Sooner after, Cooper had called her husband to discuss having shot a deer (they apparently spoke a few times about hunting). The husband mentioned Ms. Eckenrode's comments to Cooper, who asked to be sent the articles:

On or about November 15, 2012 Alan called and spoke to my husband about a deer he had shot on John's property the week before. My husband told Alan that I read a recent article in one of the above-mentioned websites and noticed that the name Alan Cooper was used in conjunction with a company called AF Holdings. Alan asked me to send what I had seen on those websites to him, and I did.

That still doesn't change the fact that this is how Cooper first found out about the documents where his signature appears to have been forged (and which courts have ruled were forged). And, in fact, later in the affidavit, Cooper appears to respond to Eckenrode to say that it's "not my signature."

On September 30, 2013, I learned that Alan had testified before the Honorable Judge Noel in Minnesota that I had sent Alan a text for the purpose of notifying Alan that his name was being used in connection with adult content companies. This is not accurate. I sent the text to notify Alan that I had discovered a document online signed 'Alan Cooper', and to ask if he thought it could possibly be the one he had discussed with my husband when we were in Minnesota. Alan indicated "That's me" and "not my signature."

That still doesn't seem to contradict the story, so I'm not entirely clear why Hansmeier appears to be doing some sort of victory dance about how this changes everything. Again, it's difficult to believe that nowhere in the past year since Cooper first went public with this that Eckenrode never bothered to mention this exchange to Steele if Cooper was supposedly completely misrepresenting things. Also, in the memorandum, Hansmeier claims that Cooper confirmed that the documents were the ones he had discussed in the past. But that's not what Eckenrode's affidavit says. It says he said "that's me" and "not my signature." By which he could certainly mean that it's obviously "him" that is supposedly signing the documents, but it wasn't his signature. In short: it would support his story. He recognizes that someone at Prenda is trying to use his identity (hence: "that's me") to forge his signature ("not my signature"). Yet in the filing, Hansmeier instead claims that "The purpose of the text message was to ask Mr. Cooper if the documents referenced on the blogs were the ones he had referenced in Minnesota. Mr. Cooper confirmed that they were." Except it's not clear he really did that.

There are some other oddities in the story as well. For example, last week in court, Steele apparently almost broke down on the stand claiming that he got out of the trolling business after seeing an image of his home, his child and a gun, with people asking what kind of bullets to use to kill Steele. That claim raised significant skepticism from multiple observers of Team Prenda's actions, because no one can recall ever seeing anything even remotely like that on a site. Eckenrode, however, claims a similar thing -- again without a single specific:

On one occasion, I saw an article on one of the above websites showing pictures of the home where John and his family lived. This was very disturbing to me. I asked the people running the website to please take that information off their website because I was afraid for my family's safety. On another occasion, the websites had posted 3 picture of my daughter and had posts slandering her. I was disturbed and hurt by the disrespect shown my family and communicated such. I also asked that to be removed.

Why would she not name the sites in question? I'm not saying this didn't happen, because it very well might have. But, it does seem odd that neither Steele nor his mother-in-law seem to state what site this actually happened on. And, if Eckenrode asked for the image to be removed, then there should be a record of that somewhere.

Also, as in the past, Team Prenda likes to claim that anti-troll blogs are "pro-piracy," which is just silly. Oh yeah, and calling Cooper's lawyer, Paul Godfread, his "putative" attorney is just really childish.

And then there's the usual ridiculous attack on the EFF, again falsely claiming that they were Cooper's "financial benefactors" merely because EFF paid for Cooper's trip to court when Judge Wright ordered him to be there. And then going off on this little anti-EFF rant:

The overriding mission of the EFF has been to shield the Internet from effective regulation--"defending it from the intrusion of territorial government." Jack L. Goldsmith & Tim Wu, Who Controls the Internet?: Illusions of a Borderless World .... This mission is radical, quasi-anarchist, and intrinsically opposed to any effective enforcement of intellectual property rights. Purporting to speak on behalf of "Cyberspace," a co-founder of the EFF (who presently serves on its Board of Directors) has warned the "Governments of the Industrial World" that "[y]our legal concepts of property, expression, identity, movement, and context do not apply to us." John Perry Barlow, A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace

Quoting John Perry Barlow out of context may seem like fun, but it really just makes you look confused and silly. Also, misrepresenting EFF and trying to smear them with claims like "quasi-anarchist" may win points in certain circles, but one expects judges to see through that kind of baseless confused rhetoric. If anything, it just highlights the lack of real arguments from Hansmeier and Team Prenda. EFF is pretty well respected on these issues -- even among those who disagree with them. Launching an insult barrage against the organization only raises more questions about those raising such silly claims.

Gov Uscourts Mnd 126519 54 0 (PDF)Gov Uscourts Mnd 126519 54 0 (Text)

Gov Uscourts Mnd 126519 56 1 (PDF)Gov Uscourts Mnd 126519 56 1 (Text)

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Filed Under: alan cooper, franklin noel, john steele, kim eckenrode, paul godfried, paul hansmeier

29 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 8 Oct 2013 @ 12:12am

I love it when the EFF are likened to anarchists. Which is the exact opposite of what the EFF are against.
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apauld (profile), 8 Oct 2013 @ 12:30am

the most disturbing thing about these recent developments is learning that another one of these clowns is breeding
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Rikuo (profile), 8 Oct 2013 @ 2:07am

Can't the EFF sue for slander?
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PRK (profile), 8 Oct 2013 @ 2:15am

Bets on Signature authenticity?
Anyone taking bets that Eckenrode did not sign the declaration?
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Michael, 8 Oct 2013 @ 3:07am

On one occasion, I saw an article on one of the above websites showing pictures of the home where John and his family lived. This was very disturbing to me. I asked the people running the website to please take that information off their website because I was afraid for my family's safety.

Really? They found an impage like this on a website and TEAM PRENDA simply asked nicely that the image be removed? Prenda? The guys that sue for EVERYTHING no mater how horrible their case is?

I send out this message to the entire internet community. If you received a pleasent "Can you remove this, please?" from any Prenda lawyer, please let the rest of us know. In fact, start an ebay auction for it - it has to be one-of-a-kind.
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miatajim (profile), 8 Oct 2013 @ 3:28am

"On one occasion, I saw an article on one of the above websites showing pictures of the home where John and his family lived. This was very disturbing to me. I asked the people running the website to please take that information off their website because I was afraid for my family's safety."

Google maps???
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gyffes, 8 Oct 2013 @ 4:33am

awww
They're not even TRYING. This case has lost its luster: they're so intellectually vacant they can't even raise amusing points, anymore.

*sadly puts away the popcorn*
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JustMe (profile), 8 Oct 2013 @ 4:33am

Re: A/C comment from 12:12am
OK wait a second. You are saying that anarchists are the exact opposite of something that the EFF is against. The exact opposite of an anarchist is someone who is lawful and good (or lawful good, for RPG fans). This means the EFF is against lawful and good people? I knew it!

Team Prenda was right all along. We should elect them as Knower Of All Stuffs and Bringer Of Truthiness.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Oct 2013 @ 4:49am

Re:
My guess is that by "ask" they mean sent "vaguely-worded threat letter that includes an estimation of damages set at just below the cost of effective litigation."
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Oct 2013 @ 5:00am

Re: Re: A/C comment from 12:12am
I've always thought of anarchists as Chaotic Good.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Oct 2013 @ 5:05am

So, did they ever find Lutz?
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saulgoode (profile), 8 Oct 2013 @ 5:05am

Quoting John Perry Barlow out of context may seem like fun, but it really just makes you look confused and silly.
Especially considering that the cited quotation was part of Mr Barlow's response to Congress' enactment of the "Computer Decency Act", which was quickly ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
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JustMe (profile), 8 Oct 2013 @ 5:07am

Definition of anarchy
Fair enough, although I doubt that most anarchists are looking out for the overall good of society. They mostly seem to be in it for themselves.

an�ar�chy ˈanərkē/
noun: anarchy
1. a state of disorder due to absence or nonrecognition of authority.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Oct 2013 @ 6:20am

I love Prenda they're doing more to show just how fucked up copyright is than any pirate ever could dream of.

For that I say thank you so much!
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simality (profile), 8 Oct 2013 @ 6:21am

Re: Bets on Signature authenticity?
It seems unlikely that they would post such a empty affidavit with a forged signature. If they were in the mood to forge her signature I would expect this affidavit to line up more closely with the realtor's affidavit (i.e. "Cooper's a crazy man off his meds, and yes I did text him but I never said anything about his signature being forged," yada yada yada).
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Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 8 Oct 2013 @ 6:42am

Re: Bets on Signature authenticity?
I'm sure she signed it, but it sure reads like she was coached through writing it.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Oct 2013 @ 6:49am

Re: Re: Re: A/C comment from 12:12am
Not necessarily. They are against hierarchy, not against order.
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Raul, 8 Oct 2013 @ 7:06am

Strange that the notorization date is left blank: October__2013.
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PRMan, 8 Oct 2013 @ 8:38am

Re: Re: Re: A/C comment from 12:12am
The best anarchists are Chaotic Good. The worst are Chaotic Evil. But they are all Chaotic.
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art guerrilla (profile), 8 Oct 2013 @ 8:58am

Re: Re: A/C comment from 12:12am
please disabuse yourself of the notion that 'anarchists' are 'bad' people who want to run around looting and killing everyone...
you -as many are- have been successfully brainwashed about both the term's technical meaning, as well as the his story of anarchism in general...
using 'anarchy' as a word meaning 'chaos', violence, etc, is wrong...

art guerrilla
aka ann archy
oef
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Oct 2013 @ 9:04am

Re: Re: Re: A/C comment from 12:12am
I was trying (and apparently failing) to be funny, but the serious kernel underneath was that they're Chaotic Good as opposed to Chaotic Evil (since the previous post said that Lawful Good was the opposite of an anarchist).
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Arthur Moore (profile), 8 Oct 2013 @ 9:21am

Re: Re: Bets on Signature authenticity?
I'm wondering if team Prenda slipped some things in the document after she signed it.

Reading the actual document, all it says is she notified Cooper, hat she has no basis to believe that Steele owned the company, and that she has no proof of anything.

The picture of the house is sort of out there in left field. It has nothing to do with any of the other statements.
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jackn, 8 Oct 2013 @ 10:32am

Everyone agrees, she texted him.

Unfortunatly, it does not affect the forged document. It is still forged. Team prenda should look for an excuse that shows cooper actually signed the doc. Otherwise, its just noise.
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mcinsand, 8 Oct 2013 @ 12:12pm

we could use (at least one) change to copyright law
Okay, so we need well over one change, but it would be nice to have a specific amendment to cover cases like this. Basically, if the assignor's signature is valid but the assignee's signature is not, then the work in question goes into the public domain. Owners would be free to transfer copyrights, but, among other key duties of a copyright holder, trolls like Prenda would lose any rights if those copyrights were obtained under fraudulent circumstances.
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That One Guy (profile), 8 Oct 2013 @ 1:55pm

Re:
It was the mother-in-law that was doing the asking, not anyone at Prenda.
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Peter Henry, 8 Oct 2013 @ 3:18pm

Re: Google Maps
Then there's always Ms. Streisand, who wished her residence off of the internet. That worked out pretty well.
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 8 Oct 2013 @ 5:46pm

Re:
And funny... No one in the community claims to have ever seen anything like what was 'tearfully' described.

I guess printing a message from your sent mail folder is to difficult to support claims made by people who have an apparent issue with the truth and reality.
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MTwinfan, 9 Oct 2013 @ 8:26pm

Lock em up
This saga has made for TV movie written all over it! Never seen a bunch of more corrupt lawyers that haven't been disbarred yet? I'm sure that it won't be long though. Can you believe that Steele even opened up a family law firm in Chicago, I wonder how much illegal stuff he's done? Sure if seine starts digging they'll find a ton of stuff. The guy he used to intimidate/ serve people he was suing got busted for selling coke to down state judges ( one of which overdosed) where steele had been filing cases!
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DDS1975, 16 Oct 2013 @ 1:00pm

What's going on with the case?
I'm wondering when these " lawyers" are going to get disbarred?
They're refusing to pay all the fines so I'm sure that they're in contempt? I wonder how many civil suits have filed by the people they pretty much extorted?
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