News & Media
Righthaven on the small screen
By J. DeVoy I recently caught up with a college friend who does not work in law, who asked me about Righthaven since he had read several articles linked on this blog and on my facebook account. I explained the status of the approximately 18-month litigation campaign. After a few moments of confused silence, he told me it would be much easier to understand as a documentary or made-for-television movie. So what format would make the Righthaven story comprehensible? Documentary Pros: Designed to present information, and people engage one with a longer attention span. Documentaries have been used to tackle
Brazil denies reality, considers banning racy lingerie ad
By J. DeVoy It has not been a good week at Tom Brady’s house. First the Patriots lost to the Buffalo Bills, perennial failures and four-time consecutive Super Bowl losers, and now Brady’s better half, Gisele Bundchen, might have her ad for an intimate apparel company banned in Brazil. Sure, she probably got paid already, but it doesn’t auger well for repeat business. Naturally, feminists are to blame. Brazil’s Ministry for Women called Wednesday for the suspension of a television ad featuring lingerie-clad supermodel Gisele Bundchen, saying it reinforces the stereotype of women as sex objects. (source.) On one hand, the Latin
Give it a rest already – Myths and Facts about mass copyright litigation
by Vaughn Greenwalt The latest criticism of mass-copyright litigation follows the same mantra of previously-pissed patrons: “I know I stole your porn but I’ll be embarrassed if anyone finds out so you can’t sue me!” Cut the crap already, “shame” is not a legal defense. Lets play fact or fiction with the latest misleading article which was, oddly enough, endorsed by the EFF: 1. FACT: “The lawsuits name ‘Doe’ defendants until they can unearth the true identities of those accused of downloading porn through their Internet providers.” Naming Doe defendants is the only way to bring suit against thieves who
Righthaven loses in Colorado
By J. DeVoy Yesterday, the District of Colorado dismissed Righthaven LLC’s copyright infringement lawsuit against Leland Wolf and the It Makes Sense Blog in Righthaven LLC v. Wolf et al., Case Number 1:11-cv-00830. The Wolf case was the only active matter in Righthaven’s 57 cases filed in the District of Colorado, as the more than 35 cases that were ongoing when Wolf moved to dismiss Righthaven’s lawsuit were stayed pending the outcome in Wolf. (The approximately 25 other suits presumably settled.) Leland Wolf and the It Makes Sense Blog were represented by Randazza Legal Group and Contiguglia / Fazzone P.C.
The best parodies / derivative uses always involve muppets
By J. DeVoy This is the trailer for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. It was a popular book, so naturally I neither read nor cared about it. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame scored the movie, which includes a cover of Led Zepplin’s Immigrant Song, performed with Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVLvMg62RPA&w=560&h=315] Never to be outdone, Disney promoted its Thanksgiving offering, The Muppets, with an advertisement spoofing The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’s, titling it “The Pig With The Froggy Tattoo.” [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHqLcEtt368&w=560&h=315] Perhaps internet memes and user-generated content have come full circle to
Two chicks making out…
…is apparently not allowed on Southwest Airlines. (Source) It is allowed, and encouraged, on The Legal Satyricon. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6bpOd0Qn_0]
S.C. Public School Invites Christian Rapper to Perform
I understand why people want the government and the public schools to back up their religion. Here you have a bastardization of a 2000 years old cult. It is based upon lies, fairy tales, and superstition. How else are you going to perpetuate this set of beliefs without brainwashing impressionable young kids with it, or getting the government to stamp its seal of approval on it? If christianity is such a good idea, it ought to sell itself without this blatantly unconstitutional foolishness. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVaMjeTaNDM] H/T Death and Taxes
University Pig Decides She Will Not Tolerate a Challenge to her Authoritah
A professor at University of Wiconsin – Stout, put up a poster from the sci fi series, Firefly. The poster had some macho shit on it about where and when the character would kill one of his enemies. Some worthless fuckhead in the school’s administration (Lisa Walter, the chief of police) lost her shit, and hadthe cops come tear down the poster. Miller was contacted by Lisa Walter, the chief of police/director of parking services, and informed that “it is unacceptable to have postings such as this that refer to killing.” She also warned the astounded professor that any future
Student Suspended for Saying Homosexuality is Wrong
A Texas teenager expressed his opinion that, since he is a “christian,” he believes that homosexuality is wrong. Makes sense. This magic space zombie jew created heaven and earth, but the thing that really makes him mad is if two guys’ dicks touch. His teacher wrote him up for expressing his opinion, and the school suspended him. I’m all for giving the kid a smackdown, but like his speech or not, it was his First Amendment right to express his opinion. As long as he wasn’t being disruptive in class (and nothing in the story indicates that he was), then
The Saudis broke my irony meter
The Canadians have a TV ad that touts Canada’s “ethical oil.” This is in contrast to Middle Eastern oil, which comes from dirty piece of shit regimes run by lowlives who hang out with the Bush family. The Saudis are apparently threatening legal action, because they don’t want the Canadians reminding people of what Saudi Arabia really stands for. (source) In other news, my irony meter just exploded.
That's why we can't have nice things….
The City of Escondido, California, had to pay $20,000 to settle a First Amendment claim. The Center for Social Advocacy (CSA) used to have a contract with the city worth about $26,000 a year to provide fair housing services to Escondido. The organization published an opinion piece in its newsletter criticizing the city, so the city cancelled the contract. The op-ed piece, written by Bill Flores, the then director of administration for El Grupo, a consortium of Latino rights groups, begins: “The City of Escondido has earned the dubious reputation of being one of the most bigoted and racist cities
I.P. Links Loot and Righthaven Roundup
So apparently we are sick of China stealing our intellectual property. (source) Human rights abuses, meh, not our problem. You think you know from Intellectual Property? Bah. Beth Hutchens pwns you. (source) This guy could learn a bit from Hutchens. He thinks that he has a new business model of registering a common phrase and then demanding money from people who use it. (source) Patent system out of control? Evidence needed? Patent on making a snowman. Booyah. (source) And if you missed the recent round of Righthaven Follies: Copyright Troll’s Assets Targeted for Seizure, Wired. Defense attorneys say Righthaven missed
Email to an asshat about a free speech issue
I’m on a few list servs. I won’t say which one this originated on. But, lets just jump to what I said: 11 muslim students stood up to heckle the Israeli ambassador. Orange county prosecutor charged them with disrupting an event. While they may not have a right to disrupt the speech without being dragged out of the place, a criminal conviction for political speech is bullshit. And if it had been 11 Yeshiva students disrupting a speech by a Palestinian, they’d get the medal of freedom. I agree with all the nice things that have been said about Chemerinsky
Shame in Irvine
Muslim students hating on Israel. No big story there. Eleven Muslim students decided to, one by one, stand up and interrupt the Israeli ambassador as he gave a speech at UC Irvine. The police escorted them out of the room for being disruptive. No big deal. Then, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas filed criminal misdemeanor charges against them for “disturbing a public meeting” and “conspiracy to disrupt a public meeting.” “In our democratic society, we cannot tolerate a deliberate, organized, repetitive and collective effort to significantly disrupt a speaker, whom hundreds assembled to hear,” Rackauckas said in a statement.
By the time I get to Arizona….
Tucson Mayor, Bob Walkup, decided that when citizens petition the Tucson Mayor, they must do so “with respect,” or they should be silenced. Who decides what is “respectful?” Mayor Walkup, of course. Tucson resident Roy Warden apparently crossed that line. (source) Now he plans to sue the City for violating his First Amendment rights. The Tucson City Attorney reportedly told the Mayor that the policy was permissible under the First Amendment. Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik doesn’t seem convinced. “I have asked Mike Rankin the city attorney to justify to us the language that we have– that it is not
Judge Kane to Rule by Next Week in Righthaven Case
Law Week Colorado covers the Colorado copyright case Righthaven LLC v. Wolf, where Righthaven sued Florida blogger Leland Wolf for copyright infringement. At the heart of the lawsuit is Righthaven’s right to sue over alleged infringement occurring on websites owned by defendants in its many lawsuits. Randazza Legal Group represented Wolf in the litigation, and attorney J. Malcolm DeVoy argued for dismissal of Righthaven’s case in a September 20, 2011 hearing: Wolf’s attorneys, including J. Malcolm DeVoy of Las Vegas’ Randazza Legal Group…argued that the Copyright Alliance Agreement only gave Righthaven exclusive rights to sue, not exclusive ownership — something
The Difference Between a Bad Domain Lawyer and a Good One
DomainGang.com reports on Marc Randazza’s participation as Plaintiff’s counsel in a reverse domain name hijacking case over the domain name <airfx.com>. The article discusses the importance of having counsel experienced in domain issues and litigation. From the original post: Compare the two documents and make your own judgement. You can also see that if your domain gets hijacked, the quality of representation varies as much as the quality of anything else. (emphasis in original.) In addition to reverse domain name hijacking, the article analyzes the importance of mutual jurisdiction clauses in UDRP Complaints.
Lawyer wants U.S. Marshals to Seize Copyright Troll's Bank Account
Ars Technica describes Randazza Legal Group’s efforts to recover Wayne Hoehn’s judgment of $34,045.50 from Righthaven LLC, the Las Vegas copyright enforcer. Righthaven sought a stay from enforcing Hoehn’s judgment, which it did not receive by the date the Court ordered it due. Hoehn’s attorneys, Marc Randazza and J. Malcolm DeVoy, moved to put Righthaven in contempt of court, and for a writ of execution to seize Righthaven’s assets, in response to the missed deadline. Ars reports on what Randazza Legal Group sought from the court in its motion for a writ of execution: “The Court is entitled to authorize
Copyright Troll's Assets Targeted for Seizure
Wired.com reports on Wayne Hoehn’s effort to fulfill his judgment of $34,045.50 against Las Vegas copyright enforcer Righthaven LLC, which originally sued Hoehn for copyright infringement. Represented by Randazza legal Group, Hoehn moved the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada to issue a writ of execution securing Righthaven’s assets to be seized by U.S. Marshals in satisfaction of his judgment. Wired quotes Randazza in explaining the reason for Hoehn’s motion: [T]he company has made “no effort whatsoever” to pay up. Wayne Hoehn was a defendant in one of Righthaven’s 275 lawsuits, which was dismissed when the District of
Righthaven Fails to Pay Attorneys Fees Ordered by the Court, Court Asked to Declare Righthaven in Contempt
Techdirt covers Randazza Legal Group’s recent motions in Righthaven LLC v. Hoehn, where Righthaven moved the court to stay Wayne Hoehn’s enforcement of his $34,045.50 judgment against Righthaven. The Court had not ruled on the stay on the day it ordered Righthaven to pay Hoehn, causing Randazza Legal Group attorneys Marc Randazza and J. Malcolm DeVoy to move the Court for an order to show cause as to why Righthaven was not in contempt, and for a writ of execution seeking control of Righthaven’s assets. Read more…