Righthaven's Copyright Case Quickly Dispatched by 9th Circuit
Righthaven's Copyright Case Quickly Dispatched by 9th Circuit
(CN) - Calling yourself a copyright owner doesn't make it so, the 9th Circuit ruled Thursday, making quick work of the controversial copyright enforcer Righthaven.
The federal appeals court in Pasadena affirmed the Las Vegas District Court's dismissal of two copyright infringement lawsuits that Righthaven filed under an agreement with Stephens Media, owner of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The ruling could doom hundreds more actions filed in recent years by Righthaven, a company founded by attorney Steven Gibson in 2010 that has become a favorite enemy of fair-use advocates.
The key issue in the case was whether a Strategic Alliance Agreement
(SAA) with Stephens Media actually gave Righthaven ownership of any copyrights. Without that, the company has no standing to sue any alleged infringers.
Typical of the Righthaven's other actions, the present cases involve Wayne Hoehn, who pasted a Review-Journal article into the comments section of MadJackSports.com, and former Assistant U.S. Attonrey Thomas DiBiase, who included an article about a "no body" murder case in his blog dedicated to that subject.
http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/05/09/57498.htm