Posted on 07/24/2010 3:47:09 PM PDT by EveningStar
We've written a couple of times about RightHaven, the new operation set up by the publisher of the Las Vegas Journal Review to shakedown any site that reposts its stories. There were some oddities in the way RightHaven was acting, starting with the fact that it gives no warning to sites and doesn't send a DMCA takedown. It goes straight to suing... and then quickly demands a settlement fee.
(Excerpt) Read more at techdirt.com ...
According to an article at Wired - which can’t be posted here - the LVJR is just their first client. They hope to add more.
Worms.
That’s an insult to worms. This is unethical - or it should be.
One point that should be posted here:
LVJR puts “share this story” links on all their pages. They’re asking their readers to share their content all over the web.
IOW, they’re legally entrapping their readers. Or attempting to, anyhow.
Heard that one of the Journolisters is working for wired now.
Simple solution LVJR is non-existent.
Some of the lefty sites are also complaining.
Left, right, moderate, UFO Whacko site and everything and every blogger had better make common cause because the elite want the final word and it won’t be anything but their own propaganda.
The best way to deal with something like this is to let the advertisers know that you can’t support a business who supports the paper in question.
Gibson is running an extortion scheme. He expects defendants to settle rather than go to court. Several have already done so. What remains to be seen is whether someone will dare to stand up to him, show him up for what he is, and send him on the way to disbarment.
The copyright laws need to be changed to protect the free exchange of ideas from predatory parasites like this while still respecting the legitimate interests of copyright holders.
Smells Like SCO Spirit
“Gibson is running an extortion scheme. He expects defendants to settle rather than go to court.”
A couple years ago some California law firms got into trouble with the California Bar Association for doing this type of thing to small businesses like repair shops, cleaners, and such. They used a fill-in-the-blank generic complaint to allege some real but arcane law violation and offered to drop the suit for a payoff which was about what a defense lawyer would charge merely for the initial retainer. It seems the idea is catching on. Gibson even dispenses with the need for a plaintiff by purchasing the copyright himself so he is the plaintiff and attorney. He, and others, will continue to do this until someone fights back. At least if the California experience is any guide.
This is the same outfit that is threatening to sue FR, The Armed Citizen and some others.
The California criminals were disbarred, as Gibson should be. However, the legal profession is remarkably tolerant of this sort of behavior. Professional courtesy.
I know those firms were put out of business, and I know the bar professions do ignore this as long as possible. It’s a sad commentary of our “professionals”.
These sleazebags at Righthaven are demanding the FreeRepublic.com domain as part of lawsuit. Unreal!
They are web extortionists. Nothing else.
They are not threatening to sue FR. They have done so.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2555968/posts
This is a very serious threat, because Gibson and his crowd are completely without any moral scruples.
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