I bet that’s news to Jimrob, who’s posted more than once saying he’s cheerfully complied with many previous DMCA requests.
DMCA required the posting of a statement acknowledging a desire to comply with DMCA rules which included an agent of service. This was not done by FR until a couple weeks ago. Righthaven is suing websites that didn't comply with these requirements.
If Jim is lucky he'll get out of this being tapped for only 10k-20k, which of course the donors will easily ante up for during the next FAT. The danger is if they ask for more, Jim draws a line in the sand and they decide to go after the individual posters of the copyright work...which is an option for them. At that time Jim will have to make a decision to fight the lawsuit, which he will lose, or give up all the information he has on those posters so Righthaven can sue them personally. Rightahevn has shown they don't care who or what the target is (they're suing Democrat Underground and the Democratic Party of Nevada) they just want that 3k-10k they can get out each of them.
The problem is FR is not like most of the other small websites they have already settled with. It's one of the largest political websites in the country and has significant value. Jim may try to tie the value based on what he collects on donations, but any smart lawyer will know income generation doesn't necessarily relate to intrinsic value.
It's like someone who has owned a piece of property that has significantly increased in value but still charges a meager rent to a tenant. It's not the rent, it's the underlying value.
And that is Jim's problem with this lawsuit. Rightahven may decide to get a quick touch and go off him which would be Jim's best case scenario, but if they figure FR is worth much more than the donations Jim receives they may decide to go for the big payout. And you can believe after all these miniscule settlements they're looking for a payday off some website.