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Las Vegas copyright infringement lawsuit filer Righthaven LLC’s financial problems grew Tuesday when the federal court in Las Vegas commanded the U.S. Marshals Service to seize more than $63,000 in Righthaven assets to satisfy a creditor’s judgment and costs. Lance Wilson, clerk of the court, signed a writ of execution requested by attorneys for Wayne Hoehn, who was sued for copyright infringement by Righthaven — but then defeated Righthaven in court when his case was dismissed this summer. Righthaven since March 2010 has filed 275 lawsuits against websites, bloggers and message board posters claiming they infringed on material from the...

In a familiar pattern, Las Vegas copyright lawsuit filer Righthaven LLC missed deadlines in two of its lawsuits Friday, prompting a creditor in one of the suits Saturday to again ask that U.S. Marshals seize its assets. In the first case, Righthaven had until Friday to either pay prevailing defendant Wayne Hoehn’s $34,045 in legal fees or post a bond guaranteeing payment. It did neither, prompting Hoehn’s attorneys at Randazza Legal Group in Las Vegas to ask U.S. District Court Judge Philip Pro to issue a writ of execution for Hoehn’s judgment. The proposed writ requires the Marshals Service to...

Newspaper copyright infringement lawsuit filer Righthaven LLC of Las Vegas was hit Wednesday with an order to pay $119,488 in attorney's fees and costs in its failed lawsuit against former federal prosecutor Thomas DiBiase. This was by far the largest fee award against Righthaven, but likely will be dwarfed by an upcoming award in Righthaven's failed suit against the Democratic Underground. Before Wednesday the largest fee award against Righthaven was for $34,045 — an amount Righthaven says it's having trouble paying or even posting a bond to cover. DiBiase has a website covering no-body murder cases, or cases where a...

Newspaper copyright infringement lawsuit filer Righthaven LLC of Las Vegas was hit Wednesday with an order to pay $119,488 in attorney's fees and costs in its failed lawsuit against former federal prosecutor Thomas DiBiase.

Attorneys fighting Las Vegas copyright infringement lawsuit filer Righthaven LLC on Sunday accused the company of fraudulently paying its attorneys and CEO while failing to pay defendants who defeat Righthaven in court. Righthaven since March 2010 has filed 275 no-warning lawsuits claiming material from the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Denver Post was misappropriated by website operators, bloggers and message board posters. The litigation campaign is stalled after judges in Nevada and Colorado found Righthaven lacked standing to sue because — despite Righthaven’s claims of ownership — the newspapers maintained control of the material it sued over. In three of...

It’s an effort already rejected by one judge, but Righthaven LLC of Las Vegas is trying again to avoid paying the legal fees of defendants that defeat Righthaven in court. In court filings Saturday in Denver, Righthaven asked Senior U.S. District Judge John Kane to put six of its copyright infringement cases there on hold, rather than dismissing them on a summary judgment basis. That way, Righthaven said, it won’t have to pay the defendants’ legal fees and it could resume prosecution of the cases if the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturns Kane and finds Righthaven had standing...

It’s an effort already rejected by one judge, but Righthaven LLC of Las Vegas is trying again to avoid paying the legal fees of defendants that defeat Righthaven in court. In court filings Saturday in Denver, Righthaven asked Senior U.S. District Judge John Kane to put six of its copyright infringement cases there on hold, rather than dismissing them on a summary judgment basis.

In what is becoming a well-settled pattern, Righthaven again finds itself on the losing end of a motion, with its case thrown out and owing the defendant – here, Leland Wolf, proprietor of the It Makes Sense Blog – costs and attorneys' fees for bringing a baseless copyright case. The lawsuit, Righthaven v. Wolf, is also notable for being the leading case among more than 50 that were filed in Colorado. Pending a motion to dismiss, the Colorado court stayed the remaining cases. With this ruling, the court has hopefully rung the death knell for the other remaining live cases...

Copyright troll Righthaven's flawed business model—suing hundreds of bloggers and small websites for dubious cases of alleged copyright infringement of newspaper articles—appears to be grinding to an inexorable finish. But even as the Righthaven cases prove that litigation isn't going to magically make print media profitable in the age of the Internet, a new generation of journalists and creators are adapting to the digital world—including one of Righthaven's former clients. Last week, reports were circulating that Righthaven was on "life support" after admitting that they aren't currently filing more lawsuits and are apparently teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Even...

In another theatrical diatribe against Righthaven LLC, defense attorneys say the Las Vegas company presented a federal judge with a “false choice” with its warning it may shut down or declare bankruptcy. Righthaven is the newspaper copyright lawsuit filer that last year teamed with the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Denver Post to sue over online infringements involving content from those newspapers. After filing 275 lawsuits in 18 months, and collecting what are believed to be hundreds of thousands of dollars in settlements, the company’s litigation campaign is stalled by court rulings finding it lacked standing to sue over R-J...

Despite its backing by the billionaire Warren Stephens family, Las Vegas copyright lawsuit filer Righthaven LLC warned today it may have to file for bankruptcy because of a series of setbacks in its litigation campaign. The warning came in an emergency request by Righthaven to a federal judge in Las Vegas that he stay his order that Righthaven pay $34,045 in legal fees to attorneys who successfully defended Kentucky message board poster Wayne Hoehn against a Righthaven lawsuit. Righthaven has already appealed U.S. District Judge Philip Pro’s fee award to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Righthaven is also...

Newspaper copyright lawsuit filer Righthaven LLC of Las Vegas is losing one of its major clients, with MediaNews Group saying Righthaven’s no-warning lawsuit model "isn’t working very well for us." MediaNews Group, owner of the Denver Post, disclosed in a Post story Wednesday it is not renewing its contract with Righthaven that expires at the end of the month. The Righthaven lawsuit campaign over alleged infringements of material from the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Post -- so far totaling 275 lawsuits in the past 18 months -- is stalled by legal challenges to Righthaven’s standing to sue. Critics said...

The Denver Post is reporting that MediaNews Group, its parent company along with the Salt Lake Tribune, will not be renewing their contract with the controversial drive-by litigation group Righthaven. According to the report MediaNews Group stopped working with them “some time ago”. John Paton, who was appointed as MediaNews chief executive Wednesday, sent a message on Twitter later in the day that MediaNews had terminated its relationship with Righthaven “some time ago.” MediaNews Group’s relationship with Righthaven dealt almost exclusively with one image that of the TSA agent performing a patdown that became a symbol of the “Don’t touch...

Opponents of Las Vegas copyright lawsuit filer Righthaven LLC appealed again Tuesday to a Colorado judge to decisively end Righthaven’s lawsuits over Denver Post material. Righthaven since March 2010 has filed 275 lawsuits alleging online infringement of Las Vegas Review-Journal and Post content. The no-warning litigation campaign, unprecedented for the newspaper industry, hit a brick wall this summer when four Nevada judges ruled Righthaven lacked standing to sue over R-J material in seven cases. Righthaven -- which has also been hit with three fair use defeats -- last filed a lawsuit on July 13. These rulings against Righthaven's standing to...

Las Vegas copyright litigator Righthaven LLC is complaining that one of its many legal foes is trying to deprive Righthaven of its due process rights. While Righthaven is often accused of abusing the legal system by filing frivolous lawsuits with dubious legal claims and then coercing defendants into settling, Righthaven insists its lawsuits over Las Vegas Review-Journal and Denver Post material are necessary to deter rampant online infringement of content from those newspapers. The company has filed 275 lawsuits over newspaper content since March 2010 and is now trying to revive its litigation campaign, which has been stalled by dismissals...

Another heavily-litigated Righthaven LLC copyright infringement lawsuit has been dismissed because of Righthaven’s lack of standing to sue over Las Vegas Review-Journal content. U.S. District Judge Kent Dawson in Las Vegas on Friday dismissed Righthaven’s lawsuit against Bill Hyatt, who was sued last October over allegations he posted without authorization an R-J column on his website 1ce.org, which was called “News for Everyone.” This was the seventh such dismissal since June 14. The suit was among 275 filed by Righthaven since March 2010 involving material from the R-J and the Denver Post. Righthaven spots alleged online infringements, obtains copyright assignments...

In yet another stunning reversal for Las Vegas copyright lawsuit filer Righthaven LLC, the company won’t be collecting any damages from a man it once branded as a copyright infringer. Instead, it’s Righthaven that must pay the man's legal fees of $34,045. U.S. District Judge Philip Pro awarded the fees Monday in the case of Kentucky message board poster Wayne Hoehn. Pro on June 20 dismissed Righthaven’s lawsuit against Hoehn, finding Righthaven didn’t have standing to sue him and even if it did, Hoehn was protected by the fair use doctrine in posting an entire Las Vegas Review-Journal column on...

Stephens Media LLC says its lawsuit partner Righthaven LLC of Las Vegas is addressing a "parasitic" business model in which newspaper content is regularly stolen by copyright infringers. Defense attorneys charge, however, that Righthaven is merely running a money making scheme using dubious legal claims in no-warning lawsuits to coerce defendants into settling for a few thousand dollars. In recent weeks, they’ve stepped up their attacks on Righthaven CEO Steven Gibson, a Las Vegas attorney, after he signed off on false court disclosures hiding the role of Stephens Media in lawsuits over Review-Journal material. "Righthaven’s co-owners, Stephens Media (owner of...

The time has come to add copyright lawsuits—alongside casinos—as one of the things Las Vegas is best known for nationally. Copyright lawsuits? Yes, in national legal and media circles, Las Vegas is also now known as the epicenter of newspaper copyright infringement lawsuits. Who would’ve thought? Well, say hello to Las Vegas’ own Righthaven LLC, the entity behind the curious notoriety. Since March 2010, Righthaven has teamed with the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Denver Post to file a whopping 275 federal lawsuits alleging copyright infringement and seeking damages of $150,000 apiece. These lawsuits are filed in retroactive fashion, meaning...

Yes, another day and another judicial smackdown for Righthaven. In the case before Judge Roger Hunt, where he dismissed Righthaven for its sham copyright assignment claims and threatened sanctions against the company, it appears that Judge Hunt was not convinced by Righthaven's grovelling, that it was all the fault of former in-house attorneys, who failed to disclose that Stephens Media had a 50% stake in the outcome of any of these lawsuits. Hunt has gone forward with the sanctions, telling Righthaven to pay $5,000 for misleading the court. It seems that defendants in the 200+ other lawsuits now have reasons...