Copyright trolls are nothing new, and Righthaven is just the latest group of lawyers to try to turn copyright litigation into a business model. What these lawyers have in common is that they seek to take advantage of copyright's draconian damages in order to bully Internet users into forking over money. To anyone who has watched the file-sharing lawsuits of the last few years or the current BitTorrent cases brought by a DC law firm, the Righthaven saga is developing into a familiar, unfortunate story. It also has some especially troubling twists.

The basic pattern: Righthaven has brought over a hundred lawsuits in Nevada federal court claiming copyright infringement. They find cases by (a) scouring the Internet for parts of newspaper stories posted online by individuals, nonprofits, and others, (b) buying the copyright to that particular newspaper story, and then (c) proceeding to sue the poster for copyright infringement. Like the RIAA and USCG before them, Righthaven is relying on the fact that their victims may face huge legal bills through crippling statutory damages and the prospect of paying Righthaven's legal fees if they lose the case. Consequently, many victims will settle with Righthaven for a few thousand dollars regardless of their innocence, their right to fair use, or other potential legal defenses.

However, Righthaven is unlike other copyright trolls in some key ways:

• Righthaven is going after bloggers using text news stories for comment or discussion. Many lawsuit targets are using the newspaper articles to augment discussions about current events. Reposting all or part of news stories is part and parcel of digital commentary and discussion and usually the goal of the reposting is to share the uncopyrightable facts included in the article, not the copyrighted expression, like the specific turns of phrase used by the author. By targeting news, Righthaven's lawsuits could have a chilling effect on individuals' attempts to engage their communities in free and open discussion.
• Righthaven is fighting the basic mode of Internet debate. Other copyright trolls have involved controversy over file-sharing programs and encoded digital media, like music and movies. But Righthaven is taking aim at folks who are using elementary "copy & paste" functionalities. Online discussion survives and thrives on showing others the original text before adding a commentary or response. Accurate quoting is a virtue of Internet discussion that can minimize mischarcterization and support progress in a debate.
• Righthaven lawsuits are demanding that courts freeze and transfer the defendants' domain names. Imagine if a single copyright infringement on Huffingtonpost.com or Redstate.com could result in forfeiture of the entire domain. Effectively asking for control of all of a website's existing and future content -- instead of only targeting the allegedly infringing material -- is an overreaching remedy for a single copyright infringement not validated by copyright law or any legal precedent. This also indicates that the attorneys are willing to make overreaching claims in order to scare defendants into a fast settlement.
• Righthaven goes straight for litigation. Righthaven isn't sending cease and desist letters or DMCA takedown notices that would allow the targeted bloggers or website operators to remove or amend only the news articles owned by Righthaven. Instead, Righthaven starts with a full-fledged lawsuit in federal court with no warning. It's sue first and ask questions later, which smacks of a strategy designed to churn up legal costs and intimidate defendants into paying up immediately, rather than a strategy aimed at remedying specific copyright infringements.

Righthaven is claiming that its activities are intended to have a "deterrent effect" on the reposting of news stories online, but it's hard to resist viewing Righthaven's actions as purely business-related. In addition to the sharp legal tactics discussed above, Righthaven appears to only buy copyrights that it believes can be used for lawsuits and otherwise has no involvement in the practice of journalism.

Righthaven also appears to be soliciting other newspapers to sign on with it. But newspaper publishers who think that suing bloggers a story at a time will save journalism are sorely mistaken. Newspaper publishers have actually been having meaningful discussions about innovative business models to support real journalism. Sadly, Righthaven -- if it continues to attract clients -- threatens to derail those conversations with a sideshow proven to distract from progress.

But no matter where a newspaper may stand on the debate about journalism's future, we think it is abundantly clear that a "sue the audience" tactic is nowhere near worth considering. Newspapers should resist the temptation to put themselves into the same position as the music industry circa 2004, where futile lawsuits distracted them from the incorporating new technology and creating new ways to market product to fans.

EFF is watching Righthaven and other copyright trolls closely for overbroad tactics that hurt free speech and fair use, and abuse the legal system. We're looking for good cases to defend and will deliver more news and analysis as the issue develops.

Latinos for Internet Freedom, a new coalition of more than 40 organizations and groups, is advocating for an open and accessible Internet. And bloggers and nonprofits are now targets of a "lawsuit mill" that shakes down people for big sums of money for sharing articles and links.

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San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and a coalition of public interest groups and law professors have asked a California appeals court to protect craigslist from a lawsuit that could spur websites to be less helpful in responding to complaints about user behavior.

In Scott P. v. craigslist, Inc., the plaintiff complained about a series of craigslist ads he said were written by impersonators. While craigslist removed the ads within minutes of his phone calls, the plaintiff sued, contending that craigslist broke a promise to "take care of it" when the impersonators posted additional ads. In cases like these, federal law -- specifically Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act -- shields Internet forums like craigslist from liability. Section 230 was designed to encourage parties to pursue action against those who created the questionable content instead of the platform that hosted it. But the California Superior Court has ruled that this case can continue because of the plaintiff's allegations that craigslist said it would help.

Craigslist filed a writ petition with the Court of Appeal for the State of California Wednesday, arguing that the trial court should have dismissed the case because of Section 230's protections for forum hosts. In an amicus letter filed today in support of craigslist, EFF argues that the lower court reasoning could create a hole in Section 230, discouraging forum owners from helping users.

"Section 230 was a deliberate effort by Congress to encourage service providers to find innovative ways to self-regulate," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Kurt Opsahl. "Yet craigslist is facing the prospect of extended litigation because it tried to do just that. Allowing this litigation to continue could result in websites being less helpful to users with complaints."

Additionally troublesome is the specter of further lawsuits, which could convince other Internet innovators not to host user content at all.

"Congress created Section 230 to allow for online interactivity without a flood of lawsuits. But this case could undermine the immunity that the law created," said Opsahl. "If litigation can survive merely because a plaintiff asserts that the site made a vague promise, sites may decide that allowing comments or user generated content is not worth the legal exposure. Then we'll lose the vibrant online environment that Section 230 helped create in the first place."

Joining EFF in the letter to court were the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Citizen Media Law Project, and law professors Eric Goldman, David S. Levine, David G. Post, and Jason Schultz. Separately, a group of Internet companies, including Yahoo!, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Google and Linkedin filed another amicus brief in support of craigslist.

For the full amicus letter:
http://www.eff.org/files/filenode/craigslist_v_sup/EFFletter9210.pdf

For more on this case:
http://www.eff.org/cases/craigslist-v-superior-court-california

Contact:

Kurt Opsahl
Senior Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
kurt@eff.org

Kim Booth MP Greens Racing spokesperson The Tasmanian Greens today called on Racing Minister Bryan Green to explain why the disqualification of a greyhound owned in part by Premier David Bartlett was overturned following intervention from the Director of Racing Tony Murray. Greens Racing spokesperson Kim Booth MP said the greyhound Toolong Terror [...]

Agreement for Parliamentary Reform (337KB) signed by Premier David Bartlett, Greens Leader Nick McKim and Liberal Leader Will Hodgman 3 September 2010

Tim Morris MP Greens Water spokesperson The Tasmanian Greens today called on Primary Industries Minister Bryan Green to explain why he told Parliament yesterday that detections of the herbicide MCPA in the Duck River were ‘well under’ the World Health Organisation guideline of 2 parts per billion (ppb), when in fact the readings were [...]

Nick McKim MP Greens Leader The Tasmanian Greens today called for any further works cease on the Brighton By-pass that could lead to impacts on the Jordan River Levee, in order to enable an appropriate management plan to be developed that reflects the needs of the Aboriginal community. Greens Leader Nick McKim MP [...]

Tim Morris MP Greens Water spokesperson The Tasmanian Greens today introduced their Chemical Trespass Bill 2010 into the State Parliament, continuing their campaign to eliminate chemical contamination of Tasmania’s waterways, drinking water supples and neighbouring land. Greens Water Spokesperson Tim Morris MP said that the Chemical Trespass Bill would ensure that the [...]

Paul ‘Basil’ O’Halloran MP Greens Member for Braddon The Tasmanian Greens today called on Labor to join the Greens in opposing the import of fresh potatoes from New Zealand for processing in Tasmania due to well-founded fears about the risks of importing the highly contagious Potato/Tomato Psyllid, which also causes Zebra Chip disease, along with the [...]

Paul ‘Basil’ O’Halloran MP Greens Health spokesperson and Member for Braddon The Tasmanian Greens today welcomed the commitment they obtained from Health Minister, Michelle O’Byrne, to provide dedicated oncologists to operate out of the North West Regional Hospital, saying that the Greens had taken to the last state election a proposal for at [...]

Kim Booth MP Greens Gaming spokesperson The Tasmanian Greens today said that they will bring on for debate the Gaming Control Amendment Bill which seeks to introduce a $1 bet limit on pokies, following the release of the latest monthly loss figures which reveal that Tasmanians lost $18, 912, 543 on pokies for [...]

Paul ‘Basil’ O’Halloran MP Greens Education spokesperson The Tasmanian Greens today congratulated all those involved in the annual PICSE Science Fair, which gives many primary students their first exposure to a University experience, and which involved science-based competition between teams from participating schools. Greens Education spokesperson and Member for Braddon, Paul ‘Basil’ O’Halloran MP, [...]

Kim Booth MP Greens Forests spokesperson The Tasmanian Greens today called on Forestry Minister Bryan Green to order Forestry Tasmania to cease deliberately targeting high conservation value forests for clearfelling in an attempt to prevent those areas from being conserved for future generations. Greens Forests spokesperson Kim Booth MP said the logging of [...]

WASHINGTON – Today, the Federal Communications Commission announced it would seek further public comment in its rulemaking on Net Neutrality to further explore issues related to managed services and mobile broadband.

Free Press Research Director S. Derek Turner made the following statement:

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The Case for Abortion Law Repeal. Politics in the Pub. Thursday September 9, 6-7.30pm, Green Ant Cantina, Bunda St. Organised by Pro-Choice Cairns

Event date:  Thu, 09/09/2010 - 6:00pm - 7:30pm Phone:  Carole 4039 2720

Friends of Baucau and Friends of Aileu are proud to invite you to a new Australian play by Mari Lourey and directed by Nadja Kostich, which will premiere at fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, as a special La Mama presentation.

The play is set in the world of photojournalism and set in East Timor, the Balkans and Iraq. The play was shortlisted for the 2008 Patrick White award and was the recipient of the R.E. Ross Trust Award.

For more about Bare Witness see the forty-five downstairs website.

Event date:  Fri, 17/09/2010 Event time:  Fri, 17/09/2010 - 7:30pm Website:  Forty Five Downstairs - Bare Witness 2

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Asylum seekers have no connection to population boom, unemployment, debt, terrorism or interest rates, but you wouldn’t know it watching the nightly news.
We receive so few refugees compared to the global community yet time and again we are told to be scared.

Why do so many Australians feel a sense of entitlement to turn back people fleeing for their lives? What does it mean to be Australian if we offer no just sanctuary for refugees? Why have we allowed a moral issue to become a political one?

Presenter: Kon Karapangiotidis established the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre in 2001.

Event date:  Thu, 09/09/2010 Event time:  Thu, 09/09/2010 - 12:45pm Website:  Wheeler Centre

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Equal Pay Day 2010 marks all the extra days each year it takes women to catch up to men’s annual earnings.

Women earn 18% less than men on average. This year it will take an extra 65 days to make up that pay, starting from the end of the financial year (30 June 2010).
Therefore Equal Pay Day is 3 September 2010.
Next year it could take even longer!!!

9.30am -11.00am, Trades Hall, Carlton, 54 Victoria Street Carlton South.
Wear red.

Event date:  Fri, 03/09/2010 Event time:  Fri, 03/09/2010 - 9:30am Email:  cfruscalzo@vthc.org.au Website:  Equal Pay Day Phone:  9659 3576

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A Q&A-style panel discussion featuring international refugee law experts: Professor Guy Goodwin-Gill (Oxford); Professor Geoff Gilbert (Essex); Professor Kate Jastram (Berkeley); Associate Professor Jane McAdam (UNSW). Moderated by Professor George Williams (UNSW).

Where: UNSW Law Theatre, UNSW, Kensington

Event date:  Tue, 21/09/2010 - 6:15pm Website:  http://www.law.unsw.edu.au

The Burma – Women’s Voices for Peace anthology focuses on the stories of women’s experiences living within Burma and as refugees. Their stories are heartbreaking and moving, and we are privileged that these women have been willing to share so many painful, suspenseful and inspiring experiences with compassion, humility and wit.

This is the 7th compilation of writings by Women from Burma.

We are delighted to be able to share this night with you.

6.30 pm, Readings Carlton: 309 Lygon St, Carlton.

Free, no need to book.

Event date:  Tue, 07/09/2010 Event time:  Tue, 07/09/2010 - 6:30pm