*Porn trolls. Could there be any troll worse than a pr0n troll?
From: "EFF Press" Date: Mar 13, 2012 7:08 PM
Subject: [E-B] EFF Backs ISPs in Battle to Quash Copyright Troll Subpoenas
To: Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Contact:
Corynne McSherry
Intellectual Property Director
Electronic Frontier Foundation
[email protected]
+1 415 436-9333 x122
Mitch Stoltz
Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
[email protected]
+1 415 436-9333 x142
EFF Backs ISPs in Battle to Quash Copyright Troll Subpoenas
Pornographic Film Companies Abusing the Law to Get Quick
Settlements
San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is
backing Internet service providers (ISPs) in an effort to
quash subpoenas issued in a predatory lawsuit over the
alleged illegal downloading of adult material.
The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation and the ACLU
of the Nation's Capitol joined EFF in the amicus brief
submitted today, arguing that AF Holdings unfairly sued
more than a thousand unnamed Internet users in the District
of Columbia, even though the users were located all over
the country. AF Holdings argues that it is allowed to
obtain the identities of the ISPs' customers in D.C.,
because they might reside in the District or the alleged
infringement may have occurred there. But the ISPs that
were subpoenaed – including Cox, AT&T, and Verizon – told
the court that it was easy to discover that only 20 of the
IP addresses were associated with Washington, D.C.
"AF Holdings could have found out where the IP addresses at
issue were probably located simply by using a geo-location
service that costs about $8 per thousand addresses," said
EFF Intellectual Property Director Corynne McSherry. "But
the company didn't do that, because its doesn't want to
know. Following the rules would make its job harder,
requiring it to file lawsuits across the country against
thousands of individuals rather than suing all Does at
once. Thousands of lawsuits just doesn't fit the copyright
troll business model."
(((You have to wonder who gave the hacker the law degree there.
How is justice served by this kind of lawsuit arbitrage?)))
Today's brief is the latest in EFF's efforts to stop
copyright trolls – content owners and lawyers who team up
to extract settlements from thousands of defendants at a
time. Typically, once the identities of suspected
infringers are obtained from ISPs, plaintiffs send
settlement letters offering to make the accusations go away
for a few thousand dollars, a sum considerably smaller than
what defendants would need to fight the case in court.
(((Neat hack, huh? It's like boiler-room fraudsters who
steal less than it would take to catch them, but from
legions of victims in different vicinities.)))
In addition to the problem of jurisdiction, (((this
may be the central problem of globalization))) many of these
cases also lump hundreds of defendants together, making it
even harder for Internet users to defend themselves. When
you consider the added stigma over association with
pornography, you can see how the deck is stacked against
subpoena targets. (((Stir in a pinch o' stigma.)))
"Once these copyright trolls get names from ISPs, the cases
are essentially over," said EFF Staff Attorney Mitch
Stoltz. "We can't let them continue to game the system
with these shoddy lawsuits. We're asking the judge to
force AF Holdings to play by the rules and respect the
rights of each and every defendant."
For the full amicus brief:
https://www.eff.org/document/amicus-brief-6
For more about copyright trolls:
https://www.eff.org/issues/copyright-trolls
For this release:
https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-backs-isps-battle-quash-copyright-troll-subpoenas
About EFF
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading
organization protecting civil liberties in the digital
world. Founded in 1990, we defend free speech online, fight
illegal surveillance, promote the rights of digital
innovators, and work to ensure that the rights and freedoms
we enjoy are enhanced, rather than eroded, as our use of
technology grows. EFF is a member-supported organization.
Find out more at https://www.eff.org.
(((Sometimes the trolls overdo it.)))
Judge orders failed copyright troll to forfeit "all" copyrights
By David Kravets, wired.com | Published March 13, 2012 6:00 PM
Judge orders failed copyright troll to forfeit "all" copyrights
Righthaven, a copyright-troll law firm that failed in its attempt to make money for newspapers by suing readers for sharing stories online, was dealt a death blow on Tuesday by a federal judge who ordered the Las Vegas company to forfeit "all of" its intellectual property and other "intangible property" to settle its debts.
[SNIP]
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/03/judge-orders-failed-copyright-troll-to-forfeit-all-copyrights.ars?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+arstechnica%2Findex+%28Ars+Technica+-+Featured+Content%29
