Righthaven denies perpetrating a fraud upon the courts

Righthaven LLC of Las Vegas, the serial newspaper copyright infringement lawsuit filer, denied allegations Tuesday that it’s trying to perpetrate a fraud upon the courts.

Righthaven’s lawsuit campaign over material from the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Denver Post has been stalled by questions about its standing to sue.

Critics say copyright assignments Righthaven uses for lawsuits – 275 filed since March 2010 -- are flawed because the newspapers maintain control of the copyrights despite the assignments.

But Righthaven says it has rewritten its lawsuit contract with the R-J to once and for all give it standing to sue.

Critics continue to dispute that, with filings last week in a Righthaven lawsuit against the Pahrump Life blog charging its latest claims are an effort to “revitalize Righthaven’s fraud’’ and that Righthaven has been practicing law without a license.

These critics — operating as Amici (friends of the court) — are the Democratic Underground, which is a Righthaven defendant in another case; Jason Schultz, a copyright expert at the University of California-Berkeley’s Boalt Hall Law School; and Citizens Against Litigation Abuse, a South Carolina group fighting Righthaven on several fronts.

With U.S. District Judge James Mahan in Las Vegas planning a hearing on Righthaven’s standing issue this week in the Pahrump Life case, Righthaven said in a Tuesday court filing that the critics’ "unbridled accusations, such as `fraud upon the court,’ have no place in zealous, but tempered, advocacy."

"While Amici (friends of the court fighting Righthaven) apparently sincerely believe that the Internet should be a 'copyright free zone' whereby anyone can use another’s copyrighted works without permission or compensation, this point of view is clearly at odds with the U.S. Constitution’s grant of a limited (copyright) monopoly in order to incentivize creation,’’ said Righthaven’s filing.

"Amici’s challenge to Righthaven’s standing must be seen as what it is—an effort to advance its policy agenda. Such arguments are better made to Congress as opposed to overburdening the courts with poorly reasoned legal arguments that seek to limit the freedom of contract," the filing said.

Righthaven reiterated in its filing that under its latest lawsuit contract revision with Stephens Media LLC, the owner of the Review-Journal, it has standing to sue as it’s the sole owner of each assigned work (story, column, editorial, photo, graphic) – and "is vested with authority to sue for all past, present and future infringements related thereto."

Righthaven also denied it’s involved in champerty, which involves a party with no interest in a dispute inciting litigation over that dispute in order to earn a profit.

Righthaven said that since it acquires ownership of copyrights for its lawsuits, it has an interest in infringements of those copyrights – meaning its actions don’t involve champerty.

Righthaven also disputed claims it’s been practicing law without a license.

"The fact that Righthaven (not a law firm) and Stephens Media may share the proceeds of any recovery related to copyright litigation based on assigned works is neither unlawful nor does it constitute an 'illicit contingency fee agreement' as asserted by Amici (friends of the court fighting Righthaven)," the company’s filing said.

Separately, Righthaven has paid $3,815 to Randazza Legal Group for its representation of former lawsuit defendant Michael Leon.

Leon’s case was dismissed after he wasn’t served in time and U.S. District Court Judge Gloria Navarro ordered Righthaven to pay his fees over the protests of Righthaven.

When Righthaven didn’t immediately pay, Randazza Legal Group asked Navarro to freeze $3,815 in Righthaven assets.

The payment of the $3,815 nullified that request.

Randazza Legal Group is also seeking $34,000 in fees for successfully representing defendant Wayne Hoehn in a Righthaven case, while attorneys for prevailing defendant Thomas DiBiase are seeking another $119,000 in fees from Righthaven.

Additional, larger fee awards are possible against Righthaven, particularly in its heavily-litigated suit against the Democratic Underground.

That’s the case where U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt dismissed Righthaven as a plaintiff for lack of standing and later sanctioned Righthaven with a $5,000 fine for misrepresentations including covering up Stephens Media’s role in the lawsuits.