Post by V on Sept 5, 2010 18:06:12 GMT -5
And for once, Sharron Angle isn't the bad guy! I know, amazing, right?
So, what's so disturbing? Apparently, there is a company called Righthaven that every blogger, no matter what they blog about (even apparently if you just primarily blog about your pets) needs to know about.
This is very disturbing. Apparently, Righthaven trolls the Internet looking for copyright infringements, usually on small time blogs, but they have gone after bigger bloggers. Then they buy up the copyright and sue you (without giving you notice or a chance to take down the infringement) for it.
jenkinsear.com/2010/09/05/sharron-angles-getting-sued-but-wait-because-its-not-that-funny/
This is beyond scary. Can you imagine being a college student or someone on disability or something, writing a blog about nothing special (or about something important) and suddenly without any warning getting notice that you're being sued? And not to have any real financial ability to defend yourself or pay for the court costs of a lengthy trial? So, you settle even though you can't really afford that, either? For many bloggers this could be the difference between living in their own homes, or living out of their cars. Or worse. Seriously, I know that if that happened to me I would have no recourse but to become homeless. There is literally no one in my family whom I know of that could possibly spare some extra thousands to help me out of such a bind! Maybe, BIG maybe, I could live with one of my sisters or perhaps one of my brothers.But, that's a big, big maybe.
I can't help it when my jaw drops and my eyes widen at the sheer fact that this is allowed to happen. This is obviously a scam, but unfortunately it looks like it's a scam that operates within the law.
Sharron Angle is not the only high-profile person that they've gone after, the quote from that site named at least one high profile group and you can bet NORML isn't the only one.
This is scary shit and everyone needs to be aware of it so that you can do your best not to get trapped like this. If a woman who just simply talks mostly about her cat on her blog can get tangled up in this (and those are the types of people they apparently go after the most, if you believe the article -- which I have no reason not to), it's VERY possible you or someone you know could find themselves in this trap.
I hate that these people are using the law and the court system to scam people legally. That should not be allowed. In fact, I'm not entirely sure it IS allowed. Maybe one day soon they will pick on the wrong person with some hot shot lawyers that know what they're doing and they'll get slammed.
Don't thin this can't happen to you. Don't think you're too little for them to worry about. Just look at that woman from Boston who got the shock of her life. All she ever blogged about was her cat!
There are ways to avoid being slapped with a lawsuit. These are few, but outlined within the article I linked to.
I just wanted to give everyone a head's up!
So, what's so disturbing? Apparently, there is a company called Righthaven that every blogger, no matter what they blog about (even apparently if you just primarily blog about your pets) needs to know about.
This is very disturbing. Apparently, Righthaven trolls the Internet looking for copyright infringements, usually on small time blogs, but they have gone after bigger bloggers. Then they buy up the copyright and sue you (without giving you notice or a chance to take down the infringement) for it.
Righthaven basically trolls the internet looking for copyright violations. Then, they purchase the copyright from the newspaper and file a lawsuit against the blog:Since early spring, Righthaven has filed about a hundred lawsuits in federal court alleging infringement of Stephens’ copyrights. While many target small-time bloggers such as a Boston woman who writes about her cat, others are directed at for-profit companies such as the gambling site Majorwager.com, or advocacy groups such as the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. The suits are filed without warning; website owners are given no opportunity to remove the offending material before they’re slapped with litigation.[...]
Righthaven typically offers defendants the opportunity to settle the cases out of court to avoid the substantial cost of a trial. While the details of such settlements are confidential, the Las Vegas Sun reported that 22 of the Righthaven suits were settled as of Aug. 18, with known settlements ranging from $2,185 to $5,000.
jenkinsear.com/2010/09/05/sharron-angles-getting-sued-but-wait-because-its-not-that-funny/
This is beyond scary. Can you imagine being a college student or someone on disability or something, writing a blog about nothing special (or about something important) and suddenly without any warning getting notice that you're being sued? And not to have any real financial ability to defend yourself or pay for the court costs of a lengthy trial? So, you settle even though you can't really afford that, either? For many bloggers this could be the difference between living in their own homes, or living out of their cars. Or worse. Seriously, I know that if that happened to me I would have no recourse but to become homeless. There is literally no one in my family whom I know of that could possibly spare some extra thousands to help me out of such a bind! Maybe, BIG maybe, I could live with one of my sisters or perhaps one of my brothers.But, that's a big, big maybe.
I can't help it when my jaw drops and my eyes widen at the sheer fact that this is allowed to happen. This is obviously a scam, but unfortunately it looks like it's a scam that operates within the law.
Sharron Angle is not the only high-profile person that they've gone after, the quote from that site named at least one high profile group and you can bet NORML isn't the only one.
This is scary shit and everyone needs to be aware of it so that you can do your best not to get trapped like this. If a woman who just simply talks mostly about her cat on her blog can get tangled up in this (and those are the types of people they apparently go after the most, if you believe the article -- which I have no reason not to), it's VERY possible you or someone you know could find themselves in this trap.
I hate that these people are using the law and the court system to scam people legally. That should not be allowed. In fact, I'm not entirely sure it IS allowed. Maybe one day soon they will pick on the wrong person with some hot shot lawyers that know what they're doing and they'll get slammed.
Don't thin this can't happen to you. Don't think you're too little for them to worry about. Just look at that woman from Boston who got the shock of her life. All she ever blogged about was her cat!
There are ways to avoid being slapped with a lawsuit. These are few, but outlined within the article I linked to.
I just wanted to give everyone a head's up!