Righthaven sues casual blogger because of LVRJ story posted by a commenter

Source: Concord (N.H.) Monitor

A Weare blogger is the target of a new copyright infringement lawsuit, one of dozens brought by a Nevada company looking to protect the intellectual property of newspapers.

Christopher Malley, who runs a discussion group and blog for first responders at EMTCity.com, was sued in federal court after a visitor to his website posted the entire contents of a Las Vegas Review-Journal article in a discussion forum.

... Malley's attorney, Concord-based Jeffrey Newman, said Righthaven is in the business of searching for potential trademark infringements, acquiring copyrights and then immediately filing lawsuits.

"It is really a collision of the new media and the old media," he said.

He said the company isn't following the spirit of laws that are intended to give web hosts a chance to remove offending content before being sued. Newman said Righthaven did not ask his client to remove the article before filing a lawsuit.

... Newman said the lawsuit could potentially mean thousands of dollars in damages for a retired first responder who was trying to foster a place for others to discuss emergency medical services.

Read more: http://www.concordmonitor.com/article/casual-blogger-hit-with-lawsuit

What a bunch of butt heads.