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RightHaven Lawyer Says Browser Ate His Homework

Posted by timothy on from the wanna-see-you-in-chambers dept.

J053 writes "Wired Magazine reports that Righthaven attorney Shawn Mangano's excuse for being a day late with his explanation as to why the litigation factory made 'dishonest statements to the court' was that his web browser upgraded and he could no longer attach PDF files to his submissions. Yeah, right ..."

2 of 91 comments (clear)

  1. Its your fault. by hedgemage · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm getting my MBA and many of my profs do everything digitally from accepting research papers, to sending out syllabi to arranging meetings via e-mail.
    One thing that I have learned, especially when giving a presentation is that if anything goes wrong, its your fault.

    Powerpoint doesn't work? Its your fault. Didn't embed that YouTube video correctly? Its your fault. Your laptop can't talk to the projector? Its your fault. The Projector doesn't work? Its your fault.
    If you aren't professional enough to have your research paper backed up on a thumbdrive, a second laptop for your group presentation, or even /gasp!/ a paper copy, ITS YOUR OWN DAMN FAULT.

    Welcome to being a professional in the 21st century, where using technology is necessary, but knowing what to do when it fails is smart.

  2. That's why the judge is so p***ed off by tomhudson · · Score: 5, Informative

    Righthaven was suing for copyright, when they weren't the owners of the copyrighted material. You can't "hive off" the right to sue to a 3rd party like Righthaven. Righthaven lacked standing, and should have known they lacked standing (after all, if you're a bunch of lawyers suing over copyrights, you should at least know copyright law, right?)

    The way each suit should have proceeded was that the rights-holders hire Righthaven to sue on their behalf; this makes things harder for Righthaven in court, since then they rights-holder has to be involved at every step - something that drives up the cost of each suit. Righthaven wanted to do this stuff in bulk, un its own name, without crossing each T and dotting each I, and it doesn't work that way.

    Then there was the sloppy casework ...

    The judge was not amused at what looks like a fraud upon the court, and has been kicking Righthaven in the nads ever since.