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EFF Jumps In To Defend Bloggers Being Sued By Prenda
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "The Electronic Frontier Foundation has entered the fray to defend the bloggers sued by Prenda Law Firm. Prenda, oblivious to such well known legal niceties as the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the affirmative defense of truth, the difference between a defamatory statement of fact and the expression of a negative opinion, and the First Amendment, has immediately — and illegally — sought to subpoena information leading to the identities of the bloggers. I would not be surprised to see these "lawyers" get into even more hot water than they're already in. And I take my hat off to the EFF for stepping in here."
I'm not a coward, I just haven't registered yet. :p
EFF only helps with the most high-profile cases. They aren't around to help with more low-profile, but just as scary attempts to stifle free speech such as the Scuba Board lawsuit. As I recall, about a decade ago, when approached to help with a similar libel lawsuit brought on by one John Novak against people critical with his company, the EFF said they don't help with "routine libel cases".
Sheesh.
Much more helpful is the lawyer at Pope Hat, who helps bloggers and other being attached with frivolous libel suits, whether the suits are high-profile or low-profile.
Deliberate negligence, All costs x 3. When will they actually start enforcing the false claim rules in DMCA. The fines can be Very high.
> Orly Taitz
You can't make this shit up.
Well, this will definitely provide considerable ongoing entertainment. I feel sorry for the judge(s) though.
The hearing scheduled for today to decide the fate of Copyright Troll Brett Gibbs has concluded, and it was apparently very bad for Prenda et al.
Adam Steinbaugh was in attendance and has a quick run through on his twitter account. Wen White was also there and is currently writing a detailed recap to be posted on popehat.com later tonight.
While I am amazed and pleased at the attention this saga has been getting, I think it's important to remember that while the wide audience is merely entertained or amused by these proceedings, for the innocents like me who have had their lives turned upside down by Prenda this is more than simple entertainment-- it's justice.
Unfortunately, such optimism is not justified. The copyright absolutists have friends in all three branches of government, and their harsh and punitive stance plays well with harsh and punitive judges, especially when the defendants aren't all that sympathetic. The rules of procedure will be bent well past the breaking point for them, while ridiculously narrow interpretations of the same rules will be applied to the defense.
Prenda have much bigger things to worry about than the EFF. They have really annoyed a federal judge, and may be guilty of perjury, contempt of court, fraud on the court and identity theft. Probably a couple of other offences as well.
Prenda isn't finished yet, but given the recent hearing they probably won't be around much longer
> Orly Taitz
You can't make this shit up.
Well, this will definitely provide considerable ongoing entertainment. I feel sorry for the judge(s) though.
I get what you mean, hoo boy! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orly_Taitz
That's what I read due to the tiny font on my phone. Durn letigigious pandas.
Without them the site would descend into a blob of corporate gruel.
Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
It appears that you can make this shit up, because I can find no evidence to suggest that Prenda Law has any connection whatsoever with Orly Taitz.
She borders on delusional from the far side, after wrapping around a few times.
upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time
They are not representing the copyright holder but instead they told the copyright holders to let them go fishing for offenders and collect fees for not prosecuting. This is a form of racketeering. This is what the bloggers are complaining about and what pendant is unhappy about. Prenda won't reveal the real agreement with the copyright holder which appears to be them taking a big cut.
;>)
Here's an interesting tidbit about the trial that shows how much of a clusterfuck this all is: one set of lawyers couldn't even figure out if they themselves belonged on the plaintiff's side or the defendant's side for picking their seating/table at the trial (bride's side?, groom's side?, wtf?): The strange hearing produced such a mix-up of roles that even the lawyers had lawyers -- and people didn't know where to sit. Prenda's erstwhile attorney Brett Gibbs cut ties with Prenda Law after the firm found itself in a messy bind regarding the practices it used to serve lawsuits to hundreds of Does suspected of illegally downloading porn; he hired his own attorneys to represent him at the hearing. "I'm not sure what side we're supposed to be on," said one of them as he tried to decide whether he belonged at the defense or plaintiff table.
--- from the 3rd paragraph of arstechnica article from March 12th, 2013.
A lone guy with a P.O.S. bolt action Italian rifle that wasn't even sighted in properly, firing from a bad angle, who managed to fire 3 shots in 5 seconds and score 2 hits on a moving target? Not only is that impossible
Difficult, but not impossible. Any well-trained marksman would be able to make those shots.
No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun
Since 1989, the "officially sanctioned government version" of the JFK assassination has been that it was likely carried out by some kind of conspiracy. Unfortunately the original investigation was badly botched and so much time has passed that we will never know the real story. This is a shame, as even wild speculation cannot be ruled out.
There is basically no valid evidence indicating that President Obama is not a "natural born citizen". I am sympathetic with the principle here, and I think that US Presidential candidates should be more publicly vetted, but the whole birther movement has no basis in fact and jumped on the ridiculous train at the very beginning.
The 911 conspiracy stuff is a little more complicated, but it seems that most of the conspiracy theories have been rejected by independent groups.
Well, as stated below, right now it is an unsubstantiated rumour that Orly Taitz is a lawyer for Prenda.
It's an interesting rumor. It has the fascinating effect of lowering the credibility and reputation of both the clients and the legal team at the same time.
Lowering the reputation of either party should be impossible. Doing both simultaneously? Pure genius. Maybe they're hoping for some kind of numeric underflow where sufficient negative reputation rolls over into maximum positive reputation.
Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.