Righthaven has been issuing a large number of copyright infringement cases against Web publishers it has accused of misappropriating its clients’ content — its clients being the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Denver Post.
The firm has been offering defendants the chance to settle out of court for $150,000 or face legal action.
Righthaven is also threatening to seize defendants’ domain names — a move which one claimant says is being used to force Web publishers to settle before the case has been tested.
However, Dana Eiser, one such defendant, has countered Righthaven’s lawsuit with one of her own. She is asking for $250,000 in damages and for Righthaven to drop its domain name seizure demands.
The move by Righthaven to threaten online publishers with financial retribution is a marked step away from the traditional approach taken by the popular press, which generally requires website owners to remove the offending material or provide links to the original content.
According to the Las Vegas Sun, six counter claims have now been filed against Righthaven.