First things first. Lots of people want to know what’s going to happen, whether we will settle or fight.

We don’t know.

To be honest, neither of us have firmly decided one way or the other. When people start using the law in unorthodox ways to bully or extort from small nonprofit blogs, you don’t want to cave to them. Then you find out just how much it costs to stand on principle. Righthaven knows the breaking point for most people, hence the multiple low-key settlements.

Rest assured, Clayton, David and TheArmedCitizen will cooperate with the law to the fullest extent required. It was never our intent to infringe, and if such an infringement occurred, we will do our best to correct the error.

To clarify from the earlier post, Righthaven’s claim is based on just one article from May 2010. (The filing lists previous articles copied or excerpted from the Review-Journal in the past 7 years of website archives.)

In Our Favor…
For a company that goes around slapping bloggers with lawsuits, Righthaven’s decision to put The Armed Citizen in its sights may be imprudent. The owners hardly get rich off this site, and when the main contributor is a young kid fresh out of college, the financial returns aren’t going to be very handsome.

In short, these are the wrong pockets to pick.

That being said, while The Armed Citizen doesn’t have money, we do have friends. Lots of them. We’ve already received multiple encouraging e-mails and support from loyal readers. We hear you’ve been contacting the Journal-Review, and other allies like the NRA, for which we are extremely grateful. Please, don’t stop.

The publicity of this may be another factor Righthaven neglected. Already, the Review-Journal’s rival paper, the Las Vegas Sun, is running stories on these lawsuits. Wired.com ran a story which was then linked to on the Drudge Report. Reason magazine and World Net Daily are among other popular sources that have run with this story, along with countless bloggers.

More About Righthaven
Righthaven actually secured the copyright in July…or, nearly two months after the article appeared on the website. In other words, Righthaven attorneys preparing their litigious blitzkrieg found the article (likely because we linked back to their website), and in order to pursue statutory damages (as opposed to actual damages, which would be little to none), secured a copyright to the article after the fact.

Wired.com described the dozens of lawsuits as a business plan for gleaning copyright profits. This is hardly unfair, given the number of lawsuits filed.

Click here to read a list of the lawsuits filed by Righthaven since March 2010 (PDF)

This list itself is incomplete because Righthaven files new lawsuits constantly. On July 21, suits were filed against Free Speech Systems LLC and Americans for Democratic Action, Inc. More recently (July 26) suits were filed against Paula Bliss and former mob enforcer Anthony Fiato, both private bloggers. This brings the number of lawsuits from Righthaven to 81.

Click here to track ongoing lawsuits from Righthaven.

In Our Defense
There are several dubious claims made in the lawsuit, among which that we targeted advertising to the residents of Nevada, which is wholly false.

There is also a powerful argument in favor of fair use. According to copyright.gov, “The distinction between fair use and infringement may be unclear and not easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission.”

Given the noncommercial and scholarly nature of the website, and the fact that we were collecting thousands of stories for the purposes of a silent-but-deafening commentary on armed self-defense – which recent events prove to be a pivotal issue of debate from both a Constitutional and a societal point of view – may contribute to a strong case for fair use.

Neither Clayton nor David have been served yet, and the case can’t proceed until we have received formal notice.

What Can You Do?

Pay – Every little bit helps. If we wind up having to settle, it will help offset those expenses. If not, then we promise we’ll use it to make the blog bigger and better than ever.

Pray – Most armed citizens know that life is governed by a higher power. We could certainly use your prayers for wisdom, and against the adversaries that have arisen.

Talk – Keep spreading the word about this lawsuit. Blog about it. (Yes, you can reproduce material here, including the image!) Tell your friends. Post it on Facebook. Help guarantee the full story about Righthaven is told on Wikipedia. Tip the news services about it, even the big ones. If you know copyright attorneys (especially in Nevada), send them our way.

Many of you have contacted the Review-Journal and reported back to us. The paper has asked you to direct your inquiries to two people, the managing editor and the chief counsel. Here is their information:

Managing Editor:
Charlie Zobell
czobell@reviewjournal.com.

Corporate Counsel:
Mark Hieneber
702-477-3830

We ask that you be polite, but we do ask you to contact them.

We thank you for your support and assistance. We trust that this matter will be resolved, and The Armed Citizen can return to providing you the content you’ve come to expect.

Sincerely,
David and Clayton

Further links
List of Righthaven-owned or affiliated newspapers to avoid
Does Righthaven’s Founder Have Ties to Obama?