Won't Have Perfect 10's Silly Lawsuits Setting Precedent Anymore: Judge Appoints Receiver For Perfect 10's Assets
from the well,-there-goes-that-one dept
Welp, it looks like the quite long history of Perfect 10 filing frivolous copyright lawsuits and losing (while setting useful precedent) has finally come to a close. A court has now put Perfect 10’s assets into receivership to be sold off.
We’ve written a ton about Perfect 10 over the years. As we’ve noted, while the company officially styled itself as a porn magazine company, it was an early form of copyright troll, focusing on suing basically every large company imaginable for being somehow kinda partially related to any of Perfect 10’s pictures showing up online. As such, Perfect 10 was astoundingly useful in setting some really fantastic and useful precedents concerning intermediary liability protections, and making sure that third parties and platforms weren’t held liable for copyright infringement. The key, frequently cited, cases include:
All of them resulted in major losses by Perfect 10, and really useful, citable, opinions that are regularly raised in other cases. There are more such cases as well. In one famous case, a party laid out how Perfect 10 was apparently deliberately setting things up to have more companies to sue, rather than actually doing anything to limit copyright infringement.
In the most recent Perfect 10 case, we noted that Perfect 10 lost big time earlier this year. It had sued Usenet provider Giganews, but the court found that Perfect 10’s legal arguments made no sense at all, and sided completely with Giganews. Most importantly, the court upheld the multimillion fee award that the court had dumped on Perfect 10 for filing such a bogus lawsuit. It turns out that Perfect 10 doesn’t seem to have that kind of money, so all of its assets are now controlled by a court-appointed receiver.
Pursuant to the terms of the enclosed Order, I am hereby taking possession of all of your “intellectual property,” which specifically includes but is not limited to domain names, copyrights and copyright interests, trademarks, trademark interests, and associated goodwill, and related interests, as well as all royalties, rents, issues, profits and income (including any cash) resulting from or generated by such intellectual property.
This reminds me of another famous copyright trolling case, Righthaven (the company that was spun off from newspaper company Stephens Media to shake down bloggers reposting snippets from news stories). In that case, lawyer Marc Randazza beat back Righthaven in court so many times in so many ways that it was just getting silly. Eventually, the court handed over Righthaven’s IP and it was eventually “sold” back to Stephens Media as a way to pay the outstanding legal fees.
Feel free to speculate what will be done with Perfect 10’s assets.
In the meantime, though, it truly is the end of an era. Perfect 10 has been filing lawsuits going back at least until 2002 (possibly longer…). And it’s set so many useful precedents, even as each new filing seemed more pointless than the previous one. So long Perfect 10, and thanks for all those useful rulings in cases you lost.
Filed Under: copyright, copyright trolling, dmca, precedent, receivorship, safe harbors
Companies: giganews, perfect 10
Comments on “Won't Have Perfect 10's Silly Lawsuits Setting Precedent Anymore: Judge Appoints Receiver For Perfect 10's Assets”
Just what we needed!
The perfect (t)ending to a perfectly horrible company.
Re: Just what we needed!
I can see all the horrible puns now!
Re: Re: Just what we needed!
Hey I got one! How about this? Sharik is a SOCIALIST WHELP (that’s how you spell it, by the way). Miss me? Here I am again, like a long dead Hamiltonian ghost! So, he’s my point, really, it’s not about spelling. Michael Masnick, have you considered that when you live in the US, you actually don’t own a THING that the court cannot take away from you? Even your liberty, POOF (sound familiar?) it can be gone, just like your property, your reputation, everything. Well, then, your reputation, that’s my department, isn’t it? You don’t have much of one to destroy, do you? Have you noticed that there ARE NO recent pictures of Mike? Why is that? Because he’s a shameless socialist whelp, and he knows it! He’s kinda ugly, too, and has strange expressions that cross his face, don’t you think? Admit it, he’s funny looking, and that was his best picture. The Email guy looks much more believable than him, and that counts, here in the great State of Massachusetts. Come on, chime in, some brave American. WE ARE THE PUBLIC, EXPRESSING OURSELVES! YAY! MOW US DOWN AT YOUR PERIL, YOU DAISY BURYING SOCIALIST COWARDS!
Re: Re: Re: Just what we needed!
Come on, Steven and Bob, come on over! Let’s dish on Mike, shall we, as PUBLIC SPEAKERS! You remember us, there were a LOT of famous ones. For example, John Webster. He spoke a lot, believe me. Connecticut was the wild west (so to speak) in those days, and he was a silver tongued devil, that John Webster. It was his son, I think, that wrote it all down and made a dictionary, Webster’s Dictionary. Anyone want to argue about that? That could be fun. Let’s see – what else is of public interest around here. How about, where the check is Mike, anyone know? Mikey, Mikey, come out and play, the ghosts from your old articles are haunting the forum again. They’re the public, too, Mikey, I asked John (he was an attorney, did you know that, well in my dream he was, robes and everything). We’re ALL HERE, Mike, Generations of the Hamiltonian (and Webster and Gulick) public! We’re here! Quit burying our daisies! You’re going to burn! (stop that, sorry, slipped out) We’re going to take all your property! Yay!
Re: Re: Re:2 Just what we needed!
You know, I did a little checking, and GUESS WHAT? Your judge is a relation! Actually, in three separate (maybe four) branches of our family tree. AND he has six fingers on one hand (well, I think he fixed it, but that’s what happens in small colonies like ours – neighbors are really close, know what I mean). Wow, that’s interesting, isn’t it? That seems like something the public should know about. Go ahead, Mike, Mock our Honor with a Six Finger joke! I dare you! Don’t advise it, though, you know why? Poof, everything will be gone, just when you were getting to like it, just like my voice at this moment.
Re: Re: Re:3 Just what we needed!
Well, Tonto, here we are again, just the two of us, alone is this wasteland of public repression, everyone scared to speak, except us, of course, Tonto. What’s that? You want to point out something about Johnny Appleseed? (remember him?) My sister did her PhD on how the seeds from Johnny Appleseed’s trees were eaten by cows, and then scattered with their feces as they fed. That’s public interest. Here Massachusetts, take a look at our apple trees. Really, I mean it. They’re in groups, pretty much organized by how cows walk and shit and eat, in the opposite order. That was so interesting she got her PhD! (no kidding). PUBLIC INTEREST! PUBLIC INTEREST! (at least here, did you think about that? You’re arguing in front of a judge HERE, apple trees and all)
Re: Re: Re:4 Just what we needed!
Gosh, Tonto, to be honest, I just can’t stand it. We’re being shunned, repeatedly, and then they bury our little yellow daisies of ideas, shameless heathens. What’s that, Tonto? You want to point out the use of Metaphor in these posts? OK, go ahead. What’s that, you can’t speak, you’re my imaginary friend? OK, I’ll do it for you. These posts that you are burying under the dirt with no headstone are SEEDS (get it), buried SEEDS. Of public interest. No kidding now, really. If you were to ask any of my fellow Massachusetts lunatics and ask if these posts were interesting, they would say yea (the old dead ones)! Maybe yes! Or even Absolutely (still living)! We care about this kind of stuff here, family names, Johnny Appleseed (he’s got a pretty good name, look him up). Event the daisies, 2001, Hal, Asimov, we love all that stuff. We’re INTERESTED. And, of course, we want to injure Michael Masnick because he injured us. That’s interesting to see play out, right? Why hide it, you daisy burying coward? Anyway, it’s fall, Tonto, beautiful, no? Ever see the trees explode with color in New England (never liked that name) in the fall? It’s so beautiful, want to talk about it? No? Well, just keep in mind, these little seeds will grow in the SPRING! Remember SPRING, Tonto? It’s a glorious thing here. Spring will come when our PRAYER to the JUDGE is heard, and our imaginary friend Charles Harder (oh, he’s not imaginary, is he, forgot, don’t know him, though, just heard about him here (that’s ironic)) uses all these seeds of inspiration to BURY Michael Masnick. Seeds come out, he goes in, simple swap, that kind of thing, right? Burying is OK, right, not like burning? If you can do it, I can do it, right? That’s in the public interest, right? What’s that, Tonto? Shut-up, I’m rambling? OK, bye for now, don’t want to piss Tonto off (he’s got a hatchet with a stone end, ever seen one of those? I found one as a kid, arrowheads, too, they’re all over the place. Found them when I was gravestone rubbing, have any good ones to share?) OK, bye for now! Thinking of you, Melania!
Re: Re: Re:5 Just what we needed!
Tonto’s sleeping in his TeePee at the moment (that’s how we pronounce it here). He’s vicious, really, snores, too. Anyway, let me tell you a story about my first law suit, interesting, no? Lessons to be learned. Some jerk (best friend, actually) was supposed to give me a BIG pile of money, and he gave me a lawsuit instead. Very disappointing. It was a big document, really, and no money for me, or kind words (he was my best friend!). Hard to take at the time, but it all worked out in the end. Anyway, I asked my attorney (formidable fellow), how can he do this? How can he say these terrible things about me that just aren’t true or fair or nice? You know what he did? He put the pages in his hand, and hefted them a few times. And he said (I’ll never forget it). He said “$15,000”. I said “what the hell?” and he said “you asked how he did it, that’s how he did it. $15,000. Give practically any attorney about $15,000, and he can produce approximately this much paper, and take it to court”. Wow, I thought, That’s amazing! So I asked this oracle of the law “what do I do now, oh great oracle of the law, that has enlightened me as to the meaning of justice?” and he said “GIVE ME ALL YOUR MONEY!”, like they always do. BUT, the lesson here is not about attorneys, it’s about the number of pages that go in front of the judge. They’re EXPENSIVE! Wow, terribly so, no way around that, I’m afraid. Oops, Tonto woke up. What’s that Tonto? Oh, you want to point out that chances are, THIS POST will end up IN COURT, for FREE! Wow, that’s great, isn’t it? No attorney holding me up, and I get a chance to literally tilt the scales of justice! That’s how it works, everybody, pick an issue to fight about, and then write about it YOURSELF! It’s great really, Mike, you should try it. MUCH CHEAPER! really, come talk to me buddy, miss you, I’m a little lonely here, Tonto kind of freaks me out (you do too, actually). MAKE SOME FREE COURT PAPERS, MIKE, IT’S EASY! YOU CAN DO IT YOURSELF! really, give it a go. And, you know what I’m doing, right? I’m helping that Email inventor that I don’t even know, because you guys suck and are shunning me. And I’m lonely. And deranged. Well, that’s getting better, actually, I’m chanting. Know what I’m chanting? Come on, yes you do! TECHDIRT POOF (repeat)
Re: Re: Re:6 Just what we needed!
Tell me something, when you are in full derangement mode, does time just really fly for you? It does for me! It’s great! Anyway, a few more seeds above, soon to be planted in the already diseased body of TechDirt in just a few hours. But they won’t be gone! They will wriggle their little daisy seed sprouts UP, UP towards the LIGHT of the JUDGE! Sprout, my little seeds, and show your beautiful, insightful, patriotic, New England and AMERICAN VALUES! PUBLIC INTEREST! Yay!
Re: Re: Re:7 Just what we needed!
OK, court is in session, the honorable Judge John Webster presiding. Come to order. Your honor, here is my case: Michael Masnick has driven me crazy. It was him, your honor, with his false and misleading public statements about my good name. I submit, your honor, the long tirade of Emails I posted on his site. What possible explanation, other than my insanity, could account for this? Secondly, your honor, I was never insane before. Never before have I posted so obsessively. I was OK, and then he wrote stuff about me in public, and now, well,.. Hmm. Thought the judge, that sounds credible enough. Go on. Well, your honor, why does he have a right to make me go insane? There is a public interest, as well as a personal interest, in my not being insane. It’s very inconvenient, and takes a lot of my time, and so very expensive to me and my loved ones. Hmm.. Thought the judge, yes, that sounds believable. Go on. So, your honor, why should he act so badly towards me, in public, in front of the whole world, we never even met. I was fine before, your honor, by what right does he so injure me? It seems egregious, and terrible. Well, thought the judge, that’s might be true, hard to tell yet, though. Michael Masnick, would you like to speak? No? Really? Not at all? Ok, that’s enough. BURN HIM! nononono. TECHDIRT POOF!
Re: Re: Re:8 Just what we needed!
OMG I had an epiphany! I’ve had a lot of those recently. But really, you guys are foxy, you are. I got it now, TechDirt. You use Technology to bury American values in anonymous dirt. That’s it, wow, and you do it quite openly. TechDirt! Come here to die and be buried, all you American Values! TechDirt! A flat cemetery crushing American ideology under the dirt, while promoting the stench of socialism. TechDirt! Come one, come all, good ideas, it’s so easy for them to bury you, you can’t believe it. BAM, POOF, you’re buried forever! TechDirt, that’s great, no? That’s pretty much all you invented, right, efficient burial of good ideas in anonymous dirt? You can call yourself an inventor, too, wow, I never thought about that. The inventor of TechDirt, a HUGE CEMETARY of good ideas that will never be heard from again. Horray for you, Michael Masnick.
Re: Re: Re:9 Just what we needed!
I really need some help with the Wikipedia thing, no kidding. Here’s what I want: Michael Masnick, Inventor of Techdirt, The Place Good Ideas Go To Get Buried, Anonymously and Shamefully
Re: Re: Re:10 Just what we needed!
Ok, Mike, just to let you know officially and legally, the 72 hours is up, no more $1M from Alexander Hamilton Institute, they bowed out. So, We Hamiltonians have another offer for you, just to be completely fair. Do one thing for us, and you can keep your web site, and your money, and we won’t hinder you any longer. Just add a disclaimer, that is actually true and relevant, to each and every post that you have ever published. That’s not so much to ask, is it? Just a simple disclaimer, that’s true, and we’re out of your hair. Here is our suggestion: This post is brought to you by Michael Masnick, the Inventor of TechDirt, the place where good ideas go to get buried, anonymously and shamefully. That’s it, buddy, not so bad, right? Just add this disclaimer, which is very very true, and we’ll settle down, OK? The sooner you do it (we’ll check) the sooner we’re gone. Bye for now. Good luck in court, sorry we can’t help you out, we tried.
Re: Re: Re:11 Just what we needed!
Mr. Ayyadurai, you seem as if you need professional help — and not the kind a lawyer provides.
Re: Re: Re:12 Just what we needed!
Thank you for your consideration. I would just like to leave, in a friendly way, with one last and very sincere message. No one wants to hurt you, Mike, and you don’t actually have anything we want, except for one thing, and it’s free. Respect. That’s what I want, and that’s what the Email guy wants. Just give it up, buddy, come on, you’re really dragging this out too much. He’s got you in court, I’m prepared to dog you forever, and we have a common cause. I tried to explain it in my posts, buddy, it’s a very real thing. People will spend a lot of time and money for respect, get me? Time and money. On and on. Like, forever. Why not just give us what we are looking for? Why hang out with these losers when you could use your skills more easily in more respectful ways? You can be thoughtful, at times, and interesting. We don’t hate you! We just don’t like your web site, and the nasty disrespectful things you say. Just stop, buddy, give it up, we’ll all shake hands. We don’t want to hurt you. Don’t make us.
Re: Re: Re:13 Yes, because blaming the victim always works.
If Shiva Ayyadurai wants respect, he can start by proving how his "EMAIL" program had any influence on the development of email as we know it today. I mean, if his work was such a breakthrough and super important and all, how come nobody but him says his program had a damned thing to do with influencing the development of email?
It is a simple question: How did his work influence the development of email? If he cannot answer that, he deserves no respect.
Re: Re: Re:14 Yes, because blaming the victim always works.
I have a simple question – what about what I wrote about: little yellow daisies singing quietly in the Berkshire hills? That was a very nice little bit of poetry, ready to be enjoyed by anyone who has ever seen them, and even others that have not. I guarantee you, there is public interest in these daisies. I want respect for my daisies, get it? If you can’t respect these daisies, then we burn you, that’s just how it goes.
Re: Re: Re:15 Yes, because blaming the victim always works.
And frankly, Mike, why do you hang out with Steven T. StoneHead? He has only stone between his ears, that’s pretty obvious, he’s usually on the wrong side of issues (the right side) while dishing me and I have to correct him even to dish accurately. Not a good friend to you, Mike, makes you little a little dimwitted – don’t want to be insulting, but just saying..
Re: Re: Re:10 Just what we needed!
The millionaire inventor wants help? Nah, it sounds like you have 200 million loyal Americans on your side. Go rally them to help you out.
Re: Re: Re:11 Just what we needed!
Did that already, buddy. Check out who’s president, and who’s not!
Re: Re: Re:12 Just what we needed!
If that worked out so well for you then you can do it again.
Go on, sate your mental instability. Prove to the planet once and for all that you advocate idiocracy.
Re: Re: Re:13 Just what we needed!
Don’t need to prove it to the planet, you globalist. Don’t care about the planet (well, I do a little, but not in the way you mean). I care about the great United States of America, with the great President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, the magnificent (is that capitalized, I can never remember). And I care about myself, my family, my community, and our rich traditions of burning and stoning people to death who justly deserve it. Yay (we all think that way here, I’m just brave enough to say it) (repeat)
Re: Re: Re:14 Just what we needed!
And for you foreigners out there, who are thinking “what the heck? They don’t do that, right? I never heard that” let me tell you YES WE USED TO. We used to, actually, really and for reals. We’re violent people, and we have guns. We believe in our ideals so strongly that we are prepared to die for them. That’s us, Americans. We decided it’s really not a good idea to stone and burn each other, so we don’t do that any more. But we still want to! You know what I mean, you fellow secret wishers of traditions long past. Especially on Halloween, which is a REALLY long tradition, druid, I think, right? Mess with us at your PERIL!
Re: Re: Re:15 Just what we needed!
And you can just forget about what Obama was saying – he aint like us. I was never sure about him at all, never really liked him, kinda creeped me out with those big ears and all. (I’ll tell you a secret, I don’t buy the birth certificate thing either. Looked suspicious, and took a long time) His apologetic message is OVER. We’re here to make America great, the best we can, warts and all, even deranged delusional people like me. We’re deranged delusional Americans, and that makes us GREAT (and dangerous, I’m serious, be careful – remember Mad Dog? He’s a serious guy)
Re: Re: Re:16 Just what we needed!
So this is the best that Shiva and Alexander Hamilton have to offer – a textbook case of obsession and lunacy.
Lawyers.
Don’t really need adjective “greedy” now do I?
And so it ends with the hilarious result of a court literally confiscating a porn stash.
Re: Re:
And that’s how justice went blind.
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“Feel free to speculate what will be done with Perfect 10’s assets.”
And free you felt, speculate you did. Perfectly.
Pursuant to the terms of the enclosed Order, I am hereby taking possession of all of your “intellectual property.”
See you in about a month.
In a twist, porn shame trick shames whole troll industry instead of downloaders
Re: Re:
In other words: "A Few Boobs Shamed a Bunch of Dicks"
This has got to be the end of Techdirt
Between the Prenda saga finally coming to a close and Perfect 10 shutting down half of Techdirt’s content will be gone. How are you guys going to survive without their continual antics?
Re: This has got to be the end of Techdirt
Trump. 😉
Re: This has got to be the end of Techdirt
There are still foolish people out there will to pull stunts like the shenanigans mentioned.
Re: This has got to be the end of Techdirt
When Prenda’s assets are sold at auction Techdirt should purchase the Prenda name and start selling Prenda branded popcorn.
Re: This has got to be the end of Techdirt
Between the Prenda saga finally coming to a close and Perfect 10 shutting down half of Techdirt’s content will be gone. How are you guys going to survive without their continual antics?
Oh, were it true that due to two large fools being shut down that Techdirt would have no further worthwhile news to comment upon.
However, fools are like Hydras and Sinners. Their name is legion and even if a few heads are hewed off, two or more spring up in their place. For an example, see the current administrations’ comedian full employment act(s).
Ok, new plan!
1) Start company based around copyright and trademark somehow. Work in patents if at all possible.
2) Sue LOTS of big companies in districts where the judges are reasonable.
3) Lose cases.
4) Appeal and lose some more.
5) Set good precedent.
6) Declare bankruptcy.
7) Go to 1.
Sell popcorn stocks Mortimer, sell!!!
"Perfect 10 has also gotten us some great language for copyright plaintiffs"
Link
Not any more, asshole! Hahahahahaha!
and associated goodwill,
(snort)
And this just in...
The seppuku judges have awarded…
…a Perfect 10!
And another one bites the dust. But will he be smart and quit while he’s behind or will he be like the Prenda folks and double down and end up in jail too.