Anti-piracy agency Righthaven has lost control of the company's own domain name, as the company, often referred to online as a "copyright troll", looks to be on the brink of collapse.
A court appointed receiver is now in control of the righthaven.com domain name, and it could be put up for auction in order to pay off Righthaven's creditors, including former Righthaven target Wayne Hoehn.
Righthaven sued Hoehn for using portions of a Las Vegas Review-Journal article, but lost on the grounds that Righthaven didn't have standing to sue, as well as fair use issues. Hoehn was initially awarded $34,000 in legal costs, but this amount has since doubled to more than $63,700 due to Righthaven's delay in paying up.
The court has now instructed Righthaven assets to be auctioned off to pay Hoehn and his attorneys, starting with the domain name.
The actual value of the domain name itself is debatable, although it could have value as a piece of souvenir, and could even be purchased and used by those opposed to the sue-for-settlement legal trade, as a warning to other law firms intent on doing the same.
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