Lawyer Copypasta
Thanks to an Anonymous who literally dropped this in the comment section of my last entry.
Cut your hair, take a shower, and go to law school.
I'm rather surprised indeed that this would have been accepted due to many of the inconsistencies. The whole mix up with hal having the stamped documents already is one HUGE issue; another one is the fact that he used the wrong cover sheet, the correct one being a JS44 document (which is supposedly MANDATORY in New Jersey); then there is the issue about his complaint PDF where he already has the docket number and the judge's name, BEFORE he filed the complaint; then also the issue that he has paid the wrong price for a civil pro se case in New Jersey (New Jersey has a $150 fee; in some way, shape, or form; for a pro se litigant - either just the $150 fee, or that on top of the $350 fee civil case fee); then there is the issue of him providing additional copies of his complaint to every defendant, 25 pages for each of 1000 John Does is a lot of paper; and on top of that, the numerous legal errors and mess-ups made in the document itself... The legal system is extremely stringent, and things like this would not be allowed, even from a pro se litigant. Those stack up to quite a list. There could also be a point to be made that it may be illegal in New Jersey to post legal documents (fake or real) as a means of threat or intimidation... that would be an interesting avenue to explore...
For the legal case itself, it is pretty much hopeless. THE RIAA AND THE MPAA SPENDING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS PER LAWSUIT AND HAVE TROUBLE SUBPOENAING A SINGLE ISP FOR THE INFORMATION OF A SINGLE IP. As a public figure he is also liable to parody, that is protected as free speech. Even so, he couldn't find anyone who actually did cross the parody line; let alone prove that they had done it anyways. Since it is a civil case, and he is pro se litigant, most ISPs will pretty much completely ignore him. Then the very specific comments he has made about publishing private information for "street justice" are easily grounds for dismissal of a subpoena. For information on that, look into some of the off-shoots of the witness protection program, and more importantly cases dealing with suspected drug cartels and suspected drug informants. The drug cartel boss of an area would file a baloney case so he can subpoena the person involved in ratting out the works of the organization, the subpoena is denied on the grounds that the person's life would be in danger. Even so, as a copyright case, what exactly is he claiming copyright too? What is he claiming infringement for? A public website is a public website, in that sense anyone who wishes to, can access it. Since it is a copyright case, it no longer falls under the jurisdiction of a possible DDoS law. It also removes any criminal allegations involved (racketeering, fraud, harassment), as civil cases are for resolving money issues only. So I am very uncertain what he is suing over... Then comes the fact that the copyright he has there at the bottom of his site won't hold up for more then around 40 seconds in court, let alone the fact that I believe he has changed it very recently (which could be possible ground for tossing his case out the window).
And this is coming from a LAWYER, not some pimply face 14 year old boy or some greasy redneck; but a practicing lawyer. This case is going nowhere, and hal is just going to keep shoveling money into it. I hope he gets his lulz out of it, we certainly will.
Most of you won't read that since it is rather long, but I hope some of you do and understand just how pointless this really is
Continuing on...
I have PACER access. Yes, I can confirm Hal has filed a lawsuit. He also filed a motion for some injunctions that were denied (IANAL myself).
Here 2 documents of interest:
http://tinyurl.com/2evars http://tinyurl.com/22zrhe
And a response.
Those are very helpful, thank you.
I'm going to go over those now, and try to figure out what he's trying to do. The judge has already denied and removed almost all of his allegations. Hal was trying to make it a criminal case in some way, but it was the judge who filed it as a copyright case. Hal is fucked already. If I'm reading it correctly (or assuming that the judge added those as he did the other notions), the crossed out sections have already been removed from his complaint.
It's basically already over. Hal currently needs to come up with more information or else it is going to get thrown out of court.
Or I could be just blowing it out my ass, since I don't know the judge.
i'm just doing this for the feel of being useful;)
A quick edit to accomodate another entry that I didn't notice before I published this latest post.
There is absolutely no need to worry.
1) Hal has filed Pro Se, implying (along with his "financial ruin" statement that he has, essentially, no money, and cannot even afford a lawyer.
2) Not all courts will allow civil cases to proceed Pro Se--so if Hal cannot get a lawyr for the proceedings, well... lolz.
3) Hal will have to subpoena ISPs, the fees for which will DESTROY him.
4) Assuming he does idenitfy people, he'll have to subpoena them to come to New Jersey, and no sane judge won't grant a motion to quash here, so Hal's finances will have to bear the additional burden of meeting you in your jurisdiction.
5) If Hal does post your information, I'm sure you can get some sort of court order to remove it, or sue him for endangering you based on his statements.
6) Even if you DO get dragged into court, Hal'd going to have a devil of a time proving you responsible for 5000 dollars of damages.
7) Remember--he does not have every attacker's IP by their own statements, and their mere use of 7chan if by some total inconceivability he gets the server logs does not ensure him a suit against you.
Oh, and uh... there's always the possibility that though this was filed, the judge throws it out.
Which really doesn't look too unlikely.
Gradually, light is being shed on the actual status of Hal's case. The main claim to his imminent failure is the comparison to the RIAA and MPAA; these huge administrative bodies have difficulty tracking and apprehending suspected violators on the same allegations Hal's been making, so it appears that he himself has virtually nothing. More to come, guaranteed.
Cut your hair, take a shower, and go to law school.
I'm rather surprised indeed that this would have been accepted due to many of the inconsistencies. The whole mix up with hal having the stamped documents already is one HUGE issue; another one is the fact that he used the wrong cover sheet, the correct one being a JS44 document (which is supposedly MANDATORY in New Jersey); then there is the issue about his complaint PDF where he already has the docket number and the judge's name, BEFORE he filed the complaint; then also the issue that he has paid the wrong price for a civil pro se case in New Jersey (New Jersey has a $150 fee; in some way, shape, or form; for a pro se litigant - either just the $150 fee, or that on top of the $350 fee civil case fee); then there is the issue of him providing additional copies of his complaint to every defendant, 25 pages for each of 1000 John Does is a lot of paper; and on top of that, the numerous legal errors and mess-ups made in the document itself... The legal system is extremely stringent, and things like this would not be allowed, even from a pro se litigant. Those stack up to quite a list. There could also be a point to be made that it may be illegal in New Jersey to post legal documents (fake or real) as a means of threat or intimidation... that would be an interesting avenue to explore...
For the legal case itself, it is pretty much hopeless. THE RIAA AND THE MPAA SPENDING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS PER LAWSUIT AND HAVE TROUBLE SUBPOENAING A SINGLE ISP FOR THE INFORMATION OF A SINGLE IP. As a public figure he is also liable to parody, that is protected as free speech. Even so, he couldn't find anyone who actually did cross the parody line; let alone prove that they had done it anyways. Since it is a civil case, and he is pro se litigant, most ISPs will pretty much completely ignore him. Then the very specific comments he has made about publishing private information for "street justice" are easily grounds for dismissal of a subpoena. For information on that, look into some of the off-shoots of the witness protection program, and more importantly cases dealing with suspected drug cartels and suspected drug informants. The drug cartel boss of an area would file a baloney case so he can subpoena the person involved in ratting out the works of the organization, the subpoena is denied on the grounds that the person's life would be in danger. Even so, as a copyright case, what exactly is he claiming copyright too? What is he claiming infringement for? A public website is a public website, in that sense anyone who wishes to, can access it. Since it is a copyright case, it no longer falls under the jurisdiction of a possible DDoS law. It also removes any criminal allegations involved (racketeering, fraud, harassment), as civil cases are for resolving money issues only. So I am very uncertain what he is suing over... Then comes the fact that the copyright he has there at the bottom of his site won't hold up for more then around 40 seconds in court, let alone the fact that I believe he has changed it very recently (which could be possible ground for tossing his case out the window).
And this is coming from a LAWYER, not some pimply face 14 year old boy or some greasy redneck; but a practicing lawyer. This case is going nowhere, and hal is just going to keep shoveling money into it. I hope he gets his lulz out of it, we certainly will.
Most of you won't read that since it is rather long, but I hope some of you do and understand just how pointless this really is
Continuing on...
I have PACER access. Yes, I can confirm Hal has filed a lawsuit. He also filed a motion for some injunctions that were denied (IANAL myself).
Here 2 documents of interest:
http://tinyurl.com/2evars http://tinyurl.com/22zrhe
And a response.
Those are very helpful, thank you.
I'm going to go over those now, and try to figure out what he's trying to do. The judge has already denied and removed almost all of his allegations. Hal was trying to make it a criminal case in some way, but it was the judge who filed it as a copyright case. Hal is fucked already. If I'm reading it correctly (or assuming that the judge added those as he did the other notions), the crossed out sections have already been removed from his complaint.
It's basically already over. Hal currently needs to come up with more information or else it is going to get thrown out of court.
Or I could be just blowing it out my ass, since I don't know the judge.
i'm just doing this for the feel of being useful;)
A quick edit to accomodate another entry that I didn't notice before I published this latest post.
There is absolutely no need to worry.
1) Hal has filed Pro Se, implying (along with his "financial ruin" statement that he has, essentially, no money, and cannot even afford a lawyer.
2) Not all courts will allow civil cases to proceed Pro Se--so if Hal cannot get a lawyr for the proceedings, well... lolz.
3) Hal will have to subpoena ISPs, the fees for which will DESTROY him.
4) Assuming he does idenitfy people, he'll have to subpoena them to come to New Jersey, and no sane judge won't grant a motion to quash here, so Hal's finances will have to bear the additional burden of meeting you in your jurisdiction.
5) If Hal does post your information, I'm sure you can get some sort of court order to remove it, or sue him for endangering you based on his statements.
6) Even if you DO get dragged into court, Hal'd going to have a devil of a time proving you responsible for 5000 dollars of damages.
7) Remember--he does not have every attacker's IP by their own statements, and their mere use of 7chan if by some total inconceivability he gets the server logs does not ensure him a suit against you.
Oh, and uh... there's always the possibility that though this was filed, the judge throws it out.
Which really doesn't look too unlikely.
Gradually, light is being shed on the actual status of Hal's case. The main claim to his imminent failure is the comparison to the RIAA and MPAA; these huge administrative bodies have difficulty tracking and apprehending suspected violators on the same allegations Hal's been making, so it appears that he himself has virtually nothing. More to come, guaranteed.
posted by BFAnon at 2:36 PM
6 Comments:
ah, fuck sleep, there's just too much things going on.
look at this:
http://media.putfile.com/Hal-makes-threats-against-Ian-site-owner-of-7chan
next evidence:D
Man, I wish I could say the same thing...fucking night job.
My favorite part is when he audibly leans closer to the microphone and says, "with force...and violence, I will break...your bones."
He really means it, doesn't he? Good fuck, I wonder what would happen if someone actually camped outside his home, or at least in the general vicinity, holding a sign that had a /b/ meme on it. How angry would he get if he saw a guy with a sign that said "So i herd u liek Mudkips?" I realize he's an Internet Tough-Guy, but would he really back up his threats?
YES, somebody DID save the cached version of hal's website before the removal!
http://i.are.r00t.la
also, for future use:
http://pearlcrescent.com/products/pagesaver/
it's a firefox extension for page screencaping.
Oh, and rumor has it that the judge denied all Hal's complaints. Check these .jpg's
http://rapidshare.com/files/12963378/halisclosed.zip.html
:D
this is probably why he failed to sue 7chan
http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#register
How is a copyright different from a patent or a trademark?
Copyright protects original works of authorship, while a patent protects inventions or discoveries. Ideas and discoveries are not protected by the copyright law, although the way in which they are expressed may be. A trademark protects words, phrases, symbols, or designs identifying the source of the goods or services of one party and distinguishing them from those of others.
When is my work protected?
Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.
Do I have to register with your office to be protected?
No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Copyright Registration.”
Why should I register my work if copyright protection is automatic?
Registration is recommended for a number of reasons. Many choose to register their works because they wish to have the facts of their copyright on the public record and have a certificate of registration. Registered works may be eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees in successful litigation. Finally, if registration occurs within 5 years of publication, it is considered prima facie evidence in a court of law. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Copyright Registration” and Circular 38b, Highlights of Copyright Amendments Contained in the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), on non-U.S. works.
I’ve heard about a “poor man’s copyright.” What is it?
The practice of sending a copy of your own work to yourself is sometimes called a “poor man’s copyright.” There is no provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is not a substitute for registration.
Is my copyright good in other countries?
The United States has copyright relations with most countries throughout the world, and as a result of these agreements, we honor each other's citizens' copyrights. However, the United States does not have such copyright relationships with every country. For a listing of countries and the nature of their copyright relations with the United States, see Circular 38a, International Copyright Relations of the United States.
but he didn't register D:
sorry, forgot to include this
http://www.copyright.gov/records/
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