The lawsuit decided Monday targeted Wayne Hoehn, a
Vietnam veteran who posted all 19 paragraphs of November editorial from the Las Vegas
Review-Journal, which is owned by Stephens Media. Hoehn posted the article, and its
headline, “Public Employee Pensions: We Can’t Afford Them” on
medjacksports.com to prompt
discussion about the financial affairs of the nation’s states. Hoehn was a user of the
site, not an employee.
Righthaven sought up to $150,000, the maximum in damages allowed under the Copyright Act.
Righthaven argued that the November posting reduced the number of eyeballs that would have
visited the Review-Journal site to read the editorial.
“Righthaven did not present any evidence that the market for the work was harmed by
Hoehn’s noncommercial use for the 40 days it appeared on the website. Accordingly, there
is no genuine issue of material fact that Hoehn’s use of the work was fair and summary
judgment is appropriate,” Judge Pro ruled.
...Judge Pro, in his fair-use analysis, also found that the posting was for noncommercial
purposes, and was part of an “online discussion.”