On November 4, 2011, the U.S. District Court for Nevada ruled against well-known copyright "troll" Righthaven, LLC in a lawsuit Righthaven filed against NewsBlaze LLC. The court ruled Righthaven lacked standing to sue for copyright infringement on behalf of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Denver Post, calling into question Righthaven’s enforcement strategy. (and, possibly by extension, its reason for existing)

Righthaven has gained notoriety in recent years by filing nearly 300 lawsuits against media outlets and website operators for alleged copyright infringement arising from unlicensed re-posting of original material first published by the LVRJ and Denver Post. In this most recent decision – the sixth such ruling against Righthaven’s standing – the court ruled that Righthaven does not have the right to sue on behalf of the newspapers, because the newspapers remain the actual owners of the copyrights and retain control over the material and the right to enforce their copyright interests.

Critics have argued that Righthaven’s legal tactics are designed to generate revenue rather than enforce copyrights. Faced with a Righthaven lawsuit, many defendants have chosen to reach a financial settlement instead of proceeding with litigation. The recent string of court rulings against Righthaven may have an impact on those seeking to represent copyright owners in similar infringement lawsuits. Anyone on the receiving end of any kind of copyright-related lawsuit should consult with legal counsel to determine whether arguments related to standing or other litigation prerequisites would be appropriate to challenge the claims in question.