Punked By Invalid Whois — Righthaven Gets

“Copyright Troll” domain name suspended due to invalid whois information.

The firm’s web site Righthaven.com right now shows an invalid whois notice from Go Daddy.

Anyone can make a complaint regarding invalid whois information. In Go Daddy’s case, the firm sends a notice to the client and gives them time to respond (assuming the email doesn’t bounce right away). If the domain owner doesn’t respond then the domain gets suspended and the client is charged $10.

That’s what happened in this case.

I just got off the phone with Righthaven founder Steven Gibson. I explained what is going on (he wasn’t aware yet), and discovered that the email address on the whois was invalid.

Righthaven has been lambasted for its aggressive lawsuits, counting its request that sites with copyright-infringing material hand over their domain names. So it’s a bit ironic.

It’s probably no big loss for Righthaven, though. A recent cache of its web site doesn’t show any content. But it’s possible the firm uses it for email.

(via @rhvictims and DNN)

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