Any news on Sarah Palin's copyright case?

To refresh your memory, read here and here

Was the lawsuit settled quietly?  I have not heard a damn word about it.

Sarah Palin doesn't know when to end a losing battle

From Addicting Info

Sarah Palin seems to suffer from “hyper-political projection”. She continually takes to Fox Noise, Breitbart.com, Facebook and any other willing outlet to rail against all forms of illegality she claims are perpetrated by President Barack Obama. The tactic has served her well throughout her political career, first ousting a fellow commissioner on the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission after she alleged ethical violations committed by state Republican Party chair Randy Ruedrich.

Palin’s half-term as Governor for the great state of Alaska was, itself, marred by blatant ethics violations, not the least of which was ‘Troopergate’ where Palin and her administration lobbied for the firing of Alaska State Trooper Mike Wooten. Wooten, it should be noted, also happened to be the ex-brother-in-law of Governor Palin who was involved in a contentious custody dispute with the governor’s sister. The release of the Branchflower Investigative Report, endorsed by the Alaska statehouse, showed Palin to be in clear violation of the state’s ethics laws, though this didn’t stop Palin from spinning the findings to mean something completely different and untrue when she stated, “I’m very, very pleased to be cleared of any legal wrongdoing … any hint of any kind of unethical activity there. Very pleased to be cleared of any of that.” Oh, Sarah, if only wishing made it true.

 We’ve all heard her highness lay allegations of outright tyranny, governing by fiat, lawless execution and whatever other Republican base buzzwords that side can come up with to tar and feather our current president. Just yesterday, Palin’s Facebook page offered the outlandish but predictable screed attacking the Kenyan Muslim of breaking the law when he traded five Guantanamo detainees, (this number is as high as 70, depending on how far right you go for your news) for POW Bowe Bergdahl. Lobbing attacks from the discredited sideline upon which she sits will likely not do anything but to gin up the rabid Republican base.

This doesn’t stop Palin from becoming apoplectic at the thought that someone broke the law and we can’t let them get away with it. Unless of course the lawbreaker is Palin herself.

In September of 2013, the North Jersey Media Group filed a lawsuit against Mrs. Palin and her political action committee for copyright infringement. Palin and her PAC exploited an iconic image from the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks that showed NYFD Firefighters raising an American flag over the still smouldering Ground Zero. Having not sought permission for use of the image and certainly enjoying financial benefit for its use, the North Jersey Media Group’s claim is seeking unspecified damages.

Fighting the case all along, Palin lost a bid to have the case moved from the Manhattan Federal Court, where it was filed, to an Alaskan Federal Court or dismissed altogether. Now, her legal defense team has taken the offensive (both tactical and literal) position of thumbing their nose at the media group’s claim stating, “The Amended Complaint was not only filed in the wrong place, the Southern District of New York — it should never have been filed at all,” according to a May 13 court filing.

Palin further contends that neither she nor her minions ever sought out the image and that it was, in fact, generated automatically to her websites thanks to a widget app they use.

 So we return to the notion of political projection. Mama Grizzly throws unfounded allegation after unfounded allegation at the administration responsible for handing her the most embarrassing defeat of her political career all while she is being made to stand in court on real, true and ultimately provable grounds of law breaking. Though Palin will likely only have to pay a fine for the actions of her PAC and herself, the irony is truly satisfying.

I guess it doesn't really matter if she loses or not cuz she will use Pac funds to pay her expenses like she always does.

And Sarah's excuse is like saying the dog ate my homework.  Sorry Skanky ignorance is not a defense.  Something you have a lot of.

Sorry Sarah Palin the courts are now going to tell you that you can't!

From Legal Insurrection

We previously have written about the copyright and trademark lawsuit by North Jersey Media Group against Sarah Palin and SarahPAC over a single use by Palin in a 9/11 Facebook post of a photo of fireman raising the U.S. Flag at Ground Zero.

We also previously noted that the claim in plaintiff’s papers that Palin used the image for fundraising seemed to be a real stretch (at best). There was no evidence attached to the Complaint showing any specific fundraising. Plaintiff’s claim appears to be that anything that takes place in Palin’s name or at SarahPAC constitutes fundraising.

Palin and SarahPAC moved to dismiss the case for faiture to state a legal claim, or alternatively, to transfer the case to Alaska since New York had no connection to the dispute.

In an Order filed today, the Judge granted the motion to transfer, but to New Jersey where NJMG is headquartered. Given the transfer, the Judge deferred ruling on the merits of the motion to dismiss to whichever federal judge gets assigned in New Jersey.

It will be interesting to see if NJMG continues to fight the lawsuit, which makes no sense given that the photo clearly was not used for fundraising and was taken down quickly. Indeed, as previously noted, there is an issue as to whether Palin and SarahPAC even received actual notice of the takedown demand prior to the filing of the lawsuit just two days after the Facebook post was made.


Here is the substantive text of the Order:

Defendants move, alternatively, to dismiss or to transfer this case to another district where it could have been brought. This case is transferred to the U.S. District Court for the District ofNew Jersey.
Plaintiff is a New Jersey corporation, publishing local newspapers in New Jersey. Defendants are a citizen of Alaska and a federally registered political actioncommittee (“PAC”) whose principal place of business is in northern Virginia.
Plaintiffs allege copyright infringement of a copyrighted photograph and a violation of the Lanham Act. There is no indication of any substantial activities in this state or district.
The most convenient forum is where plaintiff claims injury, New Jersey. If defendants violated the law, they did so nationally and one situs is as convenient as another. The district of Alaska, preferred by defendants, is not a convenient forum nor is the district of Virginia. Hence this case will be transferred to the district of New Jersey. See D.H Blair & Co., Inc. et al v. Gottdiener, 462 F.3d 95, 106-07 (2d Cir. 2006). The judge to whom this case is assigned can then determine the substantive sufficiency of defendant’s motion.

I have a feeling that SarahPac will be starting another fundraising drive really soon.  It warms the cockles of my hear to see that there is a federal judge who will not kiss her ass.