In the article, which is an exhibit to the Complaint, the Review-Journal describes a fairly gruesome injury to a fighter during a Tuff-N-Uff promotion. Meyer is quoted in the article discussing the fighter's injury and his request for a rematch.
As discussed at the Mixed Martial Arts Law Blog (hat tip for pointing me to the lawsuit), copying an entire article and listing the source may avoid plagiarism, but it does not avoid copyright infringement:
Many people believe that reproducing someone else's article or other content is okay as long as you note the source. That is simply not true. Giving credit to the original author just means you are not guilty of plagiarism. It does not mean you have not committed copyright infringement. In fact, it might just make it easier to get caught.If the allegations in the Complaint are true, Tuff-N-Uff's problems are only compounded because, according to the Complaint and as evidenced by the exhibits to the complaint, Righthaven received a registration over the copyrighted work (i.e. the article) on May 13, 2010. Because the work was registered within 90 days of publication, Righthaven is entitled to statutory damages ($150,000) and its attorney's fees.
Ordinarily a party will seek its actual damages for copyright infringement, but in this case those damages, I believe, would be little or nothing. However, because of the registration, Righthaven is entitled to $150,000 assuming it can prove its case.
If the allegations are true, this is not a good situation for Tuff-N-Uff.
I will continue to monitor.
Fight Lawyer
