New York disbars infamous copyright troll
New York has disbarred a lawyer notorious for mass copyright-infringement claims on behalf of photographers, after years of sanctions and findings that he repeatedly lied to courts. Commenters debate where legitimate copyright enforcement ends and trolling begins, how automation and coercive settlement demands harm innocent targets, and whether professional sanctions, or even criminal penalties, are adequate responses to abusive but technically legal legal practices.
Scope of Disbarment & What He Can Still Do
- Order bars him from: practicing law in any form, appearing as counsel, giving legal opinions or advice, and holding himself out as an attorney.
- Debate over letters post‑disbarment:
- One side: he can still act as a non‑attorney “authorized representative.”
- Others counter: saying “you are infringing copyright” and demanding payment is itself a legal opinion and could violate the order.
Why He Was Disbarred
- Multiple commenters stress the disbarment stems from repeated lies to courts, sanctions, and noncompliance, not from bringing copyright suits per se.
- He often did minimal pre‑filing research, sometimes missing existing licenses, and then compounded problems by misleading judges.
- A quoted judicial opinion describes a long pattern of sanctions and court-resource waste.
Is Copyright Trolling Inherently Shady?
- Some argue the core problem is a scale-based, automated “spray-and-pray” model:
- High false-positive rates.
- Coercive settlements (“pay a little to avoid huge litigation costs”) even when targets may be innocent or covered by fair use or licenses.
- Others defend legitimate enforcement for small photographers, especially against large publishers that refuse to pay.
- Disagreement over whether a specialized copyright-enforcement practice can exist without drifting into trolling.
Appropriate Punishment: Disbarment vs Prison
- Some call for prison or racketeering charges, arguing this is extortion from a trusted officer of the court and victims aren’t made whole.
- Others see prison as disproportionate for nonviolent conduct and prefer monetary sanctions or community service.
- Discussion that fraud and extortion can be criminal even without violence, but evidentiary standards for conviction are higher than for disbarment.
Licensing, Trust, and Professional Discipline
- One view: revoking professional licenses as punishment is unfair; only criminal law should apply.
- Counterview: licenses are about trust and preventing harm (analogy to revoking a driver’s license for dangerous behavior).
- Meta-debate: disciplinary systems may be used instead of criminal prosecution; concern that the legal profession is reluctant to criminally charge lawyers for misconduct.
Broader System Critiques & Anecdotes
- Copyright and patent trolling likened to protection rackets, with huge value destruction and power imbalances.
- Examples of small creators and emulator businesses allegedly crushed by litigation costs from much larger entities.
- Note that many states lack permanent disbarment; in the relevant state, reinstatement is possible after several years.