10/14/13

Prenda Lawyers: The Zaniness Just Keeps On Coming — But When Are These Guys Going to Get Zapped?

“So, what’s the latest with Prenda?” asked my client, and instead of filling him in on things personally, I thought I’d just post an update here.

First of all, you may remember Prenda (we’ve been following their antics for awhile now). Now, there’s even a nice summary page over at Wikipedia, where the Prenda Law Firm is described as “… a Chicago, Illinois-based law firm that claims it battles copyright piracy, but is also strongly identified with copyright trolling.”

BoingBoing labels them grifters, but whatever.

Prenda, or following what’s happening in courts all over the country delving into Prenda-activities, is just a hoot. Yes, maybe a geeky-lawyer hoot, but a hoot nevertheless.

For the latest, check out Techdirt’s latest (they’ve been doing a great job of tracking Prenda stuff), “Report From The Court Room On Latest Prenda Hearing In Minnesota: Another Hearing, Another Mess,” by Nancy Sims as well as its recap, “Prenda Soap Opera: Steele Contradicts His Own Previous Claims, Lutz Disappears Again... And The Mother-in-Law Surprise.”

For even more, there’s Boing Boing’s article “Porno copyright troll John Steele accused of identity theft -- by his mother-in-law,” which includes a link to their earlier coverage.

A tidbit of things:  Prenda’s Mark Lutz never seems to show up. He’s been a no show in court, he’s failed to come to depositions, and the excuses as to why Lutz isn’t where he’s suppose to be are amazing not only in how long it takes to provide one, but the reasons for his no-show are worthy of a jaw-drop in their own right.

There’s simply too much here to share in a short blog post, but hopefully these links will help you catch up with this infamous Porno Copyright as a Practice Area law firm.