Getty Images | Charles Oria
Paul Hansmeier, who is serving a 14-year prison sentence for filing a bogus copyright infringement lawsuit and extorting money from his victims, has failed in an attempt to enforce his copyright from prison. In Monday’s ruling, a federal judge denied Hansmeier’s request to stop the government from enforcing mail fraud and money laundering laws. Hansmeier wanted an injunction so he could file a copyright lawsuit without facing new charges.
Hansmeier, who is appealing his conviction despite pleading guilty, is one of the key figures behind the notorious “copyright troll” company Prenda Law, which Ars readers will be familiar to In June 2019, he was convicted of “a sophisticated fraudulent scheme to upload pornographic videos to a file-sharing network and threaten to sue those who downloaded them.” Prenda Law’s strategy included seeking settlements of thousands of dollars from each victim.
Prenda Law founder John Steele pleaded guilty to mail and wire fraud conspiracy charges and money laundering conspiracy charges in 2017 and cooperated with Hansmeier’s investigation. Hansmeier eventually pleaded guilty to the same charges in August 2018. Steele was sentenced to five years in prison in July 2019.
Hansmeier and Steele obtained subscriber information from Internet service providers and “blackmailed them.[ed] In a press release at the time of Hansmeier’s sentencing, the US Department of Justice said it would not agree to pay the $3,000 settlement to the victim, who faces huge financial fines and public shaming. copyright infringement lawsuit,” DOJ said.
Hansmeier argued that ‘lawsuits have social value’
Hansmeyer last week filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota to “defend copyright against Internet piracy and file claims against trespassers under copyright law and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.” For that reason, I want to hire an undercover investigator.” on his computer to infringe on his work. “
The motion sought an injunction “prohibiting the government from enforcing conspiracy to commit mail fraud (18 USC 1349) and conspiracy to launder money (18 USC 1956(h)).” [Hansmeier] For this copyright enforcement activity,” U.S. District Court Judge Joan Eriksen denied the request for a preliminary injunction with a short order.TorrentFreak covered the ruling in an article Wednesday.
Hansmeier’s motion for an injunction was denied, stating that “the lawsuit will have social merit. Internet piracy is a cancer that is eroding the market for creative expression.” Hansmeier’s petition argued that his new lawsuit “avoids association with pornography” and enforces copyright on “less socially stigmatized material, such as poetry.”
Hansmeier also said it would “reduce the number of people filing lawsuits. Instead of suing thousands of people at once, we will bring more important cases to a much smaller number of people.” However, his motion does not support the “credible threat of criminal prosecution,” since “Hansmeyer is currently imprisoned on the basis of his participation in copyright enforcement activities similar to those he currently wishes to participate in.” I am sober about engaging in this petition activity,” he said.
Ericksen’s order states that Hansmeier is “subject to filing restrictions.” The restriction, in a March 2022 ruling by U.S. District Judge John Tannheim, stated that Hansmeier “prevents lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of federal mail fraud, wire fraud, and extortion laws in this district alone.” At least 16 cases,” he said.
Hansmeier’s complaint, filed from prison, “prevents him from pursuing copyright enforcement or calls an unidentified individual pursuing a claim to enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It argues that the law is unconstitutional because it prevents him from assisting,” Tunheim wrote. prohibits the filing of new lawsuits or petitions on these topics “without the prior written approval of the court.”
