Straight Pride UK, a homophobic organization, used a fraudulent copyright complaint to censor an article about them, but WordPress fought back.
When Straight Pride UK didn't bother to show up in court, the judge listened to WordPress's arguments about its DMCA abuse, and awarded them $25k (mostly for legal fees). It's not clear whether the US court's judgment will be enforceable against a crackpot British group, but the judgment will put easier-to-reach DMCA abusers on notice that they could pay tens of thousands for their fraud.
“The court finds the report correct, well-reasoned and thorough, and adopts it in every respect,” Judge Hamilton writes (pdf).
“It is Ordered and Adjudged that defendant Nick Steiner pay damages in the amount of $960.00 for Hotham’s work and time, $1,860.00 for time spent by Automattic’s employees, and $22,264.00 for Automattic’s attorney’s fees, for a total award of $25,084.00.”
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