RIGHTHAVEN LLC, a Nevada limited-liability company, Plaintiff, vs. DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND, LLC, a District of Columbia limited-liability company; and DAVID ALLEN, an individual, Defendants. DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND, LLC, a District of Columbia limited-liability company, Counterclaimant, vs. RIGHTHAVEN, LLC, a Nevada limited-liability company; and STEPHENS MEDIA LLC, a Nevada limited-liability company, Counterdefendants., 791 F. Supp. 2d 968

Summary

An assignor of a copyright and plaintiff, as assignee, signed a Strategic Alliance Agreement (SAA). The SAA gave the assignor the right to prevent plaintiff from suing an alleged copyright infringer for various reasons, including that the lawsuit might adversely affect the assignor. Pursuant to § 501(b) of the 1976 Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C.S. § 101 et seq., only the legal or beneficial owner of an exclusive right under copyright law had standing to sue for infringement. Because the SAA prevented plaintiff from obtaining any such exclusive right, plaintiff lacked standing to sue defendant.