• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, November 2, 2010

Former prosecutor Thomas DiBiase, who authors a blog about so-called "no body" murder cases, has joined the roster of Web site operators to fight back in court against copyright enforcement outfit Righthaven.

Represented by the digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation, DiBiase is arguing that he made fair use of a Las Vegas Review-Journal article when he posted it to his blog, www.nobodycases.com, devoted to so-called "no-body" cases -- instances where a missing person is presumed dead but law enforcement officials haven't found a body. His blog offers information about these situations, including updates on cases pending throughout the country.

He allegedly reposted the article "Retired teacher gets death penalty for wife's murder," which originally appeared in the June 11, 2010 issue of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Righthaven, which has sued around 150 Web site operators since launching earlier this year, filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against DiBiase in August.

DiBiase now argues in his court papers that Righthaven's lawsuit should be dismissed for a variety of reasons, including that his use of the article was noncommercial and benefits the public. "DiBiase publishes the No Body Website for the purpose of assisting prosecutors and homicide investigators in bringing justice to the friends and families of 'no body' murder victims," he argues. "Assisting prosecutors and homicide investigators in bringing justice to the friends and families of 'no body' murder victims benefits the public interest."

Already one judge has ruled against Righthaven on the question of fair use -- though that case involved posting an excerpt of an article rather than the entire piece. But, depending on the circumstances, reposting an entire article can potentially be a fair use. Considering the nature of DiBiase's blog, it wouldn't be surprising for a judge to rule that DiBiase's right to publish the information outweighs Righthaven's interest in monetizing a newspaper's clips.