Michael Robertson Fails in Final Appeal to Kill Free Speech at Freespire.com

Michael Robertson fails to get government to step in and

kill free speech at Freespire.com, a website critical of Robertson.

Those of you who have been following Michael Robertson's attacks on free speech, by attempting to take down the Freespire.com website, will be pleased to know he has failed at his last and final attempt. This week, Robertson thew in the towel and abandoned his appeal in the case. Freespire.com, the free-speech gripe site dedicated to exposing the "real" Michael Robertson, can now safely live on for years to come.

It is estimated that Robertson spent over $100,000 in his legal attacks to see Freespire.com take down. However, in a previous blog, I had vowed to put my free speech to the test, and see if I could win this appeal without spending one dime on attorney fees, so I represented myself in this matter. I stayed true to my commitment, and am pleased to see that my free speech didn't end up costing me one dime to defend. American's are very fortunate to live in a country where wealthy bullies like Robertson can't buy your free speech for any amount of money.

For those of you not familiar with this case...Freespire.com was launched as a means to expose the real Michael Robertson, and as a resource for anyone thinking about having dealings with Robertson. Understandably, Robertson wouldn't want people finding this site. However, given America's strong First Amendment protections of the press and free speech, Robertson was forced to be clever, and tried using Trademark law to have Freespire.com taken down. As I reported in April of last year, Robertson lost those attempts in court after spending thousands in legal bills on his failed attack. Upon losing the case, he filed an appeal, which he has now given up on.

Honestly, this is the first smart thing I've seen Robertson do in years. I've seen him waste over a million dollars losing in court time and time again (more details of this in my next blog). As with so many of his attacks, the Freespire trademark case was groundless (read the Judge's strong ruling against Robertson here). However, that hasn't stopped Robertson in the past, and it seems to me that his lawyer, Ed Cramp has played Robertson for the fool, making loads off of Robertson. (Although Cramp, like so many of us, may also come to regret ever having met Robertson...read why.)

I was quite surprised to see Robertson finally make a smart decision and stop wasting money on this. One can only speculate as to why he dropped this case... Is he running out of money? (You know what they say about a fool and his money.) Did he stop paying his lawyers? Did he finally figure out all he was accomplishing was bringing more light to Freespire.com while making his lawyers rich? Did he realize I wasn't spending a dime on this? Did he decide he has bigger things to worry about, like the massive copyright infringement case against him from EMI?

The Future of Freespire.com

Now that Freespire.com is safe from Robertson's attacks, look for the site to become even more dynamic. (Visit Freespire.com now to see the beginnings of it's new look.) In addition to the several facts already there, here are just some of the topics you'll be able to read more about in the coming months at Freespire.com:

• My next blog post, "Michael Robertson's Million Dollar Ego," with tabulated figures, facts and details of just how much money Robertson wasted attacking former employees, and see the final "scoreboard" of who won and who lost.
  
  
• Blow by blow accounts of the insurance fraud investigation involving Robertson and his lawyer, Ed Cramp (w/Duane Morris).
  
  
• Updates on Robertson's failure to speak with Linspire shareholders in years since he ran the company into the ground, with millions of dollars still un-accounted for to the shareholders.
  
  
• Timely updates on the EMI copyright infringement case against Robertson. Having worked at MP3.com and closely with Robertson for many years, as well as having been deposed as a witness in the EMI case, I have a unique perspective and access to timely updates for all the developments in that case. For example, find out how Robertson argued that he was involved in all the major decisions at Linspire (where he had little involvement and wasn't the CEO), and yet claimed to have little involvement (read: liability) in the EMI case, where he WAS the CEO of MP3tunes. Don't fall for the spin from Robertson, get the true facts at Freespire.com.
  
  
• Inside perspective from former employees on how Robertson treats them, who he gives special attention to, and who he attacks and his underhanded methods in those attacks.

So, bookmark Freespire.com, and link to it from your websites, blogs, Facebook, Twitter and other social networking pages. (The more links to the site, the higher up it will appear in Google searches to help inform others who may be considering dealings with Robertson.)

With someone like Robertson, you know there will always be interesting reading, so stay tuned to Freespire.com for the latest news on the REAL Michael Robertson.

Kevin

Can Michael Robertson Buy Your FREE Speech for $250,000?

Is "free" speech really free? Or can someone like Michael Robertson spend $250,000 to buy yours? He seems to think so. I'm going to put it to the test. Is my free speech really "free?" We'll soon find out...

Michael Robertson thinks he's bigger than the 1st Amendment, you know, that thing that says government can't pass laws to deprive one of their right to free speech. Most countries don't have anything like our 1st Amendment, and it's one of the things that makes America so great. Robertson claims to be a champion of free speech, but when it comes to speech critical of him, he wants government (via the courts) to step in and help him kill it. Robertson has added himself to the long list of those who are trying to whittle away at the 1st Amendment, and usher in an era of political correctness where no one gets their feelings hurt by another's speech. He's the classic example of the bully who loves to dish the criticism out (see his blog, that's pretty much all he does), but can't take it himself.

For those of you not familiar with the Freespire.com case, Michael Robertson has been trying unsuccessfully for nearly TWO YEARS to kill free speech on the Internet at www.freespire.com. Freespire.com is a gripe site, "dedicated to shedding light on the REAL Michael Robertson." You can read the court history here, where you'll see that Robertson has spent an estimated $100,000 to $150,000 and lost at every turn. Fortunately, the 1st Amendment isn't an easy thing to bring down, and without spending a tenth of what Robertson has spent, Freespire.com has continued to win in the courts.

When Robertson lost in the final court case to try and bring down Freespire.com, knowing what an insecure egomaniac Robertson is, I predicted the following:

I won't be at all surprised if Robertson appeals, as he might still have a little money left. (What's that they say about a fool and his money? ;-) But, I'm happy to see Robertson wasting his money (as I'm sure his attorney Ed Cramp is too =), since I won't be the one spending anything, just like before. Doesn't Robertson understand that the more he attacks, the more attention he just brings to Freespire.com? He spends HIS money to bring more attention to the very thing he's trying to shut down. Doi!

Some of us who worked for Robertson have a saying, "Take the smartest, most logical thing to do, and plan on Robertson doing the exact opposite." It's what makes him so predictable. What would be the dumbest thing to do here? To appeal and waste more of your money to bring attention to freespire.com. So, what can we expect from Robertson...you got it. Mark my words.

Robertson is as predictable as a dumb donkey, and sure enough, today I learned that he has appealed this no-win case. He could end up blowing around $250,000 on this loser. (Don't you wish you had that kind of money to waste on your bruised ego?)

Putting Free Speech to the Test

I'm confident enough in our 1st Amendment (and Robertson's incompetence in attacking it), that I'm going to put my free speech to the test. I will not spend one penny on this case. I have already released Gil, my lawyer who had done such a great job on this case up until now. Even though Gil easily won this case on a very small budget, I believe one should be able to defend their free speech for, well, for free. Let's find out if it can be done.

I'm going to represent myself in this case, or with the assistance of any unpaid, "free" volunteers. If I win, then our 1st Amendment is alive and well. Should I lose, then I guess free speech isn't so free after all, and bullies like Robertson can buy yours for around $250,000, and we'll have to start calling it "quarter of a million dollars speech," instead of "free speech."

So, choose your team. Team Robertson or Team Free Speech. Let me know who you'll be cheering for.

Who knew all those years ago when I decided to name the Freespire OS by that name, it would take on a much greater meaning, that of an American's right to FREE speech. Long live FREE Speech, and long live FREEspire.com!

Kevin

Michael Robertson Loses. Free Speech Wins. Freespire.com to Live on for 100 Years!

When I left Linspire, I had every intention of just moving on with my life, but soon after my departure, Michael Robertson hit a new and disgusting low (even for him) by trying to have some good people arrested for simply having been laid off and given severance. (What kind of greedy person would do something like that?!?) Robertson tried to have these good people arrested and started attacking them, trying to destroy their good names, and doing everything he could to bring harm to these individuals. Well, I couldn't just stand by and watch. As the saying goes, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." So, I decided the world needed to know about the REAL Michael Robertson, and little by little, I started to share some facts about Robertson via my blog, and eventually started using Freespire.com to disseminate my writings.

If you review the history page of Michael Robertson's Wikipedia page, you'll see Michael ("Mykill") and his family ("Leslieaudra") remove anything unflattering from Robertson's page (not to mention libeling others with false acquisitions). Therefore, I felt it was important that there was a website to tell the real story about Robertson and where I could defend the employees Robertson was attacking...someplace that he couldn't whitewash and censor. That place became, and is, Freespire.com.

Understandably, given Robertson's unflattering history, he doesn't want the facts shared at Freespire.com to be public, but unlike Wikipedia which he could censor directly, he had no influence at Freespire.com. So, instead, he did what many wealthy, unethical men do, and tried to squash my free speech by filing a lawsuit against me and Freespire.com.

Yesterday, the Judge in the Freespire case came out with her final ruling. Here's what happened...

Trial Prep

My lawyer estimates that Robertson spent over $100,000 on the Freespire case (including a motion for summary judgment which he lost last year). I didn't spend even a small fraction of that. There's a saying among lawyers, "If the law is on your side, argue the law. If the facts are on your side, argue the facts. If neither are on your side, pound on the table." Robertson paid dearly for a lot of table pounding. =) Both the law and the facts were unquestionably on my side. Time and time again the courts have protected sites such as Freespire.com, for to do otherwise would be an infringement on one's freedom of speech (something Robertson pretends to care about, except when it comes to the free speech of others talking ABOUT HIM =). This made defending this case very easy, and very little work was needed or done on our part, but for Robertson, well, let's just say table pounding can be very expensive!

The day before the trial, my lawyer, Gil Cabrera, called me and asked if I wanted to get together before the trial and go over anything and do any prep. I told him, "We won't need any. If we stick with the facts and law, we win, and I know you're a pro at that. Let's let Robertson waste his money and put his lawyers' kids through college. I have better things to do with my money." I then told Gil that I'd meet him at his office a few minutes before the trial, and we'd walk over to the courthouse together. (Gil's office is only a couple of blocks away.) I told him that we'd prepare as we walked over. That's it. That's all the prep we did. I knew this was likely the least a client had ever let Gil prepare for a trial, but I told him he was good enough, and our case strong enough, it wouldn't matter.

The Trial

Gil and I arrived at the courthouse and walked into the courtroom. There was Robertson with THREE lawyers from his high-priced law firm, Duane Morris (Ed Cramp, Ed's partner, and Michelle Hon, an IP litigation specialist). They had posters prepared, documents stacked a mile high, and their game faces on, all poised and ready for battle. (Robertson fancies himself as quite the legal mind, even though he loses a lot more often in the courtroom than wins.) It was clear, Robertson was sparing no expense to try and shut down Freespire.com. I felt sorry for Ed and Michelle who had been handed a total loser case, but I was anxious to see them pound that table...and boy, did they ever! I have to say, Ed and Michelle did a great job, considering they had no case and the law was completely stacked against them. Ed tried to imply all sorts of sinister going-ons as he questioned me on the witness stand about "private" domain registrations, ooooohhhh, using aliases for negotiating domain name purchases, aaaahhhh, and bank wires to escrow companies located in the, shhhhhh, the Cayman Islands. Oh my! :-O

My favorite moment was when Ed Cramp had the entire court room on the edge of their seats. He was going to drop the big bomb on us all, that would blow the case wide open. We spent 30 minutes so Ed's big moment could be allowed in court (he was going to have me read from a confidential document). There were several high school students who were in the court room as part of some class project, so we had to wait for them to all sign confidentiality agreements before they could hear the big bombshell Ed was going to drop on the court. Well, the big moment finally came...we're all on the edge of our seats...I'm on the witness stand and Ed had me turn to a specific page in the ginormous trial documents book they had prepared. He asks me to start reading his big smoking-gun document. The only problem was, what he was reading, and what everyone else in the court is reading, were completely different. It was all I could do to not look at Gil for fear I would bust out laughing while on the witness stand, just three feet from the judge. From the witness stand I had a front row seat watching Michael, Ed and Michelle scratching their heads, scrambling, trying to figure out what had happened. Where was the missing, secret document? After a minute or two of silence, while the entire court waited for them to get it together, I saw Robertson turn beet red, and he started pounding on documents on the table (literally =), as he explained to Ed that someone had photo copied the wrong document! (I could picture how later that day, Ed would have to endure one of Robertson's famous, out-of-control, childish temper tantrum "bell ringings," something I had to witness dozens of times at Linspire. I could also image the big discounts Robertson would be demanding from his legal bill for this snafu. Poor Ed. Or is it "rich" Ed, who actually seems pretty happy to keep taking Robertson's money for no-win cases? ;-)

They finally got things sorted out and Ed was able to read the big zinger. Yawwwnnn. What a let down, just more nonsense. And so the trial went on...and on....AND ON, blah, blah, innuendo after innuendo being made by Robertson's team. A case that should have taken an hour or two, Robertson and Co. dragged on for an entire day, we even stayed past the normal closing time for the court.

The Verdict

After the trial, we had to wait a couple of weeks for the Judge to issue her ruling. When it arrived, as expected, it was a complete and total victory for free speech. Robertson lost. Free speech won. Judge Judith Hayes was spot on in her ruling. She didn't miss a thing, and correctly ruled "...the Defendant had a bona fide noncommercial use for the website, the Court finds the general purpose of the website to be a free speech forum wherein Defendant criticized the management of Plaintiff. ..the Defendant at no time harbored a bad faith intent to profit from a registered mark and that his use of the website undertaken to inform consumers and criticize Plaintiff's management constituted a lawful use of the site."

Oh, but wait! Michael Objects!

I guess Robertson didn't feel like he'd wasted enough cash on this dog case (or maybe Ed Cramp had another kid needing to be put through college), so they filed a TWENTY-SEVEN PAGE objection with the court, contesting the judge's tentative ruling. When we received a copy of their objections (27 pages of the same blah, blah they tried at trial), Gil suggested we really should respond. I told him, again, I had better things to do with my money than waste it on this ridiculous case. I typed up a paragraph, emailed it to him, he translated it into legalese, and that was our response. We then waited for the Judge's final ruling...

Judge's Final Ruling

Yesterday we received Judge Hayes final "Statement of Decision." It reads: "The Court has considered objections by Plaintiff, overrules the objections so noted and hereby issues its Statement of Decision." Translated, this means, "We read your TWENTY SEVEN PAGES of blah, blah, and free speech is still protected in this country. You lose. Free speech wins." (Click here for a copy of the Judge's ruling.)

For all the money Robertson paid the MULTIPLE Duane Morris attorneys, I'll take my ONE lawyer, Gil Cabrera, any day. Even though I didn't pay him to prepare to anywhere near the extent Robertson did his team, Gil easily won. I didn't pay to let Gil have all the resources that Robertson let Duane Morris ring up (motions for summary judgment, prep time, research, nifty white posters, 27-page objections, multiple attorneys at trial, etc.), yet in my opinion, he clearly out lawyered them where it counts--in the courtroom. Gil beat Robertson's team with one hand tied behind his back, while Robertson gave his troops a tank. Gil won by sticking to the heart of the issue (non-commercial free speech site), regardless of all the nonsense Robertson's team threw out there. Sure, Gil DID have the law and the facts on his side, but he still did a great job in delivering them, and it's clear by the outcome that the Judge didn't miss a thing. Kudos to Gil for making sure the real issues didn't get buried in the mud Robertson's side was throwing at the wall.

I won't be at all surprised if Robertson appeals, as he might still have a little money left. (What's that they say about a fool and his money? ;-) But, I'm happy to see Robertson wasting his money (as I'm sure his attorney Ed Cramp is too =), since I won't be the one spending anything, just like before. Doesn't Robertson understand that the more he attacks, the more attention he just brings to Freespire.com? He spends HIS money to bring more attention to the very thing he's trying to shut down. Doi!

Some of us who worked for Robertson have a saying, "Take the smartest, most logical thing to do, and plan on Robertson doing the exact opposite." It's what makes him so predictable. What would be the dumb thing to do here? To appeal and waste more of your money to bring attention to freespire.com. So, what can we expect from Robertson...you got it. Mark my words. Like I say, as predictable as a dumb donkey.

Freespire.com for 100 Years

The Freespire.com domain name was set to expire next month. I just renewed it for another 10 years. I would have registered it for longer, but that's the max they'd let me go. I suppose they figure that in ten years who knows if "web sites" and "domain names" will even exist. One thing I can assure you, however, no matter what the medium will be in the future, I'll make sure the facts about the REAL Michael Robertson get published, not just for the next 10 years, but for the next 100.

Kevin

Will Freedom of Speech be Banned in America? Michael Robertson hopes so!

Will freedom of speech be banned in America? If Michael Robertson has his way it will be. He wants Freespire.com taken down because the site is critical of him and exposes many of his questionable business practices. Robertson is trying to use trademark law to shut down Freespire.com. Fortunately, America has a rich history of supporting freedom of speech on the Internet. Robertson already lost in summary judgment in the case, and it goes to full trial later this month. (If you're in the San Diego area and would like to attend the hearing, email me for details.)

For Robertson to shut Freespire.com down, he needs to prove I had bad faith intent to "profit" from the site, such as by confusing visitors. For example, show that people visiting Freespire.com would somehow be so daft that they would be confused and think the site was run by Xandros (the trademark holder for the term "Freespire") and that this confusion was created so that I would profit from the site.

If you visit http://freespire.com, you'll see first hand how ridiculous that argument is. There's clearly no confusion that this site is from Xandros (or Linspire), nor has there ever been any such confusion, and the site has never received one dime of revenue or profited. (Robertson's lawyers know the case is a dog, but they love taking Robertson's money and he's crazy enough to pay it. Doi!)

Xandros, the trademark holder, has never expressed to me any problem with the Freespire.com site or asked me to turn the domain name over to them. It's Robertson (who does NOT have the trademark) who is spending tens of thousands trying to take Freespire.com down and silence his detractors. Does anyone really think Robertson is looking out for Xandros? Robertson doesn't even look out for his OWN employees and shareholders, why would he care about Xandros? He clearly only cares about one thing--twisting trademark law to kill freedom of speech that is critical of him.

Robertson loves to whine about others who don't respect freedom of markets, speech, etc., and yet he's the one wasting loads of cash trying to do that very thing.

Long live freedom of speech. Hopefully the court will defend it later this month. I have every confidence they will. I'll be back to report when it does.

Kevin

Michael Robertson Loses in Court Again Today -- A Victory for Freedom of Speech!

Today, in a two-page ruling, Judge Steven R. Denton ruled against Michael Robertson in his motion for summary judgment with his lawsuit against me and the Freespire.com website. (Robertson wants to squash free speech and force freespire.com to be taken down because the site brings to light many of Robertson's questionable actions.) You can read the Tentative Ruling here, which was certified today in court.

Score: Freedom of Speech: 1 -- Michael Robertson: 0

In Judge Denton's ruling, he sites the nine different factors to be considered in such a trademark/domain name case, and then rightly concludes that the majority of these nine factors "weigh in the Defendant's favor." Score a point for freedom of speech.

A company can't force a site down on the basis of a trademark, just because the site is critical of that company or its management. Judge Denton addresses this concept in his ruling, "One of the ACPA's main objectives is the protection of consumers from slick internet peddlers who trade on the names and reputations of established brands. The practice of informing fellow consumers of one's experience with a particular service provider is surely not inconsistent with this ideal." For Robertson to prevail, he would have had to shown that I confused users at the Freespire.com website and that I then profited from that confusion. Considering I have never profited one dime from the Freespire.com site, that's a pretty ridiculous claim. Likewise, anyone can visit the freespire.com site and see if they think anyone could possibly be confused into assuming the site was part of Linspire.

I estimate (based on all the paper work filed by Robertson in the case), that so far Robertson has spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $50,000 on this lawsuit. I have spent next to nothing in my defense, and yet today I prevailed. It's nice having the law on your side. Lawyers have a saying, "If the law is on your side, argue the law. If the facts are on your side, argue the facts. If neither is on your side, pound the table." Today Robertson blew thousands of dollars having his legal team "pound the table," but fortunately, the law and the facts carried the day in Judge Denton's courtroom this morning.

Michael Robertson loses. Judge Denton keeps
free speech alive at Freespire.com website.

As I've reported previously in my blog, the Freespire.com website is "dedicated to shedding light on the REAL Michael Robertson." (Visit: Freespire.com) I have seen Robertson go to great lengths to try and create a public persona which is very different from the one you will hear about from those who know him. Therefore, at Freespire.com, visitors can learn about the REAL Michael Robertson, directly from those who have worked closely with him.

I'm sure Robertson's lawyers get tired of losing, but as long as Robertson is crazy enough to pay them, I'm sure they'll gladly keep taking his money, even when they know the cases are groundless, no-win cases for Robertson. We all know what they say about a fool and his money...

Kevin

Warning! Michael Robertson Could Sue You For Your Blog!

This week, Michael Robertson took his next step in trying to suppress my blog and stifle my freedom of speech. Today I received his request for documents in his frivolous Freespire trademark lawsuit against me.

Robertson's case has absolutely no merit, yet he's spending thousands of dollars in attorney fees trying to shut down Freespire.com. There is no reasonable upside to Robertson in this lawsuit, other than to try and take Freespire.com down, a site which calls into question Robertson's business practices. The sites encourages would-be customers, partners, investors and employees to talk with others who have had prior dealings with Robertson BEFORE deciding if they want to be involved with him.

To see the frivolity in Robertson's attacks on me in this lawsuit, consider the following...

1. To this day, Linspire, Inc. has never even had a registered trademark for the term Freespire.

2. When I was CEO for Linspire, Inc., I filed for a trademark for the term Freespire in April of 2006. However, after I left Linspire (July 2007), the company discontinued pursuing the application and the application was abandoned on January 14, 2008.

3. In January 2008, Linspire was given the opportunity to acquire the Freespire.com domain name, but they declined.

4. AFTER their trademark had been abandoned and Linspire had declined to acquire the Freespire.com domain name, I THEN acquired the Freespire.com domain name. Since then, I have used the site for various things, but mostly to link to my blog about Michael Robertson's despicable behavior, particularly in two areas:

a. How he tried to have several former employees arrested by the San Diego Police Department. He told the police that funds these employees had been paid for severance had been "embezzled" by them. (Fortunately the police and the courts saw through the nonsense and tossed this out.) These were all very good, long-term employees who had served Linspire faithfully for many years, and this was the thanks they got from Robertson--threats, harassment, intimidation, and lawsuits. (Knowing this, why would anyone ever want to go to work for such a person?)

b. How Robertson refused to explain to the 100-some-odd Linspire shareholders what happened with the millions of dollars in cash that Linspire had. It's now been nearly a year since Robertson sold off the Linspire assets in a back-room deal and the shareholders have yet to be given ANY accounting of what happened. (Knowing this, why would anyone ever invest in Robertson?)

Would you want to work for Michael Robertson
and run the risk of being called an embezzler?

5. Only AFTER Robertson found out I was using Freespire to shed light on his greedy deeds, did Linspire THEN file again for a trademark for Freespire, which still has never been granted a registration.

6. Given the nature of the content I put on the site, obviously there was never any confusion that my site was affiliated with Linspire or the Freespire operating system.

7. Because Freespire never had much traffic, the Freespire.com site has had virtually NO traffic.


8. Robertson sold off Linspire, but he went out of his way to keep the right to sue me for the Freespire trademark (which they never even had).

9. As anyone can see, the site is noncommercial. I don't sell or advertise anything on the site.

10. Not one time did Linspire reach out with any sort of communication to me or the Freespire.com website. No letters, no email, just straight to the lawsuit.

11. To this day, no one at Xandros (the people who now own the Freespire OS and have the PENDING trademark application on file) has ever contacted me or the Freespire.com website, or complained in any way about the site. If having the Freespire.com website up is so damaging, why wouldn't XANDROS be suing me? (Perhaps Xandros understands the concept of Freedom of Speech better than Robertson.)

So, in considering all these things, it's pretty clear that there was no confusion, there were no damages, and there's no upside for Robertson in this, so it obvious to me that this is all about Robertson trying to keep me quiet.

If you want to see just how desperate Robertson is to stop Freespire.com, here's the stuff he's requesting as part of this "trademark" lawsuit. (You can also click here for the entire request in pdf format.) To me it's pretty obvious what he's after (besides his normal bury-them-in-discovery nonsense), and that's to make sure the world doesn't find out what he's really like. For example, be sure and check out #6.



I have no intention of ever keeping quiet. People should know the truth about Robertson. Work for him, and run the risk of being called an embezzler. Invest in him, and get left in the dark. Write a blog about him, and well, you just might get sued.

I rightfully acquired the Freespire.com domain name, and I have a right to express my feelings there. Last time I checked, freedom of speech was still part of America, as much as Robertson would apparently like to change that.

Kevin

Michael Robertson Continues to Embrace Censorship on the Web

As many of you know, Michael Robertson is suing me for my freespire.com website, which is critical of Robertson for his treatment of employees and shareholders. (Linspire didn't even have a trademark application pending for the term "Freespire" when I started using freespire.com, and the freespire.com domain name was even offered to Linspire before I started using it, so it's pretty obvious to me that his legal bullying is a silly attempt to stifle my freedom of speech.)

Tonight, Michael Robertson broke a new record for censorship on his blog at michaelrobertson.com. Robertson was once again trying to justify making copies of music files and storing them in lockers without authorization (the same thing he did that tanked MP3.com). I made a legitimate post to his forum and my post was censored in less than three minutes! Wow, they're fast with the censorship button over there. =) Instead of rebutting my post, or responding to it, Robertson just has it censored. Nice!

Here is a copy of my post, for those of you who blinked and missed it before it was censored. (Click on the image to enlarge it.) You'll see from the "PS" in my post I was even expecting to be censored, knowing how much Robertson dislikes contrasting points of view.

Click on above image to view my censored post at michaelrobertson.com.

Here is the link that was in my post if you want to check it out: http://www.sideload.com/cb/search/?keywords=the+beatles&pg=1

It appears censorship remains alive and well not just in China, but at MichaelRobertson.com.

Michael is welcome to post to my blog's forum anytime without fear of censorship. In fact, the Linspire shareholders would love to hear from him and what happened with Linspire's cash and assets.

Long live Freedom of Speech!

Kevin

Michael Robertson Sues Me to Impede My Freedom of Speech on the Internet

UPDATE:  I easily won this lawsuit.  Read results here.

As many of you know, I have used my blog as a resource to bring to light the questionable actions of Michael Robertson, and to go public with his treatment of employees and shareholders. Today I was served with a lawsuit by Michael Robertson in an effort to obscure my blog and impede my freedom of speech. I have to say that I wasn't surprised to learn that Michael would use a frivolous lawsuit to threaten and silence me, but it won't work. I will not let Robertson bully or intimidate me with this or any other nuisance suit. Such lawsuits only serve to shed further light on his unscrupulous tactics.

Michael Robertson--No Champion of the 1st Amendment

Robertson, unhappy about my blog, sues me

The Internet has become a bastion of free speech for bloggers. Robertson, who claims to be a strong supporter for such rights, seems to feel quite differently when that speech is critical of him.

You see, just as the Internet is a marvelous vehicle for companies to promote their goods and services, it can be an equally effective tool for dissatisfied customers or disgruntled employees and shareholders to criticize a particular product, company or management team. Much to the chagrin of trademark owners, such "gripe sites" (which often include the company name or trademark in the URL), are very difficult, if not impossible, to shut down. Fortunately, the First Amendment typically shields the operators of corporate gripe sites from liability. If the gripe site is non-commercial in nature, the operator's freedom of speech will generally override the trademark owner's interest in controlling the use of its company name or trademark, as it should.

Freedom of Speech on Freespire.com

Earlier this year, Linspire was given the opportunity to purchase the domain name Freespire.com. They declined. When I was CEO, I spearheaded the Freespire project, but I was unable to obtain the freespire DOT COM domain name, so we did everything at freespire DOT ORG. We tried incessantly to obtain the .com domain, but the owner would never sell it to us. So you can imagine my surprise when earlier this year, the owner finally agreed to sell the domain and it was offered to Linspire, but they declined to acquire it. (I think that also sums up the commitment Linspire had to Freespire.) So, around eight months ago, only AFTER Linspire declined to purchase the freespire.com domain name, I decided to acquire it as a non-commercial opinion site to share my views about Linspire, Freespire and desktop Linux in general.

It had been over six months since I had left Linspire, and I had become increasingly disappointed with its management and decided to use Freespire.com to vent that dissatisfaction. I had certainly been observing the downfall of the company, and by this time I had learned about Robertson having filed false claims against several executives, calling severance payments "embezzlement," and I wanted a venue to express my displeasure. For me, the writing was on the wall that Robertson was destroying the company. (Just a few months later the company was gone and the shareholders remain in the dark.)

At the freespire.com site, I praised the good work other distributions were doing with Linux (Ubuntu, Mint, Nimblex, etc.), expressed dissatisfaction with Linspire/Freespire, and linked to my blog. At no time have I ever sold any of these distributions or had a financial stake in them. I was merely exercising my freedom of speech.

So, today, Michael Robertson (via the now-defunct Linspire shell company "Digital Cornerstone") sued me for "cybersquatting, trademark infringement, and unfair competition," claiming that the freespire.com "gripe" site should be taken down and seeking $100,000 and other damages.

First, I'm a little confused how Robertson is suing me for trademark infringement, considering there is no registered trademark for "Freespire." (Linspire filed for one but never actually got it registered and all the Linspire IP went to Xandros months ago.)

My freespire.com site never sold anything. It never used the Freespire logo or even used the Freespire name in large fonts or type. There was certainly no confusion, as it was quite clear this site wasn't Linspire's site. In fact, there was even a disclaimer stating the fact that the site was not owned by or affiliated with Linspire or the Freespire distro in anyway.

Companies hate "gripe sites," but consumers appreciate
them and the First Amendment Protects Them

As I pointed out earlier, it's rare that a non-commercial blog or opinion site is found to be cybersquating or violating trademarks, as they are protected by the First Amendment. And it's extremely rare for monetary damages to be awarded in a cybersquating case, particularly one as non-consequential as this one. (The freespire.com domain only got around 100 hits per day, and even fewer today. See the Alexa graph at the end of this blog.) Yet Robertson is seeking $100,000 in damages? Linspire never complained or objected about the site, even though there was a clear contact link for the site's webmaster on every page. No cease and desist letter was ever mailed. They never sought relief or arbitration from ICANN. No, instead, in classic Robertson fashion, he headed straight to the court room because this lawsuit is about intimidation and suppressing speech, not about legitimate damages.

The lawsuit even states, "Although the FREESPIRE mark was recently assigned as part of an asset purchase, [Robertson] expressly reserved all rights in and to all claims against Carmony arising from the freespire.com domain name and website." Now, why would Robertson want to carve out that one thing to hang on to? He's no longer involved with Freespire, so why does he care? Is he desperate for money? With Robertson's companies struggling and laying employees off, does anyone really believe this is the most important thing Robertson should be concerning himself with? His motives are pretty transparent--to suppress freedom of expression that is critical of Robertson.

Keep Speech Free at Freespire.com

This is a nuisance lawsuit, intended to silence my freedom of speech. I will defend my right to free speech by continuing to point freespire.com to my blog and keep reporting on Robertson's disturbing actions.

I'll keep you posted on this YARL (Yet Another Robertson Lawsuit).

Kevin

UPDATE: Michael Robertson made a pretty ironical post today on his Michael's Minute. So I made an appropriate response, and it was quickly censored and removed. Below is a screenshot of what it looked like BEFORE my post was censored (click on it to enlarge to read). Michael Robertson is welcome to post here at anytime and I will assure him his non-anonymous comment will be published. As I say, Robertson can dish it, but can't take it. Just more evidence of his desire to squash free speech.

Censorship at MichaelRobertson.com

Penn & Teller on the First Amendment (Explicit Language)