Author's Book Doesn't Sell, He Sues The Internet

One is reminded of the quote attributed to Oscar Wilde:

Sir Lewis Morris was complaining to Oscar Wilde about the neglect of his poems by the press. “It is a complete conspiracy of silence. What ought I to do, Oscar?”

“Join it,” replied Wilde.

From Techdirt:

from the WRONGED-UNIMAGINABLY-WRONGED dept

Why settle for copyright infringement accusations when you can have it all? That seems to be pro se filer Michael Henry Smith's rationale. Apparently, his self-published fictional account of the Waco biker/cop shootout hasn't racked up as many sales as he believes it should. And now, the Internet must pay.

MICHAEL HENRY SMITH, Plaintiff

Vs.

ALPHABET INC., AMAZON.COM, ATTRACTSOFT GMBH, AUTOMATTIC/GRAVATAR, BEAM.TO, BESSEMER VENTURE PARTNERS, BOX/BOX, INC/OPEN BOX/MEDXT, COATUE MANAGEMENT, DFJ GROWTH, EZINECENTRE, FACEBOOK, FREEHOSTINGEU, GENERAL ATLANTIC, GOOGLE, ITOCHU TECHNOLOGY VENTURES, MACNICA NETWORKS USA, INC., MITSUI & CO, MY SOCIAL HUB XP, NEW ENTERPRISE ASSOCIATES, SAP VENTURES, SCALE VENTURE PARTNERS, SOCIAL + CAPITAL PARTNERSHIP, TELEFONICA DIGITAL, TELSTRA, AND TELSTRA VENTURES, TPG CAPITAL and TUCOWS INC.

Bring on the "defendants shielded by aliases!"

ALA KID, LONG DONG, JIMBO KING, CINDY LOU, BRIANNA NATFIALY, LONG JOHN, NUKE DUKEM, PETER WILL HARDEN, CAPTAIN SPRAWLING, CAPTAIN SPAULDING, THEREAL MIKESMITH, THEREAL MIKESMITH1ER.

Smith has filed this case under multiple causes. PACER lists it under both "Copyright Infringement" and "Assault, Libel and Slander.". That's not enough, though. Smith alleges a host of wrongs.

LAWSUIT FOR THE THEFT AND DISSEMINATION OF MY INTELECTUAL PROPERTY, FOR CYBER BULLYING, CYBER STALKING, CYBER HARASSMENT, LIABLE, SLANDER AND DEFAMATION OF CHARACTER, THE USE OF HATE LANGUAGE IN THE PURSUIT OF THESE ACTIONS and/or FOR PROVIDING A SAFE HAVEN THE DEFENDNATS CONDUCTING OF THESE ACTIVITIES and/or FOR FAILING TO PROTECT MY WORKS FROM THESE ACTIVITIES

Following this is the meat of the complaint, most of which is composed of allegations copy-pasted under each defendant's name. Amazon receives a little more personal attention because that's where Smith's saga begins.

Smith self-published his book ("The Waco Biker Massacre") using Amazon's CreateSpace and Kindle Direct Publishing. "Within weeks," his book was available elsewhere on the web and he was allegedly being subjected to personal attacks from a variety of internet ruffians. I've lapsed into archaic slang as a gentle segue into Smith's depiction of his fortunes, post-Amazon upload.

As of today,it is my estimation that some 100,000 copies of my work have been distributed without my receiving a single Sioux in compensation.

As a nation, we've long since moved to paper currency. The backing of our currency by government stores of precious metals/Native Americans is but a dim memory. Smith is demanding well over 100 million dollars/Sioux, but only the former is actually possible to obtain here in the US. Smith notes the lack of Sioux has pushed back Volume 2's release date indefinitely.

From there, the allegations against each tech defendant are remarkably similar… and remarkably unhinged. Every defendant has allegedly encouraged the proliferation of child pornography, earning "hundereds of millions of dollars" in the process -- all the while refusing to hand over personal details on their users to Smith. In Smith's view, the Internet is all mobbed up....MORE