Michael Crook backs down on DMCA harassment

Here at BoingBoing, we've been following the ongoing saga of so-called "serial griefer" Michael Crook for some time now. When he began sending out bogus DMCA takedown notices all over the internet, in an attempt to force websites to remove the image above — well, we ended up on his Christmas card list.

Last week, service providers associated with this blog received formal notices from Mr. Crook that basically amounted to, "Nevermind, I take it back, I never had any right to try to bully you into taking down that image." A number of other websites have received similar notices. This is welcome news, and I thank Mr. Crook for his apparent change of heart.

That change likely has something to do with the fact that the EFF sued him for abusing copyright law in an attempt to silence online speech. I understand that they've negotiated a settlement which will be announced soon.

Meanwhile, Scott Beale of the ISP Laughing Squid (they host one of the blogs targeted by Crook's abuse) has an update here: Link. Scott adds, "News of his DMCA retractions is also being reported by Valleywag, Techdirt and Thomas Hawk."

Related BB posts:

Michael Crook sends bogus DMCA takedown notice to BB

EFF Sues Michael Crook for Bogus DMCA Claims

RU Sirius show about EFF suit against Michael Crook

Ethan Ackerman schools us on DMCA and ISPs' obligations
Troublemakers enjoy harassing sites with bogus DMCA

EFF fights another DMCA abuser

HOWTO protect yourself from "The Craigslist Experiment"

Reader comment: John Sinteur says,

I received the apology as well: Link.