A Spanish company that owns two domains seized by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has petitioned the court to release the domains. The company, Puerto 80 Projects, filed a brief in the Second District of New York which argues that its website – rojadirectica.com (also rojadirectica.org) – is an online discussion forum which “two Spanish courts specifically held that the website was operating legally and did not infringe copyrights.”
The company describes having trouble initiating a discussion with the correct authorities at ICE, and eventually being informed that “the only acceptable ‘compromise’ would entail Puerto 80 prohibiting its users from linking to any U.S. content anywhere on its sites.”
The petition was reported in an EFF blog post by Abigail Phillips.
Original Documents:
- Petition for Release of Seized Property
- Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of Puerto 80’s Petition for Release of Seized Property and In Support of Request for Expedited Briefing and Hearing of Same
