3 Count: Filesoup

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1: “Twilight” author accused of plagiarism

First off today, the author of the “Twilight” series, Stephanie Mayer, is facing accusations of plagiarism, this time from author Jordan Scott, who wrote the book “The Nocturne”, which was released in 2006 but available, in part, online before that. According to Scott, many of the plot points and scenes in the Twilight books bear striking resemblance to her work though there are “few” word-for-word cases of plagiarism.

Mayer’s attorney said that she was unaware of “The Nocturne” and accused the author of attempting to “ride the coattails of such success.” Scott has filed a cease and desist letter with the publisher of the “Twilight” series and is planning on filing a copyright lawsuit next week.

This isn’t the first time that Mayer has faced accusations of plagiarism. In April, a former roommate of Mayer accused her of plagiarism, an accusation that was rumored to have shut down production of the “New Moon” film, a rumor that proved to be false.

2: MGA Rolls Out New Doll Line

Next up, MGA, the makers of the famous “Bratz” line of dolls, is releasing a new line entitled “Moxie Girls” that is set to hit shelves August 15. This might not sound much like copyright news, but considering that a judge has ruled the Bratz line to be property of Mattel, due to the fact its creator was working at the company when he created the idea, the move seems to be an attempt to stave off near-certain death.

The court has ordered MGA to turn over all trademark, related products, designs, customer information and plans for the Bratz line in 2010, meaning the end of the line for MGA with that particular series.

3: Oldest BitTorrent Site Targeted by Police, Owner Arrested

Finally today, the home of one of, if not the, oldest Bittorrent site on the Web, FileSoup, had his home raided and was arrested.

Known online as TheGeeker, he has run UK-based FileSoup since it was established in 2003, making it possibly the longest-running site of its kind, outliving The Pirate Bay by nine months. Though the site is still in operation, the owner was placed in jail, with very strict instructions on treatment, and, according to Geeker, he was unable to contact an attorney or make a phone call for over 7 hours.

It appears that much of this criminal case is being backed up by FACT, an MPAA-sponsored anti-piracy group, who had members present for the raid.

Suggestions

That’s it for the three count today, we’ll be back tomorrow with three more copyright links. If you have a link that you want to suggest a link for the column or have any proposals to make it better. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. I hope to hear from you.

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