3 Count: Rdio Star

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1: Kazaa creators open legal music service for iPhone

First off today, the founders of the Kazaa file sharing service, which was shut down in a lawsuit by the RIAA, have resurfaced and are launching Rdio, a legitimate music streaming service targeted at the iPhone and other smartphone platforms. A beta version is available in the App store for the iPhone and Blackberry. The Web-only service will cost $5 per month and one for mobile devices will cost $10. Rdio will also allow users follow one another, share what they are listening to and make at least some tracks publicly available.

2: Appeals Court Sides with NBC Universal in ‘Ghost Hunters’ Idea Theft Case

Next up today, two TV hopefuls suffered a setback in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals after the court ruled against them in their lawsuit against NBC Universal, the owners of the Syfy Network. According to the plaintiffs, they approached NBC with an idea remarkably similar to the “Ghost Hunters” series on Syfy only to be turned down and have their idea ripped off. Initially the district court threw out their breach of implied contract and breach of confidence while letting their copyright arguments move forward. However, the duo allowed their copyright claims to be dismissed, likely due to a lack of probable success and appealed the previous two claims, which they’ve now lost.

3: Don Henley Wins Copyright Infringement Case Against Politician

Finally today, musician Don Henley won his copyright case against California Assemblyman Chuck DeVore. Devore had rewritten lyrics to “The Boys of Summer” and “All She Wants to Do is Dance” and had argued that his use of the songs was a fair use protected under parody. The court, however, disagreed saying that since the revised lyrics did not make fun of the songs or the author, they were not protected parody. No word on if an appeal will be filed.

Suggestions

That’s it for the three count today. We will 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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