3 Count: Going National

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1: ‘Hurt Locker’ Lawyers Launch Nationwide Copyright Fight

First off today, the U.S. Copyright Group has resumed its plan to sue thousands of suspected file sharers for infringement over the popular movie “Hurt Locker” but have shifted strategies in a bid to overcome some earlier legal woes. Their first case was stopped after a Washington D.C. judge grew hostile to the idea of suing defendants all over the nation in one court. So, to counter that, they are filing multiple lawsuits all over the country, including at least 6 such lawsuits in the next two weeks. The U.S. Copyright Group hopes this well help overcome some of the legal challenges to their campaign and speed up their ability to send demand letters to suspected infringers.

2: Randolph illustrator sues DreamWorks over Kung Fu Panda

Next up today, illustrator Jayme Gordon has sued Dreamworks studio over their movie “Kung Fu Panda” claiming that some of the characters in the move bear a strong resemblance to works he had created in the 90s and registered in 2000. According to Gordon, two of the characters in the movie, Po, the lead character, and Mister Shifu, his mentor, were based on drawings he had created and sent samples of to Dreamworks in 1999, which sent him a rejection letter. He is seeking a court order forcing Dreamworks to admit he had a role in the creation of the movie as well as unspecified damages and legal fees. He is also one of two people claiming that Dreamworks lifted their idea for the movie, the other being a Tai Chi instructor Terence Dunn.

3: Defense Minister Relinquishes Ph.D. Over Plagiarism Charges

Finally today, in a case of plagiarism possibly impacting the international political scene, German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg has temporarily relinquished his Ph.D pending an investigation by his former university into whether he had plagiarized his dissertation. The allegations include some 70 suspected passages, many of which are being called “blatant”, and this has lead to opposition party members to call for Guttenberg’s resignation. So far, there is no indication as to whether this scandal will affect him in his position but Guttenberg has already been called in by Chancellor Angela Merkel to answer questions about the allegations.

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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