3 Count: Unfair Miracle

Jonathan BaileyJuly 22, 2011

2 minutes read

Have any suggestions for the 3 Count? Let me know via Twitter @plagiarismtoday.

1: ABC Sports Says Pawlenty Misusing Olympics Footage

First off today, Presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty has drawn fire from ABC over his campaign’s use of footage from the 1980 Winter Olympics “Miracle on Ice” game. Pawlenty had used the footage in a commercial for his campaign prompting ABC to accuse him of copyright infringement and demand that he stop. Pawlenty’s campaign has said that they believe the use to be a fair one but respect ABC’s concerns and will respond to them.

2: Jammie Thomas Judgment Lowered from $1.5 million to $54,000

Next up today, Jammie Thomas, first sued by the RIAA for file sharing in 2006, has once again had her damages reduced, down from $1.5 million ($62,500 per song) to $54,000 ($2,250 per song). The judge in the case took the steps after a third jury awarded the record labels the massive damages, that in turn after a second jury also awarded high damages only to have those reduced by the judge as well. The RIAA has said that they are likely to appeal this case if the damages are drastically reduced.

3: U of C Says No to Copyright Collective

Finally today, the University of Calgary has announced that it is ending its relationship with Access Copyright, a copyright clearance group that ensures universities have permission to use various works on campus, and will instead go to managing their own copyright needs. According to the school, this means that professors will have to do more linking when referencing outside sources. The move comes after Access Copyright obtained the right to raise its tariff, which would have seen the school’s costs balloon from $27,500 to $1.2 million a year.

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.