3 Count: Textbook Case

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1: Copyright Owners Win Broader Rights for Works Made Abroad

First off today, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that copyright holders have the right to restrict import of copyrighted works produced and legally purchased in other countries. The court, ruling in the case of John Wiley & Sons Inc v. Supap Kirtsaeng d/b/a Bluechristine99 centers around Kirtsaeng importing cheap foreign copies of John Wiley & Sons textbooks for resale in the U.S. The court ruled that copyright holders have the right to restrict such imports, despite the right of first sale which grants purchasers the right to do largely anything they resell a legally purchased copy of a work.

2: BBC Caught in Twitter Copyright Row

Next up today, the BBC has found itself in a copyright spat over images posted on Twitter. After a blogger called out the British news organization over its use of copyrighted images of the London riots, BBC responding saying, in part, “Twitter is a social network platform which is available to most people who have a computer and therefore any content on it is not subject to the same copyright laws as it is already in the public domain.” BBC later recanted that statement saying it is factually inaccurate and not a reflection of their policies. However, they did admit to sometimes reprinting images before clearance when there isn’t time and to attributing them to “Twitter” or any other source when the photographer can’t be identified. The case mirrors others in the country, including one with the Daily Mail, that have involved news media taking photos from Twitter for reuse.

3: Judge rejects copyright suit against Stephen King

Finally today, author Rod Marquardt has lost his case against Stephen King and his publisher. Marquardt had accused King of plagiarizing his 2002 book “Keller’s Den” when creating the bestselling “Duma Key”. The judge tossed the case saying that Marquardt had failed to prove substantial similarity between the two works. Marquardt claims to have sent a copy of his book to King’s publisher in hopes of getting a blurb but the publisher says the book was returned.

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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