3 Count: One Strike

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1: Italy Prepares ‘one Strike’ Anti-piracy Law

First off today, several copyright groups are warning that a new law proposed in Italy could result in the banning of Internet users after just one allegation of copyright or other intellectual property infringement. The law, which is currently before committee, is backed by the party of Italy’s President and could require ISPs to blacklist alleged infringers and to install filtering applications to block infringing content. Reports also indicate that the law is on a fast track through the legislature though it’s still in the very early stages.

2: Oracle Says Damages in Android Dispute May Be $1.2 Billion

Next up today, Oracle has clarified the damages it’s seeking in its case against Google, saying that Google was wrong in its claim that they were seeking $2 billion and indicating instead the actual amount is $1.2 billion. According to Oracle, which sued Google over alleged copyright and patent violation of their JAVA language in Google’s Android operating system, Google’s liability is approximately $202 million in patent damages, $136 million in copyright damages and some $823.9 million in profits from copyright infringement. Settlement negotiations have been taking place between the companies but it is unclear if they will be continuing.

3: Usher Seeks To Avoid Trial By Jury For Copyright Lawsuit Over “Burn”

Finally today, lawyers for Usher, Jermaine Dupri, and Bryan-Michael Cox are making a final effort to avoid going to a jury trial over a lawsuit involving Usher’s 2004 single “Burn”. According to the plaintiff in the case, Ernest Lee Straughter, Usher’s song is based on the 1999 track “No More Pain”, which in turn is based on alleges that Usher’s 2004 #1 single “Burn” copies “No More Pain,” a 1999 song that is in turn based on Straughter’s “The Reasons Why.” Though Usher and his fellow defendants likely will prevail, they filed a motion disputing exposure to the song saying that, “The fact that the song had virtually no radio airplay forecloses any inference that it was widely disseminated, let alone remotely popular.”

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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