3 Count: Mega-Lawsuit

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

1: Spanish Group Looks to Sue FBI Over Megaupload File Loss

First off today, the Pirate Party in Spain is attempting to rally former Megaupload users to file a lawsuit against the FBI for seizing the site and, in the process, denying them access to their files. The FBI, which shuttered Megaupload last week on allegations of copyright infringement, racketeering and money laundering, took offline millions of files that were stored on the service, at least some of which were not copyright infringing. The government has said it is unlikely users will be able to retrieve their files in the future. The Pirate Party is also looking at whether or not the seizure breached other elements of Spanish law, including misappropriation of personal data.

2: Wi-Fi Case Could Make Users Liable

Next up today, Liberty Media Holdings is suing some 13 Boston-area Internet subscribers because their Internet connection was used to illegally download the pornographic movie “Down on the Farm”. However, what separates this case from other Bittorrent lawsuits is that the plaintiffs are claiming negligence on the part of customers who have an open wifi, saying that they are at least partially responsible for any infringement that takes place over their connection due to their lack of protection on their wireless router. If the theory succeeds, it could have a drastic impact on businesses that offer public wifi as well as customers with unprotected connections.

3: B.o.B's 'Airplanes' Producers Slapped With Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

Finally today, musician B.o.B’s latest hit “Airplane” has found itself at the center of a copyright controversy. Christine Dominguez has sued the producers behind the song claiming that they unlawfully cut her out of the writing credits. According to Dominguez she worked on and was credited for a previous version of the song that was released in 2009 but, when B.o.B’s version was released, they removed her from the credits, denying her both attribution and her share of the royalties. Dominguez is suing for unfair competition, unjust enrichment, and failure to account for revenues derived from the song.

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.

Want the Full Story?

Tune in every Wednesday evening at 5 PM ET for the live recording of the Copyright 2.0 Show or wait and get the edited version Friday right here on Plagiarism Today.

The 3 Count Logo was created by Justin Goff and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.