3 Count: Pay Up

Jonathan BaileyJune 12, 2012

2 minutes read

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

1: If Megaupload Users Want their Data, They’re Going to Have to Pay

First off today, Jeremy Kirk at Computerworld reports that the U.S. government has filed a notice that it has no objection to Megaupload users getting their data back, so long as they pay the costs for retrieving it. According to filings from prosecutors, those who want data that they lost ater the shuttering of Megaupload can have access to it so long as they are willing to pay the computer forensics expert and the site’s former host for any costs. Megaupload was shuttered following a joint raid by New Zealand and U.S. authorities that resulted in criminal charges against the company and many of its employees, including its founder Kim Dotcom, as well as seizure of many of its servers. At least one former Megaupload users, Kyle Goodwin, says he used the service for legitimate epurposes and lost his data when both Megaupload was closed and his own hard drive crashed. Goodwin, with the help of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is petitioning to get his data back.

2: Artist’s Aspen Widow Sues Dealer, Galleries

Next up today, Rick Carroll of The Aspen Times reports that the widow of artist Earl Biss, Lou Lou Goss, has filed suit against several galleries and dealer alleging that they made unauthorized reproductions of Biss’ paintings and sold them to the tune of $3 million in profit. The suit is asking for statutory damages of up to $150,000 per infringement, noting that Biss’ work has appeared in posters, sculptures, books and online. According to the lawsuit, Biss did have a business relationship with one of the dealers named, Paul Zueger, but that relationship ended in 1997, a year before Biss’ death.

3: Big Four Music Labels Hire Students To Chase File-Sharers

Finally today, Enigmax at Torrentfreak writes that, in Europe, organizations representing the four major record labels have been very active in threatening suspected file sharers with lawsuits and extracting small but lucrative settlements. This has been especially true in Germany, where the legal climate has been favorable to them. However, the anti-piracy companies used in the effort have been turning to an unusual group to help track pirates, students, many of whom are former pirates themselves. Many of the students have been working in the field for years and have become adept at finding infringements, shuttering cyberlocker files and tracking alleged infringers.

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.