3 Count: Check Please…

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

1: The Oatmeal v. FunnyJunk, Part IV: Charles Carreon Sues Everybody

First off today, Ken at Popehat writes that attorney Charles Carreon has filed a lawsuit against Matt Inman, the artist behind the popular webcomic The Oatmeal, fundraising site Indiegogo, the National Wildlife Federation and the American Cancer Society for alleged trademark infringement and incitement to commit cyber vandalism. Carreon had previously sent a letter on behalf of the site FunnyJunk demanding that Inman pay $20,000 and remove allegedly defamatory comments made during an earlier spat between the two sites over reuse of his comics. Inman refused but launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise the money that would then be donated to the two charities listed above. The campaign became a wild success, earning some $180,000 in just over a week. This prompted Carreon to file the suit on Friday, naming all four parties as defendants and breaking a new world record for douchebaggery.

2: Google Appeal May Not Delay Trial

Next up today, Andrew Albanese of Publisher’s Weekly writes that Google’s appeal in the Google Book Search case may not cause a delay in the upcoming trial. The Author’s Guild, which sued Google over its scanning and indexing of books, sought class action status for its case so that other authors would not have to file separately. That request was granted by the lower court and Google is appealing that. However, motions for summary judgement are still scheduled for June 26, without any change, at least unless the Appeals Court rules there should be a stay. Google is asking the Appeals Court to look at two issues, namely whether the Author’s Guild can represent the entire class involved and whether a class action suit is appropriate in this case.

3: Bloomsday Fans Celebrate as James Joyce Scholars do Battle

Finally today, Alison Flood at The Guardian reports that June 16th marked Bloomsday, a day in which the works of author James Joyce are celebrated, and it also marks the first Bloomsday in which Joyce’s works were in the public domain. Joyce’s works entered the public domain at the end of 2011, 70 years after his death, and that freed up pubs and other locations to hold readings of his works, put on musical versions of his stories and otherwise use his creations. Joyce’s estate had been notoriously restrictive on use of Joyce’s work, even frocing the cancellation of many previous Bloomsday events. June 16 was chosen because it was the day that Ulysses protagonist Leopold Bloom, one of Joyce’s best-known characters, wanders the streets of Dublin.

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.

Want to Reuse or Republish this Content?

If you want to feature this article in your site, classroom or elsewhere, just let us know! We usually grant permission within 24 hours.

Click Here to Get Permission for Free