3 Count: BitTorrent Battle

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1: CBS Fights Against Any Ruling That Bans CNET From Pointing to Torrent Software

First off today, Eriq Gardner at Yahoo Movie (via The Hollywood Reporter) writes that CBS has filed a motion in Federal Court defending its subsidiary CNET and it’s right to distribute BitTorrent client software.

The motion stems from a lawsuit brought by more than a dozen artists who charge CBS, though its interactive group CBSI, with inducing copyright infringement by pointing customers to infringing software. The plaintiffs want an injunction barring CNET from providing such links, primarily through it’s Download.com site, and CBS is opposing that injunction.

According to CBS, the injunction is inappropriate for several reasons including that the plaintiffs have failed to irreparable harm, the injunction requested is too broad and the artists haven’t even shown ownership of the works involved. However, CBS caused a controversy earlier when it interfered with CNET’s reporting at the Consumer Electronics Show, barring the company form selecting Dish Network’s Hopper DVR as the best in show due to ongoing litigation between CBS and Dish Network over the allegedly-infringing DVR.

2: Karyn Temple Claggett Named Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of Policy & International Affairs

Next up today, the US Copyright Office has announced that the Register of Copyrights, Maria Pallante, has named Karyn Temple Claggett as the Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of Policy & International Affairs.

Temple Claggett leaves her current position at the USCO, Senior Counsel for Policy and International Affairs, to take the new job. Previously Temple Claggett had served as Senior Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General of the United States and, outside of government, was also an attorney for the Recording Industry Association of America.

During her time at the USCO, Temple Claggett has been engaged in orphan works issues, access to copyrighted works for those with disabilities and she was a member of the U.S. delegation to Beijing in June 2012 for treaty negotiations as part of the World Intellectual Property Organization.

3: UK Debuts Copyright Center

Finally today, Meredith Schwartz at Library Journal reports that a new center has been founded in the UK, aimed at exploring copyright issues. The Center for Creativity, Regulation, Enterprise and Technology (CREATe), aims to bring together researchers in a variety of fields from seven UK universities to work on some 40 projects focused on “the intersections between culture, the economy and technology.”

THe center is funded by a 5 million pound ($8 million) investment from UK research councils. The University of Glasgow is providing an additional 1.7 million pounds ($2.7 million) to support CREATe.

The launch also begins a one-day working conference, to be held tomorrow at the Lighthouse in Glasgow.

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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