3 Count: UnTouchAble

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1: Fox Wins ‘Touch’ Copyright Lawsuit

First off today, Tim Kenneally at The Wrap writes that a judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Fox over the TV show “Touch”, saying that the similarities between it and two earlier works are not protected under copyright law.

Writer Everette Hallford had sued Fox as well as others involved in the show claiming that it lifted ideas from his screenplay “Prodigy” and his novel “Visionary”. However, the judge dismissed the suit saying that the similarities did not reach the level of copyrightability and that the Hallford was unable to prove substantial similarity with either of the two works and, instead, pulled examples from two unrelated pieces.

The judge went on to note that the plot, sequence, characters and pacing of “Touch” differ from those stories written by Hallford and that only broad themes are similar.

2: Boundless Wants Trial in Copyright Lawsuit with Textbook Publishers

Next up today, Curt Woodward at Xconomy writes that the legal fight between Boundless and traditional text book publishers is heating up.

Boundless, an education startup that provides free versions of paid textbooks, was sued by the publishers alleging that the free versions Boundless provides are simply too close to their original works. Boundless attempted to get at least some of the claims dismissed but the judge denied that motion.

However, the judgment did not sway Boundless into seeking a settlement and, instead, the company has pushed for a trial in the dispute, denying all wrongdoing. In a news release, Boundless called the publishers’ arguments “Overly broad and legally flawed.”

3: RLSlog Pulls Movies & TV Shows, Lets Google Find Them Instead

Finally today, enigmax at Torrentfreak writes that RLSlog, one of the Internet’s most popular “Release Blogs” that tracks what pirated content is available online and where, has announced that it will stop linking directly to available downloads of infringing content.

The move comes after Wiggin LLC, a law firm representing movie studios, demanded removal of nearly 90% of the blog’s content. RLSlog agreed to close its comments section and, after that wasn’t enough, stopped posting any direct links to illegal copies of files.

However, RLSlog is using a workaround, posting links to pre-filled Google searches to help users find relevant files via the search engine.

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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