3 Count: Gold Digger

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1: Kanye West Sued Over ‘Gold Digger’ Sample

First off today, Gil Kaufman at MTV reports that the family of David Pryor has filed suit against Kanye West over West’s hit 2005 song “Gold Digger”.

According to the lawsuit, West used a 13-second sample of Pryor’s 1974 song “Bumpin’ Bust Stop” by his group Thuner & Lightning. The lawsuit alleges that West has caused millions in damages through his use of the unlicensed sample and has “systematically and willfully refused to clear samples of the plaintiff’s original, copyright work.”

The suit also names Roc-a-fella Records, Bad Boy Records, Stones Throw Records, Bomb Hip-Hope Records, Autumn Games, Activision, Caroline Distribution and The Island Def Jam Music Group.

2: News Corp. Threatens to Pull Free Fox Programming in Aereo Dispute

Next up today, Todd Wasserman at Mashable reports that News Corp. President and COO Chase Carey made remarks offstage during the National Association of Broadcasters Show in Las Vegas indicating that, if Fox and the other broadcasters lose their fight against Aereo, they may consider no longer broadcasting the network and, instead, becoming a subscription service via cable.

Aereo is a startup that streams over-the-air television to various devices through the use of small, personal antennas that subscribers rent. The TV networks sued Aereo for copyright infringement but both a lower court and an appeal court have declined to issue an injunction against the service, setting the stage for a likely full trial.

According to Carey, “If we can’t have our rights properly protected through legal and governmental solutions, we ill pursue a business solution,” and that solution could stopping over the air transmissions of their stations. This view was backed up by comments released after Carey’s statements.

3: Kardashian Sisters Suing Ex-Stepmom Over Father’s Diary, Photo Albums

Finally today, Eriq Gardner at The Hollywood Reporter Esquire reports that the daughters of Robert Kardashian, namely Kourtney, Kim and Khloe, best known as reality TV stars, have sued their father’s ex-wife, Ellen Pearson for copyright infringement over works allegedly written by Robert Kardashian that have been leaked to the media.

The daughters claim that Pearson licensed portions of the works to Bauer Publishing, which ran articles in both “In Touch” and “Life & Style” magazine about the life of the Kardashians before they were famous. However, the daughters say that the diaries, and their copyright, were willed to them after their father’s death.

The lawsuit seeks at least $500,000 in damages in addition to profits, statutory damages, punitive and exemplary damages. Pearson had no comment on the lawsuit.

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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