3 Count: Queen Gorilla

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1: Kim Dotcom’s Mega Acquires and Relaunches Free Android App, Says iOS App and Windows Sync Client Coming Soon

First off today, Emil Protalinski at The Next Web reports that Kim Dotcom has purchased an app for his file hosting and sharing service Mega and has relaunched it as an official Android app for the service.

Dotcom was arrested in January 2012 and his Megaupload cyberlocker was shut down by a joint action between New Zealand and U.S. authorities. He is currently facing extradition to the U.S. to face charges on criminal copyright infringement. In the meantime, Dotcom launched the site’s successor, Mega, a heavily-encrypted file hosting service that focuses on user privacy.

The Android app marks Mega’s first move into the mobile space though Dotcom says that an iOS and a Windows Phone app are also coming soon.

2: Snapchat’s Expired Snaps Are Not Deleted, Just Hidden

Next up today, The Guardian is reporting that a forensic researcher Richard Hickman has found that “expired” images in Snapchat are not actually deleted on Android phones. Instead, only the metadata for them are deleted, making them hidden but still recoverable.

Snapchat is a private image sharing tool that purports to delete images after ten seconds of viewing. This made it popular among people who want to send personal and sensitive photos that they do not want to have shared outside of the app and their intended recipient.

Though it is still unlikely someone would recover Snapchat photos expired on their phone. it is at least theoretically possible that an individual could use this technique to find and save images sent over Snapchat, enabling them to be shared elsewhere.

3: Freddie Mercury Norwich Go Go Gorilla in Copyright Row

Finally today, the BBC is reporting that organizers of the Go Go Gorillas art installations in Norwich, UK have removed one of the installation, one which paid homage to Freddie Mercury, the deceased lead singer of the band Queen.

According to the the Mercury Phoenix Trust, a charity established in Mercury’s memory, the gorilla’s painted suit that infringing on a copyrighted design that they held the rights to. They asked that the installation, named “Radio Go Go” be removed and repainted.

The artist of the installation, Mik Richardson, said that he altered the suit enough so that it wasn’t infringing and express displeasure at the decision to remove the installation. It is one of 53 such gorillas decorated by local artists and displayed on Norwich streets.

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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