3 Count: Advertising Rush

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

1: Police Crackdown on Pirate Site Ads

First off today, the BBC is reporting that the City of London Police has completed a three month pilot program that targeted 61 sites it claimed were engaged in copyright infringement.

The program began with a letter to the site directly, encouraging it to change its ways. After that, the site was reported their domain registrars and to legitimate advertisers whose ads appear on the sites.

The City of London, which is a separate city inside London, functions more like a nation within the United Kingdom. The City of London Police said that their efforts resulted in 40 websites being suspended and advertisements by well-known brands dropping by 12%.

2: Kim Dotcom’s Lawyers Object to U.S. Government’s Evidence Sharing

Next up today, Eriq Gardner at The Hollywood Reporter Esquire reports that Kim Dotcom, the former head of the shuttered cyberlocker Megaupload, is objecting to an ex parte order allowed the U.S. government to share some of the evidence against him with entertainment industry trade associations.

Dotcom, along with others under his employ, were arrested in a January 2012 raid that also closed his site. He is facing extradition to the United States from his native New Zealand but the hearing regarding that extradition has been repeatedly delayed.

Dotcom claims that, by sharing the evidence against him, the U.S. government is tainting a potential jury pool. However, lawyers for the U.S. government noted that Dotcom himself is very high profile and has been active on Twitter and elsewhere telling his side of the story. More worrisome for Dotcom, however, is likely that the evidence sharing increases the likelihood that he will face civil action from entertainment industry groups on top of the current criminal actions.

3: Jay Z’s Robinson Cano Deal Could Offset ‘Big Pimpin’ Lawsuit

Finally today, Chris Martins at Spin Magazine reports that Hip Hop artist Jay Z will have to continue to fight a lawsuit from an Egyptian artist, who accuses him of using an unauthorized sample in his song “Big Pimpin'”.

When Jay Z recorded the song in 2000, EMI granted him the license to use a sample from the song “Khosara, Khosara” in his work. However, the deal between the owners of the song and EMI was only temporary, expiring in 2006, making it so that uses of the sample after that date, including live performances, were not licensed.

Jay Z had sought to have the lawsuit dismissed but the judge ruled that the lawsuit does have merit and is allowing it continue. The original song was composed by Baligh Hamdy for the 1960 Egyptian film “Fata Ahlami” and it is Hamdy’s nephew, Osama Ahmed Fahmym, that is bringing the claim.

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