3 Count: Unwanted Backup

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1: FilmOn X Seeks To Intervene As Supreme Court Weighs Aereo Case

First off today, Ted Johnson at Variety reports that FilmOn, a rival service to Aereo, is asking to intervene and file briefs in Aereo’s impending Supreme Court hearings saying that its competitor will not have adequate reason to represent its interests in the case.

Both Aereo and FilmOn use a series of tiny antenna, one per customer, to capture over the air broadcast television and transmit it to subscribers online. However, where Aereo has had multiple victories in its court battles, leading up to its impending Supreme Court hearing, FilmOn has been prevented from operating by the courts, including a Washington DC court imposting a nearly-nationwide ban on the service.

Oral arguments before the Supreme Court are expected to be heard in April. FilmOn’s cases, much like Aereo’s other cases, are on hold pending that ruling. However, FilmOn argues that, though it shares concerns with Aereo, it is unique enough that Aereo might not represent its interests and could seek to continue FilmOn’s injunction, essentially eliminating the service’s biggest competitor.

2: Carly Rae Jepsen and Owl City’s Dippy Duet Wasn’t Found Plagiarized

Next up today, Marc Hogan at Spin reports that, contrary to some reports from TMZ and other sources, the Carly Rae Jepsen case is not over and both sides are still battling over whether or not her duet with Adam Young of Owl City, dubbed “Good Time” was an infringement of an earlier work.

The lawsuit was originally filed in 2012 by songwriter Ally Burnett, who claimed “Good Time” was an infringement of her earlier work “Ah, It’s a Love Song”. News was pushed out on TMZ that Burnett was to receive more than $800,000 from escrow but, instead, what happened is that Burnett has dropped her case against BMI, which administers the royalties, freeing the company up to disperse royalties it had set aside for the lawsuit.

The case against Young and Jepson, however, is continuing and both sides are still litigating the matter. The case is still very much active and may be heading to a trial in the coming months.

3: GoldieBlox Rocks Super Bowl with Girl Power, Adds to Copyright Controversy

Finally today, Jeff John Roberts at GigaOM reports that GoldieBlox launched its latest commercial at the Super Bowl but it appears that the company learned at least one lesson from its previous experiences.

The company, known for producing engineering-oriented toys aimed at girls, drew fire several months ago when it used the Beastie Boys’ song “Girls” in one of their online ads with new lyrics. Goldieblox sued the band after representatives from the group asked about the use of the song, leading many to wonder if the lawsuit had been planned.

However, with its latest ad, based on the song “Cum Feel the Noize” by Quiet Riot, the company, through Intuit, obtained a license for the song. Intuit was running a contest for a Super Bowl ad that Goldieblox won, explaining why they purchased the license.

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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