3 Count: Silent Twitch

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1: Twitch Implements YouTube-Like System for Blocking Copyrighted Audio

First off today, Michael McWhertor at Polygon reports that Twitch, a popular video hosting and streaming platform for video games, has announced that it will begin scanning uploaded video for copyright-protected audio and will be automatically muting videos that have such content in them.

The move is through a partnership with Audible Magic, a company that produces technology to match audio in videos to a library of content, mostly provided by the record labels. Twitch has said that it will be scanning all previously uploaded and future videos for audio and muting the portions of the video that contain the content. However, Twitch has said that it will not be automatically pulling videos down nor will it be applying the technology to livestreamed content.

The move comes as Twitch also announced it was ending the option for users to save past broadcasts forever. Instead, users will be able to save them for up to 60 days and they can save a 2-hour “highlight” collection indefinitely.

2: Jay Z Can Thank Supreme Court for Setback in ‘Big Pimpin’ Lawsuit

Next up today, Eriq Gardner at The Hollywood Reporter Esquire reports that musician Jay Z has suffered a setback in his ongoing case against Osama Ahmed Fahey over samples that Jay Z used in his song “Big Pimpin'”, which was a 2000 hit.

Fahmy sued Jay Z alleging that samples from “Big Pimpin'” violated the rights of his nephew, Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdi and his song “Khosara, Khosara”. The judge had previously ruled that the doctrine of laches, or unreasonable delay in pursuing a claim, prohibited Fahey from pursuing damages or challenging uses of the song Between 2001 and 2006, when Jay Z’s label, EMI, had a settlement with the Egyptian label Sout El Phan.

However, in May, the Supreme Court ruled in another case, this one involving the movie “Raging Bull”, that the doctrine of laches can’t be used to bar claims within the statute of limitation of copyright, thus allowing her to claim damages back to 2006 in a lawsuit that began in 2009. The judge in the Jay Z case ruled that since Fahey’s lawsuit began in 2007, he does indeed have rights to challenge that agreement, possibly opening the door to more damages.

3: SNK Playmore Files Criminal Copyright Infringement Complaint Against Square Enix

Finally today, Humberto Saabedra at Crunchyroll News reports that SNK Playmore, a popular manga company in Japan, has filed a criminal copyright infringement complaint against competitor and video game publisher Square-Enix.

The complaint alleges over 100 instances of SNK characters appearing in the Hi Score Girl manga published by Square-Enix. In response to this, the Consumer and Economic Crime Division of the Osaka Police raided several Square-Enix buildings on Tuesday and also questioned the manga’s author.

SNK is seeking to halt sales of the Hi-Score Girl manga, including digital and print. SNK said it attempted to contact Square-Enix about the issue but never received an adequate response, prompting the police complaint.

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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