1: RIAA: Tenenbaum “fair use” defense is laughable

As the Tenenbaum trial draws closer, we are seeing both sides jockeying to include or exclude certain items of evidence or arguments about the case. Likely the most important is the RIAA’s filing for a summary judgement on Tenenbaum’s fair use defense, asking the judge to rule that his file sharing was not a fair use and barring defense attorneys from raising the issue in trial.

The RIAA isn’t alone in thinking that file sharing is not a fair use. Many of Tenenbaum’s own witnesses feel the same way and, due to his attorney, Charles Nesson, posting all of the correspondence on his site, they are well aware of this.

Nesson has until this Friday to respond and almost certainly will do so, but it seems at least fairly likely that the RIAA will win on this point.

2: Copyright proposal targets internet pirates

Next up today, we now have our first look at New Zealand’s new substitute for their controversial Section 92a law, which would have called for the disconnection of file sharers and was scuttled after massive protests.

The new law does have disconnections as an option and maintains a “three strikes” regime of two warning letters followed by an escalated action, but the latter part is what is new. Rather than a disconnection being immediate, copyright holders have to take their claim to a tribunal that weighs the evidence and can levy a wide variety of punishments including fines, suspensions and disconnections.

The hope is that the new law will be more palatable than the old law but that doesn’t seem wholly likely as at least one of the organizations behind the first round of protests have promised to launch a new one if disconnections are on the table again.

Now all we can do is wait and see what the backlash is, how strong it is and if it is enough to derail this attempt as well.

3: Blogger sentenced for leaking G N’R album

Finally today, the blogger who was convicted of leaking the most recent Guns ‘n’ Roses album, Kevin Cogill, has been sentenced to one year of probation, including two months of home confinement. His computers will be subject to government scrutiny and he will be forced to record a public service announcement for the RIAA.

Prosecutors had asked for a harsher sentence but the judge decided that being too harsh would defeat the purpose of educating users and would create a backlash. Cagill, for his part, apologized for his actions and said he never intended to hurt the artists involved.

Suggestions

That’s it for the three count today, we’ll 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 Saturday morning for the live recording of the Copyright 2.0 Show or wait and get the edited version Monday morning right here on Plagiarism Today.

1: TelstraClear bails from copyright code talks

First off, in New Zealand news, the telecommunications company TelstraClear has backed out of negotiations on the implementation of controversial Section 92a, which would require ISPs to disconnect accused file sharers in the country.

The law was postponed last month to allow time for the ISPs and major copyright holders to hash out a draft proposal for implementation of the law. Since implementation would require that all ISPs agree, it seems unlikely that such an agreement will be reached at this time.

When the law was postponed, government officials said that, should the agreement not be reached within a month, that the law would be “suspended”, a fate that seems very likely at this time.

2: MPAA: RealNetworks hamstrings lawsuit by destroying evidence

There are developments today in the lawsuit between the MPAA and Real Networks over Real’s DVD ripping product, RealDVD. The MPAA is accusing Real of destroying evidence related to the case and has said that Real has “irreparably impaired the integrity of the judicial process.”

The court has filed an order to Real to preserve all evidence moving forward but it is unclear if any further action will be taken by the courts.

3: Microsoft dismisses $90m lawsuit

Finally today, Microsoft is involved in a copyright and patent dust up to the tune of $90 million. At issue specifically is Microsoft’s live chat feature, which lets players talk to one another while they play games on the Xbox and Xbox360. According to the suit, Microsoft approached PalTalk about creating the solution for the systems but, according to Microsoft, they decided to use another company instead.

The lawsuit alleges that Microsoft has violated Paltalk’s copyright and “patents concerning interactive applications over multiple computers.” Microsoft has dismissed the suit, saying that “The patents aren’t worth much, certainly not USD 90 million.”

Suggestions

That’s it for the three count today, we’ll 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 Saturday morning for the live recording of the Copyright 2.0 Show or wait and get the edited version Monday morning right here on Plagiarism Today.