This is no April Fool’s joke, it is Friday again and that means that it is time for another episode of the Copyright 2.0 Show.

If you’re in the mood for a completely joke-free conversation about copyright law then this is the podcast for you (Well, a few jokes but none on you). We have a lot of news to go over including a major victory for those who want to mass-litigate against pirates, Amazon launches a new cloud streaming service and Righthaven manages to file a lawsuit over an article about one of their lawsuits, nearly causing the universe to implode.

All in all there were eight stories this week including:

• Washington Judge OKs Mass P2P Lawsuits
• Amazon Launches Cloud Music Streaming, Sans Label Permission
• Zediva Gets Creative with DVD Streaming
• Righthaven Embarrasses Itself
• EMI and Bluebeat Settle
• Much, Much More!

You can download the MP3 file here (direct download). Those interested in subscribing to the show can do so via this feed.

Show Notes

About the Hosts

Jonathan Bailey

Jonathan Bailey (@plagiarismtoday) is the Webmaster and author of Plagiarism Today (Hint: You’re there now) and works as a copyright and plagiarism consultant. Though not an attorney, he has resolved over 700 cases of plagiarism involving his own work and has helped countless others protect their work and develop strategies for making their content work as hard as possible toward their goals.

Patrick O’Keefe

Patrick O’Keefe (@iFroggy) is the owner of the iFroggy Network, a network of websites covering various interests. He’s the author of the book “Managing Online Forums,” a practical guide to managing online communities and social spaces. He maintains a blog about online community management at ManagingCommunities.com and a personal blog at patrickokeefe.com.

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

1: Author Slams eBook Piracy, Son Outs Her As a Music Pirate

First off today, as part of a point/counterpoint on the issue of ebook piracy, the Norwegian publication Dagens Næringsliv ran an interview with author Anne B. Ragde, who slammed ebook piracy. However, during the interview, she admitted to buying counterfeit handbags and her son said that the two of them had a rather large pirated MP3 collection. Ragbe defended herself by saying the quotes were taken out of context, that the iPod on which the music is stored is “not representative of (her) relationship with the music industry” and that she will delete the songs when she arrives at the cottage where it’s stored during the holidays.

2: YouTube Extends Video Time, Promises Copyright Protection

Next up today, Google has announced that it will begin allowing some users to upload clips longer than 15 minutes to YouTube but it will only be doing so for those with a proven track record of complying with YouTube’s copyright policies. YouTube has also said that it will be rolling out the feature slowly and that it will continue to use the ContentID system to ensure that copyright infringing material is not uploaded to the service. However, many content creators, in particular the Independent Film & Television Alliance, are not wholly convinced of the power of the ContentID system.

3: Judge: Music Website Violated Beatles Copyrights

Finally today, a year after the service was forced to close due to a lawsuit, BlueBeat.com has been found liable for copyright infringement for selling the Beatles songs, over a year before they were legally available on the Web. The site famously sold the Beatles, along with other popular artists, for 25 cents per track. The company was shuttered by another industry lawsuit in 2009 but the case involving EMI over the Beatles tracks continued.

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 6 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.

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

1: Skype Founders Set to Get 10 Percent, Option to Buy Three Percent More and Two Board Seats

First off today, Skype users can rejoice as it appears the Skype lawsuit has been settled. The case, which saw the two original founders of the company sue their buyer, eBay, alleging that the company did not have a license to manipulate or alter the code to the Skype software itself. That software, according to the founders, is owned by Joltid, a company they own. Though it seemed odd that eBay would buy the company but not the rights to its core product, the suit hit at a time when eBay was looking to resell Skype to other investors and the lawsuit threatened the future of the company.

Well, today we have word that a settlement has been reached. The former founders of Skype will be given a 10% stake in the company and an option to buy an additional 3% for $84 million. They will also be given two seats on the company’s 23-person board.

This puts to bed one of tech’s ugliest and most vindictive copyright lawsuits in recent years and clears eBay, Skype and its new owners to move forward with the company’s future.

2: E.U. Leaders Bolster Internet Access Protections

Next up today, the EU has reached an agreement that it hopes will serve as a compromise between various nations and companies that wish to disconnect file sharers from the Web and activists who view the Web as an inalienable right. The EU has agreed that any action resulting in the disconnection of a file sharer must be subject to some form or legal review and can not be done simply on the say so of copyright holders.

This follows closely a similar deal in France, where an initial bill to disconnect repeat file sharers was shot down after it failed to provide judicial oversight to the process. A revised bill, one with such oversight, is making its way through the legislature now.

With this agreement comes an end to over 6 months of negotiation on the issue that will finally allow for the passage of the related telecommunications act, which will overhaul many aspects of the EU communications systems.

3: Judge Halts Online Sale of Beatles Songs

Finally today, I think we all saw this one coming. A judge has ordered BlueBeat to stop selling Beatles tracks on its site, rejecting its famous “psycho-acoustic simulation” argument. The company had been selling Beatles tracks for just 25 cents, even though Beatles music is not available for legal download anywhere on the Web. They had claimed that their tracks were not copies, but rather, were legal covers created using their “psycho-acoustic simulation” technology.

The judge, however, found that argument less than compelling and, despite a registration certificate for the works, has issued a temporary retraining order barring BlueBeat from selling the tracks while the lawsuit against them, filed by EMI, moves forward.

Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

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 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.

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

1: ACTA Negotiations, Day Two: What’s On Tap

First off today, we return to the ACTA treaty, the negotiations for which are underway in South Korea today, and the draft legislation, provided by the U.S. and Japan, that deals with criminal cases.

According to the leaked draft, the ACTA treaty would extend criminal penalties to those who not only infringe copyright for commercial use, such as counterfeiters, but also to those who pirate content for “cases involving significant willful copyright and trademark infringement” even if there is no financial motivation whatsoever. The treaty also calls for the criminalization of “camming” movies.

This, once again, has many concerned as it could be a large expansion of criminal enforcement of copyright matters, especially in countries such as Canada where it has been extremely limited.

This is all part of the criminal provisions, which is being discussed today, following negotiations of the Internet chapter, which were discussed yesterday.

2: MPAA Wants Congress to ‘Encourage’ 3 Strikes, Filtering

Next up today, the MPAA has send a 35-page letter to the FCC asking them to recommend that Congress adopt a “3 strikes” or “graduated response” system that would see alleged pirates either be disconnected or severely throttled after two warning letters.

Though it has long been suspected that the MPAA would support such a system, this is their first public statement as such.

The MPAA also said that it favors filtering methods to prevent copyright infringing material from being transmitted. Public advocacy groups, such as Public Knowledge, strongly oppose both regimes calling them an undue violation of consumer rights.

This is all part of the FCC fulfilling its requirement under the stimulus act to file recommendations for how to best spend the some $7 billion set aside for advancing broadband in the U.S.

3: Introducing the ‘Psycho-Acoustic Simulation’ Defense to Copyright Infringement

Finally today, a quick dose of Copyright Fail for everyone. There’s been a lot of talk about Bluebeat, an online music site that has been selling Beatles music for 25 cents per track. Though Bluebeat has maintained it is legal, the claims have always seemed dubious as the Beatles are not available for download anywhere, even iTunes.

Predictably enough, EMI, the label which owns the rights to the Beatles recordings, has sued Bluebeat for copyright infringement but Bluebeat has hit back claiming that the songs they are sellling are not the same songs but are, rather, independent creations created through a technical process it calls “psycho-acoustic simulation.” If you have any idea what that means, EMI, I’m sure, would love to get a phone call from you.

According to Bluebeat, this means that their recordings are protected under the same provisions that allow bands to make covers of songs, since they are not identical works. In a related story, every single file sharing defendant has just changed their defense to include the “psycho-acoustic simulation” argument, claiming to have been distributing clever covers of the works involved.

Needless to say, I don’t think this argument is long for the earth, and Ben Sheffner does a great job explaining why, but I have to give them an A for originality.

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 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.