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

1: SOPA Bill Won’t Make U.S. a ‘Repressive Regime,’ Democrat Says

First off today, the first hearings in the U.S. House of Representatives on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) are being countered with a fierce protest that includes a full page ad in the New York Times and many popular websites displaying overlays or turning their sites black. However, Congressmen who support the bill are saying that the fears are overstated and that the bill will not lead to widespread Internet censorship. The bill, which is targeted at “rogue” websites, would allow copyright holders to get court orders to force ISPs to block access to certain sites as well as force search engines, payment processors and advertisers to cease working with them. The hearing is one of the first steps to bringing the bill to the floor of the house for open debate and eventual voting.

2: Costco Prevails in First Sale Case Thanks to Copyright Misuse

Next up today, the case between Costco and Omega watches has taken yet another turn. Omega sued Costco claiming the retailer illegally imported in watches bought cheaper in foreign markets and resold them at a discount in the U.S. When Costco won the first suit, Omega added a copyrighted image to each watch and sued claiming Costco illegally imported a copyrighted work. The district court originally ruled against Omega claiming that Costco had the right to resell legally-purchased copyrighted works but the Appeals court overturned that verdict and the Supreme Court upheld it by taking no action. That sent the case back to the District Court where Costco has prevailed yet again on a summary judgment, this time claiming Omega has been engaged in copyright misuse, meaning Omega attempted to use its copyright monopoly to exert control outside of the element of copyright. The case will likely be appealed, yet again.

3: Artists Call CBS the Chief Copyright Pirate

Finally today, Alkiviades David, the owner of FilmOn.com, has filed another lawsuit against CBS and its subsidiary CNET claiming that the two companies encouraged and enabled file sharing by offering several file sharing applications, including LimeWire, for download on their download.com site and also ran several guides on how to share files online. The lawsuit also lists several hip hop and other artists and Sugar Hill Music as plaintiffs. The lawsuits is Alkiviades second against CBS since the company received an injunction barring FilmOn from rebroadcasting CBS’ over the air transmissions on its service. The first lawsuit, which involved a much smaller collection of works, is still pending.

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.

While it is going to be tough, if not impossible, to follow up the extravaganza that was Episode 200 of the Copyright 2.0 Show Patrick and I have to get back into the saddle and start covering some copyright news before we fall too far behind.

After all, even though it’s the “slow season” for copyright news the reality has been anything but. We have a possible extradition, police raids, and pixel art to discuss as well as a major announcement which has Harry Potter using his magic to make DRM disappear.

This is an episode you definitely don’t want to miss.

This week’s stories include:

• U.S. Attempting to Extradite UK Citizen for Copyright Infringement
• Spanish Music Rights Group Raided by Police
• Hollywood Seeks to Force BT to Filter Infringing Sites
• Site Admin Loses Appeal Over Providing Keywords
• Copyright Suit Against CBS and CNET Dropped
• 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: ‘Massive Infringement’ Case Against CNET Dropped

First off today, the “massive” copyright lawsuit filed by Filmon.com’s owner, Alkiviades David, against CNET and its parent CBS has been dropped. David, who sued CNET claiming that its download.com affiliate was the primary distribution channel for LimeWire, was only able to list six obscure copyrighted works in his lawsuit. The lawsuit was mired in controversy from day one as David only threatened or took action after CBS, along with other TV networks, shut down his site, which was rebroadcasting live TV online. However, David has said this is not the end of his lawsuit and that he has been approached by other rightsholders and intends to refile shortly.

2: Mark Kelly from FAC on the Digital Copyright Exchange

Next up today, Mark Kelly, the Chief Executive of The Featured Artist’s Coalition, penned an editorial where he called for the UK government to move forward with the Hargreaves report recommendation of making participation in proposed Digital Copyright Exchange a requirement of receiving protections from the Digital Economy Act, including the three strikes regime it includes. This would make artists’ works part of collective bargaining efforts and easier to license, an effort that Kelly says would fail without an adequate number of artists on board, thus requiring the “carrot” to encourage them to take part.

3: Contributory Copyright Infringement in Israel

Finally today, Israel has recognized contributory copyright infringement for the first time. The case centers around a collection of pirated textbooks made available by a university organization backed by a political party. The original lawsuit found the publisher of the files liable for direct copyright infringement and the political party as well as the university liable for contributory copyright infringement. However, on appeal, the University’s liability was overturned though the others saw no change. The ruling was based on previously contributory infringement rulings for patent law and are expected to have impacts on digital downloads despite being centered around book publishing.

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.

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

1: Google Has no Agreement Yet to Digitize Books

First off today, Google, along with the Authors Guild and book publishers, have failed to reach a new settlement agreement and have been given seven more weeks to reach a new deal. Back in March the judge in the lawsuit, which stems from Google’s digitization of books for its Google Book Search product, said an agreement between the parties went too far and could not be approved. The parties have been negotiating ever since but as of the most recent update had failed to reach a new agreement. Instead, they said that the issues were “complex” and asked the judge for additional time, which they received. A status update has been scheduled for July 19.

2: ‘Massive’ Copyright Lawsuit Against CNET Shrivels

Next up today, a “massive” copyright lawsuit spearheaded by filmmaker and entrepreneur Alkiviades David has come up a little shorter than was hinted at. The suit accuses CBS, through its subsidiary CNET, of being the main distributor of the LimeWire software, thus enabling the illegal sharing of files. However, when pressed to identify the files, the suit only listed seven. One movie, by David himself, and six songs from rappers also represented in the suit. The suit is widely viewed as a backlash from David, whose company FilmOn was sued by CBS and other TV networks for streaming live TV online without a license. An injunction was granted against FilmOn, ordering them to stop service.

3: Maria Pallante named Register of Copyrights

Finally today, Maria Pallante has been named the Register of Copyrights. Pallante had been named as the interim Register on January 1st after the resignation of Marybeth Peters but will now be taking the role on a permanent basis. Pallante has held many positions at the Copyright Office over the years, including Associate Register for policy and international affairs. She was appointed to the positions by the current Librarian of Congress James Billington.

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.

It was a busy week for copyright news as we have new controversial legislation coming out of the U.S., Google thumbing its nose at the record labels to launch its own cloud player without their approval and the largest copyright lawsuit ever moving forward, just to name a few of the stories.

However, despite all that, this week’s biggest story actually broke after recording was done for the show, namely the LimeWire settlement. We’ll have more on that in next week’s podcast.

That being said, this is definitely a show you don’t want to miss, especially since I’m one of five people that hadn’t seen the “Jack Sparrow” video by Lonely Island. If you’re one of the other holdouts, I’ve embedded it below so you can get caught up on your memes…

This week’s stories include:

• U.S. Congress Introduces Follow Up to COICA
• Google Subs Labels, Launches Music Beta
• LimeWire Founder Admits He Was “Wrong” On Copyright
• CBS and CNET Sued for Distributing LimeWire
• U.S. Copyright Group Gets Clearance to Sue Some 23,000 Defendants
• AC/DC Says No to Digital Downloads

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: CBS, CNET Sued for Copyright Infringement Over LimeWire Distribution

First off today, a coalition of artists, lead by FilmOn.com, have sued CBS Interactive and CNET for making the LimeWire file sharing application available on download.com. The site, which is operated by CNET, which is in turn owned by CBS Interactive, accounted for some 95 percent of the downloads of the application according to the plaintiffs. LimeWire has since been shut down and is facing a trial for damages in a different case. The plaintiffs are also taking aim at how-to articles on CNET’s sites that instruct users in how to share files. FilmOn.com, however, is already battling CBS in courts after CBS sued and received an injunction barring FilmOn from streaming CBS content over their service. As such, CBS has called the lawsuit a “distraction” from the real issues.

2: 9th CircuitRevives Creators’ Suit Against NBC for Ghost Hunters Compensation

Next up today, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has given a reprieve to Larry Montz, who clams to have created the concept for the “Ghost Hunters” series but was told by the network they weren’t interested, only to make a very similar series three years later. Montz sued for breach of implied contract and breach of confidence but the district court ruled that copyright law preempted his claim and that, since the new show was non-infringing, he was not entitled to damages. The Appeals Court, however, ruled that copyright does not preempt this agreement and, as such, Montz should have his day in court.

3: Unhappy Mounties Sick of Being Private Copyright Cops

Finally today, released documents indicate that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has expressed concern over both morale and national security at the potential “shifting” of the cost and time burden of enforcing copyright from the private sector the police, namely the RCMP. Calling copyright matters a low priority, the RCMP said that it is focusing its intellectual property enforcement efforts on elements that have a public health risk, such as counterfeit drugs. The letters, which were sent to the U.S. Trade Representative, came as the U.S. was negotiating ACTA, a controversial treaty that increases law enforcement involvement in copyright matters. (Hat Tip: @justinbgoff)

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.

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

1: Strange Turn in Dancing Baby vs. Prince Case

First off today, the Lenz v. Universal case, which centers around a thirty-second clip of a dancing baby posted by Stephanie Lenz, the plaintiff in the case, now has Universal seeking to find her in contempt of court. The suit, came about after Universal Music filed a takedown notice against the clip due to its background music, which got it removed from YouTube. Though Lenz had the video put back, she, at the nudging of the EFF, sued Universal for filing a false takedown. However, Universal is claiming that Lenz suffered no ill effects from the takedown and has sought documentation from her on the issue. According to Universal though, Lenz has not provided adequate documentation and they are seeking to have her found in contempt. The court had previously ruled that Lenz had waved her attorney-client privilege by disclosing publicly disclosing facts that were discussed, forcing her attorneys to hand over documents related to her case.

2: CVS/pharmacy Unit Sued by Artist for Copyright Infringement

Next up today, artist Susan Lordi Marker is suing CVS Caremark Corp.’s CVS/pharmacy unit for copyright infringement, cleaiming that a line of figurines sold in their store are knock offs of her “Willow Tree” line of figurine angels. Marker’s angels are faceless figurines with wire wings placed in different poses. Marker is seeking to force CVS to stop selling the figurines, destroy all merchandise as well as profits from the sales and court costs.

3: CBS TakesDown Own Video (Image)

Finally today, CBS has seemingly filed a DMCA takedown against a video it was using on its own site. The video was of reporter Serene Branson, who slurred her words while live on TV reporting on the Grammy’s, leading to speculation she had suffered a mild stroke. Branson, is a correspondent for the CBS affiliate in Los Angeles and CBS’ main site had used YouTube clip of the incident as part of its reporting even though it doesn’t seem to have been on an official CBS channel. However, a takedown notice was filed against the clip, resulting in its removal and a rather bizarre scene on the CBS site, one captured in the image above. Hat tip: Thanks to @brettmorrison for the suggestion.

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.

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

1: FilmOn Streaming TV Site Temporarily Shut Down by Court

First off today, streaming television site FilmOn, which was streaming live TV from the major broadcast networks in the U.S., has received a temporary restraining order barring it from streaming video from those networks, all four of which had sued the company. This news bodes poorly for competitor and also-defendant iviTV, both of which make similar arguments that their service is legal. However, FilmOn says that they are in negotiations with the networks and are hoping to have a “cooperative” business model some time in the near future.

2: Ray Charles’ Estate Sues His Son For Publishing Photo

Next up today, the estate of Ray Charles is suing the deceased musician’s son, Ray Charles Robinson Jr. for copyright infringement after Robinson used a photo of his father on the cover of his new book, “You Don’t Know Me: Reflections of My Father, Ray Charles” as well as some lyrics from some of his father’s songs. Also named in the suit is the book’s publisher, Random House.

3: The British Library releases 3 million bibliographic records into the public domain using CC0

Finally today, the British Library has released some 3 million records from the British National Bibliography into the public domain using Creative Commons’ CC0 waiver. This is part of the JISC OpenBibliography project, which hopes to make bibliographic data available without restrictions to the public.

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.

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

1: Call of Duty: Black Ops Leaks To BitTorrent – Or Does it?

First off today, the latest game in the popular Call of Duty series has been leaked on Bittorrent, maybe. After several copies of the game “Call of Duty: Black Ops” were stolen from a pressing plant, the leak seemed inevitable and now a torrent has shown up but there is significant doubt if it is a real one. However, friends of the site IP Cybercrime, which is run by Rob Holmes, managed to get some of the copies back by simply tracking down those who had it and asking for it nicely, including asking one young boy’s mother. However, it seems possible that at least one copy of the game has leaked out on Bittorrent, two weeks before the November 9th official release.

2: ABC, NBC, CBS Block Google TV, Declare War

Next up today, the big three networks, ABC, NBC and CBS have all blocked access to their content from Google TV, preventing users from streaming their content. However, at least one of the networks, NBC, has apps available for other networks, including CNBC, available for the device. It’s also unclear if the ban is very effective as several users have reported being able to watch some or all of various shows before being blocked. The networks join Hulu as notable holdouts on Google TV. Though Viacom and Google are not blocking at this time, they may choose to do so later.

3: Message which brought hope now copyright of Chile miner

Finally today, in an example of world news and copyright news colliding, the Chilean miner who sent the now-famous note to the surface letting the world know that they were alive and trapped has now received an official copyright registration on the note. That note, which simply says, “Estamos bien en el refugio los 33″ (“We are okay in the refuge, the 33 of us”) appeared on t-shirts and mugs during the dramatic rescue. The miner who wrote it, Jose Ojeda, simply says he wants to ensure no one misuses the phrase and that the move was inspired by his President’s use of the phrase while overseas in Europe.

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.

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

1: Broadcasters Sue Ivi for Copyright Infringement

First off today, in a move that should surprise no one, several broadcasters including Fox, ABC and CBS have counter-sued the TV streaming service Ivi, claiming that they are infringing on their copyrights by rebroadcasting live television from their various channels. According to Ivi, the law allows them to rebroadcast such TV signals and, since they are Internet-only, they are exempt from FCC requirements in doing so. They received letters from these companies and others and even filed a proactive suit against them last week. According to an Ivi rep, this lawsuit is “not about copyright”, but instead is about “competition”.

2: The Pirate Bay Appeal Day 2: Lost Sales

Next up today, the second day of The Pirate Bay appeal has concluded and most of the day was spent with prosecutors and content industry representatives highlighting lost sales and damages they see as being caused by The Pirate Bay and painting the site as a commercial enterprise. The defense did testify some at the end of the day and argued that most of the torrents on the site did not point to copyright infringing works and that, according to them, the site is merely a search engine and not responsible for the content on it. Day three is expected to have more testimony from the defense as the trial is moving faster than expected.

3: The “Legal Blackmail” Business: Inside a P2P Settlement Factory

Finally today, as the leak of emails from the UK law firm ACS:Law continues to be poured over, a clearer picture of the operations of the company, which was famous for sending out “settlement letters” to alleged file sharers in the UK. Ars Technica has a lengthy article highlighting how the business worked, including the types of responses ACS:Law got to its demand letters and some of its business dealings with other companies, including the controversial U.S. Copyright Group.

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.