After a week away due to illness, we are back and with a vengeance and a ton of copyright news to cover. Not only do we have a strange settlement in one of the most important fair use cases in some time, but we have the record labels agreeing to pay for copyright infringement and a big win for Harry Potter in the states. All in all, there was a lot to talk about and this was an extremely busy show!

This week’s stories include:

• Shepard Fairey and AP Settle Case, End Dispute
• Record Labels Settle “Pending List” Lawsuit in Canada
• Harry Potter Plagiarism Lawsuit Tossed in the States
• Sony Targets PS3 Hackers
• Anti-Piracy Attorneys Team Up
• 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: Associated Press, Artist Settle in Obama ‘Hope’ Poster Lawsuit

First off today, Shepard Fairey, the artist behind the Obama “Hope” poster, has settled his long-running legal battle with the Associated Press. The AP, whose reporter took the photo that the poster was based on, claimed that the poster was an infringement but Fairey had claimed it was a fair use. However, the two sides agreed to disagree on the legal issues and Fairey has agreed to never use another AP photo in his artwork again. Also, there was an undisclosed financial settlement but we have no idea which way it went or for how much. A separate lawsuit involving a manufacturer of T-shirts with the image is continuing separately.

2: Sony Launches Legal Action Against PlayStation Hackers

Next up today, Sony has launched legal action against George Hotz and others who released the key for the PS3 that could, in the future, enable the running of any software on the system, including pirated games. Hotz, who is best known for breaking the security on the iPhone, is named alongside of 100 others associated with the hacking group fail0verflow, which was responsible for the leak. Hotz has said that he is confident the legal action won’t succeed and is ready to defend himself against it.

3: Record Labels To Pay $45 Million for Pirating Artists’ Music

Finally today, in Canada, record labels have agreed to pay some $45 million for copyright infringement. The lawsuit stems from a “pending list” in which labels would use tracks on compilation CDs and, rather than paying the royalties, put the track on the list to be paid later. Artists, fed up with the unpaid royalties sued the labels. Though the damages could have been as high as $6 billion, the two sides agreed on a settlement that would bring all existing pending list claims up to code. However, it seems that the practice itself is unlikely to change.

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: Judge Affirms $675k Verdict in RIAA Music Piracy Case

First off today, the judge in the Joel Tenenbaum case, which saw the students held liable for some $675,000 in damages to the various labels after being sued for file sharing, has affirmed the verdict.

U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Gertner has entered the judgement in her new ruling and has not reduced the verdict, as Tenenbaum’s team had hoped. The judge also took time in the verdict to strongly admonish the defense, headed by Harvard professor Charles Nesson, for its “chaotic” defense and said she had been willing to consider a fair use defense but that Nesson’s arguments were so broad and out of touch with the law that she had no choice but to prevent them from being heard at the trial.

The judge also granted the record industry’s motion to bar Tenenbaum from any further infringement but declined, on the grounds of free speech, to bar him from promoting file sharing and the Web as a means of obtaining music. The judge also deplored Congress to take a look at the copyright laws that made the verdict possible and expressed deep concern over the potential for “astronomical” damage awards.

A January 5 hearing is scheduled to discuss the constitutionality of the damage amount but, should that fail, Tenenbaum has already said that he will be forced to declare bankruptcy.

2: Record Industry Faces Liability Over `Infringement’

Next up today, Canadian record labels are facing a major class action lawsuit brought on by artists who are claiming copyright infringement over the labels’s practice of using a “pending list” when clearing rights for compilation and live CDs.

The practice was the result of a change in Canadian copyright law in the 1980s that did away with compulsory licenses to require labels to obtain permission for such albums. However, according to plaintiffs, the labels instead just printed the CDs and put the track names on a the pending list, which supposedly meant approval and payment was forthcoming. According to the lawsuit, that payment never came.

The labels admit they have not taken adequate steps to secure payment for artists on the pending list, which has now grown to some 300,000 songs and includes artists from all genres and across the globe, and have already said they may be liable for up to $50 million in damages. However, since the plaintiffs are seeking statutory damages, that number could go as high as $6 billion (Note: The original article says $60 billion but this is clearly a math error as 300,000 songs x $20,000 per infringement max equals $6 billion, not $60 billion).

The irony of the record labels facing suhch a large potential judgement against them is not lost on anyone, the least of all the plaintiffs, who wrote in a legal filing “the conduct of the defendant record companies is aggravated by their strict and unremitting approach to the enforcement of their copyright interests against consumers.”

We will report more on the case as it develops.

3: Destiny’s Child Copyright Case Settled

Finally today, the former singers of Destiny’s Child have avoided a court date. The trio had been sued by Rickey Allen, who accused the band of infringement over their 2004 song ‘Cater 2 U’, whch he claimed was inspired by a track he had composed with the same title in the 90s.

Allen claimed that he had handed a copy of the song over to producer Maurice Joshua, who went on to work with the trio on the album in question.

However, after years of legan wrangling, the matter has been settled, only a few days before the singers were to take the stand. Both sides met behind closed doors to hammer out a an undisclosed agreement and the case is expected to be dismissed tomorrow.

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.

1: Oy Tenenbaum! RIAA wins $675,000, or $22,500 per song

First off today, the Tenenbaum verdict is in and it is not pretty if your name happens to be Tenenbaum. The jury awarded the RIAA $22,500 per song or $675,000 for the entire settlement. The jury award could have been anywhere from $750 per song to $150,000, making the award on the lower end of the spectrum, but still very high in value.

Tenebaum was sued for sharing files over various P2P file sharing networks and admitted liability during the course of the trial. That left the jury only to decide on the damages awarded. The next step for Joel, most likely, is to ask the judge to reduce the damages and, according to him, if that fails, he’ll likely file for bankruptcy.

A donation campaign was started to help Joel pay his award but it has since then been altered, after an outcry, so that the funds will go to pay for defense expenses.

2: Day 26 Accused of Copyright Infringement

R&B Band Day 26 has been sued for copyright infringement, but this one is a little different than most musical plagiarism lawsuits. The band is not accused of lifting a riff or a few notes, but rather an entire song.

According to singer Kirby Shields, his song “I’m Just Getting Started” is identical to the bands April, 2009 release “Just Getting Started” and he has filed suit against the band and various labels affiliated with the group to prove it.

Day 26 was formed on Season 4 of MTV’s “Making of the Band” and “Forever and a Day”, the album that contains “Just Getting Started” is the band’s second release.

3: isoHunt Loses Appeal in Preemptive Strike Against CRIA

Finally today, bittorrent tracker ISOHunt, which had preemptively sued the CRIA, the Canadian answer the RIAA, lost its appeal to have the case decided on a summary judgment and that, in turn has set the case up to be presented to a full trial.

isoHunt had sued the CRIA in hopes of getting a declaratory judgment ruling that the service was non-infringing. However, the judge felt the issues were too complex and too important to not present at a full trial and the appeals court agreed.

isoHunt now has to decide if it wishes to proceed to a full trial or take some other action at this point. However, they did not seem very surprised by the ruling, which had been widely expected.

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: Copyright treaty is classified for ‘national security

First off today, it appears that the Obama administration is continuing the secrecy surrounding the proposed ACTA treaty, marking all but 10 of over 800 pages of information about the treaty as classified.

The Anti-Counterfeiting treaty, which many fear may be an attempt to criminalize file sharing, has been under wraps since negotiations regarding it first started.

User rights groups as well as some Senators known for their support of strong copyright laws have expressed concern that the treaty may be too far reaching, however, not very much about the treaty is known for certain as the law itself has been kept closely guarded, save a few earlier leaks.

2: isoHunt Takes on the CRIA in Court

In other news, bittorrent search engine isoHunt is engaging in a bit of role reversal, dragging Canadian recording industry lobby group the CRIA into a British Columbia court as it seeks a declaratory judgment of non-infringement.

According to Gary Hung, the founder if isoHunt, the judge decided that the issue needed and deserved a full trial saying that, “He just thinks the issues are too complicated and consequences far reaching legally and technically, and a full trial is more appropriate for discovering all documents.”

No word on when the trial is likely to take place.

3: Jennifer Lopez Hit With Copyright Lawsuit

Finally today, in what can be called yet another case of a celebrity being sued over alleged plagiarism, Jennifer Lopez, along with 33 other defendants, are being sued by Sheri Gilbert who claims the mother-in-law character from the movie “Monster-In-Law” is too similar to a character she and her husband created ten years ago.

There is no indication on how Gilbert claims Lopez or the studio got a copy of her work. An attorney representing the defendants said that the character in question can not be defined as unique and has asked the lawsuit to be dismissed.

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.

This week, I make my return in something of an ad hoc studio set up after coming back into the city following my evacuation for Gustav. I hastily threw together both the linkroll and the show notes, almost certainly leaving a great deal out.

However, it is still a great show with our usual mix of copyright news, views and abuse.

All in all, there were thirteen stories this week including news from all over the copyright world including our “Weird Story of the Week”.

This week’s stories include:

• The Canadian DMCA May Die for a Year
• Comcast Sues the FCCn
• ISOHunt Goes on the Offensive
• Google Chrome Causes EULA Heartburn
• States Copyright Their Laws For Big Dollars
• And Many 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

All totaled, the show had sixteen stories, including the following:

• MPAA Takes on Two More Video Sites
• Demonoid Goes Down, Then Come Back UP
• iPhones Get Bricked by Apple Update
• Ethics Group Tackles Google on Copyrights
• Download Your Own Children’s Copyright Activity Book
• And Many more…

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

New! Show Notes

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