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

1: IFPI, UK Cops, Credit Cards Unite Against Unlicensed MP3 Sites

First off today, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has announced a new partnership with City of London Police’s Economic Crime Directorate (ECD), as well as the credit card companies VIsa and Mastercard to target sites that are unlawfully selling music. The IFPI will collect information on such infringing sites, forward to the ECD and then, after the claims are validated, they will be forwarded to the credit card companies to have their access cut off. The move is likely targeted at sites such was MP3Fiesta, which sell very cheap tracks online without the permission of record labels.

2: UK’s “Voice of Business” Supports Robust Copyright Law

Next Up Today, CBI, one of the UK’s largest and most prominent business organizations, has made public its submission to its government’s review of copyright law. According to CBI, weakening copyright law would be disastrous for UK businesses and that any changes to the law should ensure that such rights are protected. UK Prime Minister David Cameron launched the review last November seeking ways to simplifiy and streamline copyright law for the digital age. This could include an expansion of fair use within the country.

3: Top 40 Countries for Copyright Piracy & Cyberlockers

Finally today, as the U.S. Trade Representative prepares to release their “Special 301″ report outlining nations which are it believes are tolerating piracy and the U.S. may wish to seek sanction against, the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) has released it’s recommendations, including some 40 countries. Of the nations listed, the IIPA recommends 13 be place on the “Priority Watch” list with the other 27 being on the “Watch” list. New nations the IIPA recommends for the priority list are Costa Rica, the Philippines, Spain, Ukraine, and Vietnam, all of which the IIPA says are not doing enough to protect copyrights and prevent piracy.

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: Blaming Piracy, Music Industry Says It’s Lost a Third of Its Value Over Past 7 Years

First off today, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s (IFPI) released its annual report today and, as one might expect, it’s fairly grim. According to the report, the record industry has lost about 30% of its total value globally over the past 7 years and even the growth in digital music sales is slowing.The report places the blame for this on piracy and calls for governments to take stronger action against it, saying that some 1.2 million jobs in Europe may disappear by 2015 if nothing is done.

2: Record Labels Seek To Disqualify LimeWire’s Law Firm For Ethical Conflict

Next up today, though Limewire may have been shut down, the case against it continues as record industry attorneys attempt to get damages from the company. However, now the attorneys for the plaintiffs are attempting to get the opposing counsel disqualified for an alleged conflict of interest. According to the plaintiff’s attorneys, Cravath, Swaine & Moore (CSM), one of the core members of their team in the case, Jeffrey Korn, now works for Limewire’s counsel, Willkie Farr & Gallagher (WFG), and has a critical role in the case. This, according to CSM, creates a conflict of interest that should result in WFG from working on the case any farther. This could, potentially, slow down the case greatly as Limewire may have to obtain new counsel and bring them up to speed in the case.

3: Cheap Books or End of Indian Writing?

Finally today, publishers in India are worried about pending changes in the country’s copyright law that, they say, could flood the market with cheap books. The current law requires publishers to get specific territorial rights to distribute books in India but changes to the law, largely aimed at helping Bollywood handle licensing of music and other content, would allow books to be sold in the country that were printed anywhere. According to publishers, this could jeopardize the Indian publishing system as a flood of books unable to be sold in other markets are sold cheap within the country. Publishers have vowed to lobby against the law or for changes to it to protect them.

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: Big Media Wants More Piracy Busting from Google

First off today, heads from both the IFPI and the RIAA recently approached Google to see what the search engine could do to help them track down pirates more efficiently. Google, according to a response, was less-than-helpful saying that they only help they could offer would be an API solution that would charge 5 dollars for every 1,000 queries, an amount that the organizations said would cost millions per year. Google has said it complies with copyright law and does not charge for content removals, but has to charge the amount above for the API to recoup costs.

2: American P2P Law Firms Now Threatening… Each Other

Next up today the Media Copyright Group and the U.S. Copyright Group are in something of a trademark spat. The two firms specialize in anti-piracy work, namely filing massive lawsuits against suspected file sharers to procure settlements, making them direct competitors. Observers had previously noticed that MGC’s filings used whole passages from the USCG’s previous filings but it seems to be trademark that has put the two companies at odds. The USCG had sent a letter to the MCG demanding that they change their name and pay damages, in response, the MCG has now filed a preemptive lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgement that the name is legal and to try to revoke USCG’s trademark application. USCG has not yet responded to the lawsuit.

3: Knock Out makers ordered to share screenplay with Fox

Finally today, the makers of the Bollywood film Knock Out have been ordered to turn over their screenplay to Fox, which accuses them of plagiarizing the work from the film Phone Booth. Both films feature a protagonist being held hostage in a phone booth and ordered to reveal dark secrets. Knock Out is scheduled to be released on Oct. 15th and there appears to be no plans to halt the release at this time.

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.

1: RIAA Asks Judge To Freeze LimeWire’s Assets

First off today, in addition to the injunction that the RIAA is seeking against LimeWire, the record labels are also seeking to freeze the assets of both the company and its founder, Mark Gorton. According to the labels, LimeWire has done nothing to change its illegal ways since being found liable for copyright infringement last month and may be on the hook for over a billion in damages. LimeWire has up to two weeks to respond to the injunction request before the judge in the case may issue orders.

2: IFPI Reacts to Publication of Draft Canadian Copyright Amendment Bill

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has issued a press release on the draft copyright reform bill in Canada. Though the IFPI has said it is pleased that Canada is taking up the issue, that the bill, as it is written, does not go far enough. The bill, though it prevents the circumvention of digital locks, also codifies the “notice and notice” system for dealing with infringement online and expands fair dealing within the country. The IFPI is hoping that the bill will be amended and the current draft is merely a starting point.

3: New York Times Forces Apple to Pull Popular ‘Pulse’ iPad Newsreader

Finally today, in a case of copyright fail, the New York Times, briefly at least, had Apple remove the popular iPad app Pulse claiming that it was infringing their copyright. The reason? Pulse displayed the New York Times’ RSS feed, along with millions of others, in that it is a feed reader. The $4 app was restored to the app store some time later but it is unclear if the NYT withdrew its complaint or if Apple realized what was going on.

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.

1: New Copyright Law in Chile

First off today, Chile has announced the largest reforms to its copyright law since it was revised in 1970. The new revisions include three changes, the first expands fair use and other copyright exemptions, the second element expands the penalties for copyright infringement, up to $140,000 US fine for repeat infringers, and the third carves our safe harbors for ISPs though the report is vague on how ISPs are able to obtain such safe harbors. More on this likely to come.

2: Canada still bad boy of piracy: IFPI

Next up today, in another part of the IFPI report we covered yesterday, where it was highlighted that the music industry grew in many markets, the IFPI repeated its cries against Canada calling it “a major source of the world’s piracy problem” pointing out that the country has not signed or enacted various treaties that are decades old and, according the IFPI, the country hosts a “disproportionate” amount of piracy sites.

3: Copyright drama over Housefull

Finally today, in India, the long-awaited release of the movie “Housefall” may be in some trouble as a court order questioning the film’s use of the song “Apni Toh Jaise Taise”, performed by the duo Kalyanji-Anandji, and Puneet Mehra, claiming that the song was not properly licensed. The order came mere days before the movie was due to be released (today) and the artists behind the song are now seeking a restraining order barring the use of the song in the film.

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.

1: Appeals Court Upholds Ruling in Seinfeld Cookbook Case

First off today, Jessica Seinfeld, the wife of comedian Jerry Seinfeld, has won her copyright case against a fellow cookbook author, Missy Chase Lapine. Lapine sued Jessica Seinfeld after she published a cookbook entitled “Deceptively Delicious” that Lapine claimed was an infringement of her earlier work,”The Sneaky Chef” as both had recipes for slipping vegetables into children’s food. The Appeals court ruled that the lower court was correct in saying that idea was not copyrightable. However, a defamation case against Jerry Seinfeld over comments said on a late night television show is still pending.

2: Google Wins ‘Thumbnail’ Images Ruling in German Court

Next up today, Google won a major case in Germany, where the country’s highest civil court found that Google’s use of thumbnails in its image search results, was permissible under copyright law. According to the court, when webmasters publish images to their site without technological mechanisms to prevent indexing, they are giving an implied license to have the content used in that way. This follows two lower courts said much the same and similar verdicts in the U.S.

3: Piracy Problems? Music Industry Grew in 13 Markets in 2009

Finally today, a study put forth by the IFPI shows that the music industry actually bucked the trend and grew 13 markets, including in Australia, Mexico, South Korea, Sweden, the UK, and Brazil. This includes countries, such as Sweden and the UK, where strong new enforcement rules were passed but also countries like Australia, where piracy enforcement has suffered setbacks.

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.

1: File-Sharers Safe Until Music Biz Change Laws

First off today, Norwegian file sharers can breathe a sigh of relief though maybe not for long. The IFPI and Norwegian rights group TONO have announced a shift in their strategy away from litigation to lobbying for stronger laws and enforcement. This comes after a series of legal defeats in trying to force ISPs in the country to block The Pirate Bay. The groups are looking toward the UK and the Digital Economy Bill there as an example of how future action should be taken.

2: Copyright Violation Alert Ransomware in the Wild

Next up today, malware is now using piracy to extort money from unwitting victims. Pretending to be from the imaginary ICPP Foundation, the alert states that pirated content has been found on the PC and offers a “settlement” offer of about $400. The ransomware doesn’t lock up the computer but any attempts to close the fake warnings produces other warnings stating that this is viewed as a rejection of the settlement. The malware is also location-aware, changing language and names as appropriate.

3: Copyright 1710-2010 “For the Encouragement of Learning”

Finally today, April 10 marked the 300th anniversary for copyright law. The world’s first modern copyright law, the Statute of Anne, was signed into law by the British Parliament on April 10, 1710. Though not the absolute first copyright law, it was the first modern one to focus on authorship of a work. The British Council is using the anniversary to strike a debate about the past and future of copyright.

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.

Last week Google shut down a series of music blogs running on their popular Blogger service. All of the blogs were shut down for alleged copyright violations but at least six of the blogs were popular music blogs, including several that claimed they had obtained all of the music they were sharing legitimately.

This kicked off a firestorm of controversy and blame was quickly spread around. Many blamed the labels for sending such clearly false DMCA notices, others blamed Google for sending inadequate notices and others still blamed the laws themselves

The truth is that there is plenty of blame to go around. When you step back and take a look at the situation and how it unfolded, you can see that there are no completely innocent parties nor any one guilty entity. It was a perfect storm created by a series of bungles and missteps that, fortunately, is more rare than it seems.

However, to figure out how to prevent such takedowns in the future, let us take a look at what happened and what everyone can do better.

The Record Labels

The record labels initiated the whole situation. Their automated bots detected copies of their MP3s on various Google-hosted blogs and their staff filed takedown notices against those blogs. At least some of these takedowns, however, were against blogs that, according to their owners, had received permission from various agents to post the content. In fact, many had been pushed by PR firms to post the songs and promote them.

Why Blame Them: Though it seems likely the vast majority of the notices were legitimate as there are, or at least were, many unlawful music blogs on Blogger, greater care should have been taken to avoid sending notices to blogs that had been given permission to post the music files. In many cases, according to the bloggers, even a cursory evaluation of the actual page the MP3 was on would have shown it was a permitted use, something the record labels failed to do. Clearly, the record labels could have and should have done more to avoid filing against those they recruited to push out their works.

In Their Defense: Record labels are huge corporations, even today, and there are countless departments and third party contractors involved with the companies. It is very likely that enforcement team does not know what the PR team is doing, especially since both are likely outsourced to some degree. Furthermore, given the sheer volume of such notices that are almost certainly sent out and the relatively few that turn out to be mistakes, the record labels, overall, seem to do a decent job handling the situation under the circumstances. While there is clear room for improvement, I don’t think anyone would call these notices malicious, especially since they hurt themselves and their own PR efforts.

Google

Google’s role in this was more of a middle man. It received the takedown notices from the labels, removed or disabled access to the infringing works and notified the bloggers involved of the removals. Once the DMCA notices reached a threshold to be considered repeat infringers, Google then deleted the blogs, as demanded by the DMCA.

Why Blame Them: Google’s notices seem to be at the source of much of the confusion. Bloggers initially claimed that they didn’t always know what was being removed or why nor did they know how to respond. Others also claimed that they thought the removal of the content was the end of it and nothing more needed be done, much less that the notices had a cumulative effect and could result in an outright ban of their blogs.

In Their Defense: Simply put, Google has done more than most in this area. Google’s partnership with Chilling Effects, which has been deeply integrated into the Blogger takedown process, ensures transparency and as you can see in this sample notice links are clearly provided. Though Google may have some work to do in explaining the counternotice procedure, they still do more than the vast majority of hosts out there, especially since their overhauls in August.

The Bloggers

If we focus solely on the bloggers operating legitimate music blogs and not those using the service for unlawful purposes, the bloggers largely did nothing. They received permission to post MP3s, in some cases having them pushed upon them, and did so. They received takedown notices but, since the work was already removed, did nothing further.

Why Blame Them: Music bloggers, especially those who post MP3s, have to understand that they are very likely to run into copyright issues. They have an obligation, when using other’s copyrighted works, to understand the law and what their obligations are. Also, no response is one of the worst responses to any legal papers received. If they had read the notice thoroughly, researched the law behind it and then filed a counter-notice when appropriate, their blogs would still be open.

In Their Defense: The law is confusing and impossible even for attorneys to fully make sense of. Bloggers, for the most part, lack the time, resources and knowledge to fully understand copyright law. They rely upon their Web hosts and those filing objections against them to make what they need to do understood. Furthermore, those who did nothing wrong put their faith into the system, assuming that it would work without them needing to take any action but that was clearly not the case.

The Law

The DMCA safe harbor provisions require hosts to expeditiously remove or disable access to allegedly infringing material when they receive a proper notice. They also require that hosts ban or otherwise shut down the accounts of repeat infringers. Google, as a U.S. company, is bound by this law and it is the method that the record labels used to secure the removal of the files they viewed as infringing and it was under this policy that the blogs in question were shut down.

Why Blame It: The law doesn’t offer much forgiveness nor, at least initially, voice to the person who is the subject of the DMCA notice. When notices are filed correctly, the system works fine, but when mistakes are made it is often very ugly and unfortunate. Under the law, Google had little choice than to remove the allegedly infringing pages, even if they were marked in error, and put the burden on their user to respond.

In Its Defense: The DMCA provides very robust protection against misuse. There is a counter-notice system which restores works that were removed and the DMCA also provides very harsh penalties for those who abuse the law. If hosts carry out the DMCA correctly and users respond appropriately, a mistake in the system should be just an annoyance. Failures such as this one require a very rare set of circumstances to come together at once to compound the problem.

Bottom Line

So who is to blame for Musicblogocide 2010? Everyone.

For this type of disaster to take place, there has to be a very sizable series of mistakes and errors. There is a reason why incidents such as this one are very rare.

Simply put, the record labels need to do better when sending their notices, Google needs to better explain them (perhaps relying a bit less on Chilling Effects for that assistance), bloggers need to be aware of the law and respond accordingly. Also, the law itself could probably use a few tweaks to streamline the handling of errors.

For the most part, the safe harbor protections have been very good for the Web and, on the whole, have been used as they were intended. Though a few have used them maliciously, they have, for the most part, been dealt with. Though a few mistakes have happened, they are rare in the big scheme of things.

Still, when something like this does happen it is important to analyze it and see where the mistakes were made. This way, we can prevent them in the future and continue to make rare occurrences even more rare.

In the end, I hope that this will be a learning experience for all involved and those who were spared. If we move forward from this wiser, then it was not a completely useless experience.

1: Judge: ‘HOPE’ Artist Under Criminal Investigation

First off today, Shepard Fairey, the artist who created the iconic Obama “Hope” poster is now being investigated by a grand jury over his admitted lies to the court about which photograph was used and for allegedly falsifying evidence. It is unclear the exact charges Fairey may face, if any, but the judge has said that it will not affect is ongoing civil proceedings with the AP, who sued him for copyright infringement over the poster.

2: Baidu Cleared in Copyright Infringement Case Brought by IFPI

Next up today, the Chinese search engine Baidu has been cleared of copyright infringement in a Chinese court in a case brought by the IFPI for Baidu’s deep linking to illegal MP3 files. According to the ruling, there is nothing illegal under Chinese law about linking to infringing material. The IFPI filed a similar suit in 2005, where it was ruled that the files were not infringing.

3: Internet Companies Voice Alarm Over Italian Law

Finally today, a new law from Italy that is scheduled to be approved next month would make it the responsibility of ISPs and sites, including those like YouTube, to monitor for copyright infringement by their users and hold them liable if they fail to do so. Concerns are being expressed that this could negatively impact Italy’s already-struggling digital economy.

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.

It is Monday again and that means that it is time for another episode of the Copyright 2.0 Show.

It was a busy week for copyright news with a lot of international news taking center stage. We have stories from the UK, Canada, Ireland, Germany, Sweden and Norway for starters.

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

This week’s stories include:

• YouTube Music Videos Now Available in the UK
• XM Radio Canada in a Nasty Licensing Dispute
• The iDrudge App is Taken Down and Restored
• Flick Changes its Policies on Takedowns
• The Pirate Pay Buyer Gets a Visit from the Repo Man
• 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

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.