I’ll be going through today and this evening emptying out my inbox and touching base with all of my clients that have active projects or proposals. However, I will not be in the office or posting on Plagiarism Today this coming Monday or Tuesday.

On that note, if you happen to be in the city, you may see me along the parade routes, in the French Quarter or just milling about enjoying the time off. If you do, definitely stop and say hello.

Otherwise I will see you guys again on Wednesday. Until then, have a happy Mardi Gras!

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

1: White House Will Propose New Digital Copyright Laws

First off today, the Obama adminstration, through its intellectual property enforcement coordinator, Victoria Espinel, is preparing to début a set of laws regarding digital copyright. Though the laws haven’t been announced, a recent report by Espinel has shown what is widely considered a “pro industry” stance, hinting that the laws will likely be an attempt to clamp down on piracy through stronger legislation. According to reports, the law is due to be sent to Congress “in the very near future.”

2: Emma Thompson Battles Playwright Over ‘Effie’ Film

Next up today actress and screenwriter Emma Thompson is heading to court to make the case that her newest film, “Effie”, is not a plagiarism of Gregory Murphy’s earlier play “The Countess”. The producers of “Effie” sued Murphy and are seeking a declaratory judgment that the film is non-infringing because, according to them, Murphy’s lawyers have hounded the production of the film and interfering with it. According to the producers, this is the last step needed to secure financing for the flim and enable filming to start.

3: Mardi Gras Costumes Inspire Photographers – and a Copyright Claim

Finally today, in an update of a story that hits close to home for me, several Mardi Gras indians, individuals who work all year to create elaborate headdress-style costumes for Mardi Gras, have copyrighted their creations and are planning on pursuing those who sell photos or paintings of their artwork. Historically, costumes and dress items can’t be copyrighted but their attorney, Ashlye Keaton, has registered them with the Copyright Office, claiming them to be works of art, not costumes. It remains to be seen if this angle will be enough to stop the calendar makers and the artists who have sold reproductions and images of the costumers for years.

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: ACTA Draft: No Internet for Copyright Scofflaws

First off today, a 56-page leaked document that appears to be a recent draft of the controversial (and secret) Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement has surfaced. The document claims that the U.S. is attempting to push for a regime that would required ISPs into “adopting and reasonably implementing a policy to address the unauthorized storage or transmission of materials”. This could include a “three strikes” system that disconnects alleged filed sharers. Though such a system is not mentioned by name, the document does make reference to disconnecting users under some circumstances. However, the leak has not been verified as authentic as of this writing.

2: Colleges Automate Process of Responding to Copyright-Violation Notifications

Next up today Audible Magic, the makers of the audio matching technology widely used by video sharing sites to filter infringing videos, has released a new product for schools and universities to help them automate the DMCA notices they receive. The process of receiving the notice, locating who was responsible for the infringement and sending out a notice can be very time-consuming, especially when dealing with hundreds of letters per month, though this product does not seem to be the first in this category, it is the best-known name to throw its hat in this ring.

3: Want to Use My Suit? Then Throw Me Something

Finally today, several famous Mardi Gras Indians, a traditional part of Mardi Gras festivities here in New Orleans, are seeking copyright protection over their outfits to help them stop those who use their pictures to sell calendars, postcards and other products. Their outfits, which can cost many thousands of dollars, are designed anew every year. However, they face a steep uphill battle over this infringement as fashion design does not typically enjoy copyright protection, which is why they are attempting to claim them to be sculptures and not functional items.

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.

As such, I will not be updating Plagiarism Today during the day today and will be away from my email. I’ll return to normal office hours tomorrow.

In the meantime, I encourage everyone to enjoy the holiday as much as possible. If you’re not in the area but want to catch some of it, Nola.com has cams both along the parade route and in the French Quarter so you can watch that way.

With that in mind, Happy Mardi Gras and I will talk to you again on Wednesday!

Photo Credit: Float picture is by Mr. Gunn and is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

It seemed even most of the serious news came with a lighthearted spin as even The Pirate Bay, indicted this week by Swedish prosecutors, didn’t take the news heavily.

Remember, as usual, this week’s linkroll is a “raw” link list. Some stories are duplicated, some do not point to their original sources and some may not be accurate. A great deal of refining goes into producing the show notes for the Copyright 2.0 Show.