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3 Count: Illegal Stream

Jonathan Bailey — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:16:47 +0000

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1: Appeals Lodged Against Optus Copyright Ruling

First off today, in a move that will likely surprise no one, the Australian football (soccer) leagues NRL and AFL have filed appeals in their case against local mobile service provider Optus. The case stems from Optus Now, a service that lets Optus customers stream television, including league matches, to mobile devices within minutes of them being aired and recorded on a DVR-like service. However, the leagues struck a exclusive deal with Optus’ competitor, Telstra, to stream the matches via their service, a deal they felt was jeopardized by Optus Now. However, a High Court judge ruled that Optus Now was a legal service since it was the user doing the recording. This has already prompted calls for copyright reform in the country but, in the meantime, the leagues are now appealing.

2: Government Denies Reviving Site-Blocking Law Plans

Next up today, in the UK, the government is denying recent claims that it was looking into new site blocking legislation. Though the Minister of State for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said that such a proposal was in the works, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which is handling the actual proposal, said it wasn’t. The reason is that a recent court ruling enabled copyright holders to get an injunction against ISPs to order the blocking of Newzbin2, showing that the legislation isn’t necessary and would be “duplicate”. The discussion comes as many are decrying what is seen as excessive influence by Google in the copyright reform process.

3: Music Labels’ Joint Venture, VEVO, Shows Pirated NFL Game At Sundance

Finally today, music video service VEVO, which is owned by Sony and Universal and is supported by EMI, has found itself the subject of criticism for illegally streaming a football game, specifically the Patriots vs. Raven playoff game, at a party during the Sundance Music Festival. According to reports, VEVO’s Powerstation event streamed the game illegally from the site tutele.tv, obtaining it from ESPN America, which is a UK-only channel. The incident comes at a time when the record labels have been deeply criticized for their anti-piracy efforts leading many to call this a case of hypocrisy.

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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.

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3 Count: Magic Money

Jonathan Bailey — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:39:06 +0000

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1: Apple’s iTunes Match (aka iMatch): The First Royalties Are In

First off today, Tunescore founder and CEO Jeff Price has publicly released information about the first royalty checks his label has received from iTunes Match: Specifically over $10,000 in the first two months. iTunes Match is a new service by Apple to let users synchronize their music via the cloud. Apple charges users $25 per year for that feature and pays a portion of that money as royalties to labels. Tunecore is an Internet-based label dedicated to helping unsigned and independent artists get their music on iTunes and similar stores. Price did not say how much of the royalties were going to his artists and how they would be divided up but said that it seemed like “magic money” that was not there before.

2: High Court Confirms Pubs’ Rights to Screen Football Matches

Next up today, in the UK a High Court judge has ruled that pubs in the country will be allowed to stream football (soccer) matches using foreign decoders as long as they do not charge an admission fee and only play the live game. The issue has been the center of two now-joined lawsuits that both featured pub owners using cheaper foreign decoders to access football matches. In both cases the FA Premier League (FAPL) sued the owners and one of the cases went before the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which found that, while it was legal to stream the games using a foreign decoder, it was still a public performance that the league had a right to control. However, the High Court in the UK, basing its ruling on the ECJ’s ruling, found that the FAPL had no such right when no admission is charged, opening up the opportunity for other pubs to do the same. This, if upheld, would put a severe limitation on the FAPL’s rights to restrict streaming of matches to pubs and other venues.

3: New York Times Busted for Violating Copyright Bill Keller Defended

Finally today, The Boston Phoenix is calling out The New York Times claiming that the newspaper published a PDF of a 1976 article from The Real Paper about the Death of Football. However, though The Real Paper is defunct its rights were bought by The Boston Phoenix’s publisher and that, according to the paper, makes the use a likely infringement. Though they have no plans on taking legal action, The Phoenix points out that the PDF appeared the same days as an op-ed by former NY Times Editor Bill Keller, who was advocating for stronger copyright enforcement and taking a strong pro-SOPA/PIPA stance.

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The 3 Count Logo was created by Justin Goff and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

3 Count: Mobile Change

Jonathan Bailey — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:29:03 +0000

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1: Mobile Broadcast Ruling Prompts ALP to Consider Copyright Changes

First off today, in Australia the country’s Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has vowed to “urgently consider” changes to the country’s copyright following a recent high court win by the mobile carrier Optus. Optus was sued by various sports leagues and competitor Telstra over its DVR service that allows users to stream TV to their phone within minutes of it being recorded. The verdict calls into question millions of dollars in licensing paid by Telstra to the leagues for the sole rights to stream matches via mobile devices. The move has caused legislators on both sides to seek changes to the law to protect mobile streaming rights, though opposition leaders seem to feel that any legislation should be extremely narrowly-focused.

2: New MEP Appointed to Head up ACTA Dossier

Next up today, British Labour MEP David Martin has been called to serve as the European Parliament’s rapporteur for the upcoming report on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The agreement, which was signed by the EU, US, Japan and over 20 nations, seeks to harmonize enforcement on copyright and other intellectual property matters. However, the treaty has been the subject of massive protests in the past weeks, prompting three nations in the EU to put on hold their internal ratification process. Martin replaces French Socialist Kader Arif, who resigned last week after blasting how the treaty was negotiated and handled.

3: Silicon Roundabout Asks For Copyright Overhaul

Finally today, the UK’s equivalent of Silicon Valley has sent an open letter to it’s government asking for broad copyright reform. The letter, which was signed by Computing Society (BCS), Coadec (The Coalition for a Digital Economy), TechHub, Bootlaw and the BIMA asks for adoption of various proposed reforms including enabling format shifting, enabling the licensing of orphan works, working with the European Commission to craft cross-border licensing schemes and more. The letter follows on the heels of the Hargreaves Report, which made many of the same recommendations.

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The 3 Count Logo was created by Justin Goff and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

3 Count: Bail Denied

Jonathan Bailey — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:43:47 +0000

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1: Megaload Founder Kim Dotcom Denied Bail on US Charges

First off today, Megaupload founder and CEO Kim Dotcom has been denied bail by a New Zealand court. Dotcom was arrested, along with six employees, after U.S. authorities moved to shutter his site over allegations of copyright infringement, racketeering and money laundering. According to the judge, Dotcom was a flight risk due to his wealth, international connections and history of fleeing charges. If convicted of the charges he faces, Dotcom could be sentenced to 20 years in prison. Megaupload, along with its sister sites, remain closed and have been seized by the FBI.

2: Planned Copyright Changes Could Stop Authors Writing for Schools

Next up today, authors in the UK are worried that proposed changes to copyright law in the UK could result in fewer authors writing for schools. The changes, which are designed to increase access to copyrighted works by educational institutions, risks giving authors who write for schools fewer royalties. As such, many have said that they would either have to scale back or stop working on books and content for schools as a result. Under the current system, schools pay an annual license to copy and distribute such works but, under the proposal, those fees could be greatly reduced or even dropped.

3: British Publisher Puts Plans to Publish Mein Kampf Excerpts in Germany on Hold

Finally today, a UK publisher that had planned to publish 3 16-page excerpts of Adolf Hitler’s book “Mein Kampf” in a German magazine has put its plans on hold. The German state of Bavaria holds the copyright to the book, at least until it expires in 2015, and had has used that copyright to prevent publication with in Germany. The state had threatened legal action against the publisher, which planned to publish the segments along with commentary on them in a German magazine. However, due to the threats, the publisher has put the plans on hold and will only be running the commentary in the magazine.

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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.

3 Count: Background Issue

Jonathan Bailey — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:36:30 +0000

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1: UK Student Faces Extradition to US in Copyright Case Over Movie Website

First off today, a UK court has ruled that Richard O’Dwyer, the alleged operator of TVShack, can be extradited to the U.S. to face charges of criminal copyright infringement. O’Dwyer is being sought on charges that his site enabled and supported copyright infringement, however, O’Dwyer claims that his site didn’t actually host or provide any illegal content, merely links to it and that it was completely legal in the UK. O’Dwyer and his lawyer have promised to appeal the ruling to the High Court of Britain.

2: Bogus Time Zone Database Lawsuit Threatens Essential Tool for Engineers Around the World

Next up today, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has signed on to defend researchers and operators involved with a database of time zone information that became the target of a lawsuit by Atlas maker Astrolabe, which accused them of misusing copyrighted information. The database, which many computer systems depend upon to update clocks and calculate time zone differences, was shut down but has since been brought back online. According to the EFF, the database only copies facts from Astrolabe’s work, which are not copyrightable under U.S. law. The EFF has ordered Astrolabe to drop the suit or face a motion for sanctions.

3: SOPA Sponsor Has a Copyright Violation of His Own

Finally today, the author of the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), which would allow rightsholders to obtain court orders to have ISPs block access to “rogue” websites dedicated to the purpose of infringement, is facing a copyright infringement claim of his own. According to Vice’s reporter Jamie Lee Curtis Taete, a previous version of Rep. Smith’s site had a background image taken by photographer DJ Schulte. Though the photo was licensed under a Creative Commons License, there was no attribution offered making its use a likely infringement. Rep. Smith’s office did not have an immediate comment on the matter.

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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.

3 Count: Preview Vote

Jonathan Bailey — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:12:11 +0000

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1: House Committee Appears Headed Toward Approving SOPA

First off today, the House Judiciary Committee seems to be on a path of approving SOPA, sending it to the House of Representatives for a full vote. The hearing yesterday, which lasted over 7 hours, will continue today but early votes on amendments shows strong support for SOPA in the committee. The bill, which allows copyright holders to seek orders barring ISPs, payment processors and advertisers from letting users access or doing business with sites primarily aimed at copyright infringement, was the subject of nearly 50 amendments, only 10 of which were voted on yesterday. However, one of those amendments, proposed by Representative Darrell Issa, would have removed much of the controversial elements of the bill but was voted down by a 22-12 margin. The hearing is expected to continue today and may stretch past the New Year if Congress goes on break before it’s finished.

2: UMG Claims “Right to Block or Remove” YouTube Videos it Doesn’t Own

Next up today, Universal Music Group hsa responded to allegations that it improperly ordered the takedown of a viral music video posted by controversial cyberlocker site Megaupload. According to Universal, the takedown wasn’t related to the DMCA, but rather, a private contract that UMG has with YouTube to remove videos that infringes any of their rights, not just copyright. This, according to UMG, seems to stem from a partnership the labels signed with YouTube as part of creating the offical VEVO channels. The music video featured various musicians offering support for the site, even as the record labels are condemning Megaupload as a haven for piracy. The video, however, is back on YouTube pending further information from UMG.

3: UK Government Outlines Plans to Reform Copyright Law

Finally today, the UK government has issued its proposal for reforming the nation’s copyright laws and the recommendations follow closely many of the suggestions from the controversial Hargreaves report earlier this year. Those changes include the legalizing of format shafting copyrighted works (IE: ripping a CD to your MP3 player), expanding an copyright exception for researchers to include data mining, expanding “fair dealing” to include satire and, most controversially, making orphan works (works without known copyright holders) available for reuse. The proposal now enters a 14-week public comment period, ending in March of next year.

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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.

3 Count: SOPA Backlash

Jonathan Bailey — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 20:44:50 +0000

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1: Strange Bedfellows: Nancy Pelosi, Ron Paul Join SOPA Opposition

First off today, as controversy about the Stop Online Piracy Act, which would allow U.S. Courts to order ISPs to block access to foreign “rogue” websites and also cut off payment processor and ad revenue to them, two Congressmen including Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul and House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, have come out in opposition to the bill. Another Representative, Darrel Issa, has said that the bill stands almost no chance on the House floor due to it being “too extreme”. The bill just finished a round of hearings and may be heading to for a vote soon.

2: European Parliament ‘Opposes’ SOPA Copyright Law in New Resolution

Next up today, the EU Parliament, the lower house of the 27-member organization, has passed a resolution that opposes SOPA and domain seizures by the U.S. government for dealing with infringing sites. The U.S. government has seized domains in the past, including .com, .net and .org domains that are under U.S. jurisdiction, but SOPA would make that process easier and add other enforcement measures. The Parliament’s resolutions goes on to highlight the importance of safety and security online but say that it should “not be met at the cost of sacrificing core principles relating to civil liberties”.

3: Netflix Facing Copyright Hurdles

Finally today, Netflix is preparing to make its entrance into the UK and Irish markets for its streaming service but seems to be receiving some push back from movie studios over the issue. Studios, eager to abandon regular licensing in favor of “per transaction” licensing that would have Netflix paying per viewing of a film, are resisting signing deals with Netflix to allow them to stream to the region. Another issue is that there are already subscription-based services operating in the region and many studios are reluctant to license to another. Netflix is hoping to open its doors to the UK and Ireland in early 2012.

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The 3 Count Logo was created by Justin Goff and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

3 Count: Registers Opinion

Jonathan Bailey — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:31:24 +0000

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1: Register of Copyrights: Without SOPA, Copyright “Will Ultimately Fail”

First off today, the Register of Copyrights, Maria Pallante, testified before Congress yesterday regarding the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and gave unabashed support for the bill, even saying that without it copyright would “ultimately fail”. The act, which enables U.S. rightsholders to get court orders to block “rogue” websites as well as order payment providers, advertisers and others to stop supplying funds to them, has been the subject of great controversy in recent weeks. Pallante herself had, previously, indicated she was opposed to efforts that might “unnecessarily jeopardize the efficient operation of the Internet” but gave her full support for this bill. More hearings are scheduled today.

2: Streaming Service Reproduces Copyrighted Films in Memory Buffers, High Court Rules

Next up today, in the UK, a high court has ruled that a streaming service does not violate copyright for the portions of the copyrighted work it stores in its servers. The case deals with the site TVCatchup.com, which rebroadcasts transmissions from various TV stations in the country via the Web. Broadcasters sued the site claiming copyright infringement but the judge, on advice from a European Court, has ruled that the amounts stored in the server for transmission are not, in and of themselves, an infringement as they are temporary and incidental. However, if the European Court finds that the broadcast equals transmission to the public, the site will still be in violation of copyright. The UK court has asked the European Court to rule on that matter.

3: 20th Century Fox Abandons $12 million Pre-Release Movie Script Lawsuit

Finally today, 20th Century Fox has dropped its lawsuit against P.J. McIlvaine, a woman they alleged posted scripts from some 80 movies and TV shows on her site. Fox sued McIlvaine for some $12 million even though she was not the original uploader of the script and, instead, compiled scripts she found elsewhere online. Fox did not provide any insight as to why it dropped the year-old lawsuit.

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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.

3 Count: Lonely Island

Jonathan Bailey — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 18:00:11 +0000

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1: Supreme Court Rejects NBCU Bid in ‘Ghost Hunters’ Rip-Off Case

First off today, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a case between NBC Universal (NBCU) and the parapsychologist Larry Montz, who claims to have come up with the idea for the company’s popular “Ghost Hunters” show. Montz, who claims to have pitched the show to NBCU for inclusion on their then Sci-Fi network (now SYFY) says that NBCU produced the show without him in violation of an implied contract. The case was dismissed but given a reprieve on appeal. NBCU appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court arguing that copyright trumped state contract law but the court, in refusing to hear the case, let the lower court ruling stand. The case now heads back to the district court for more hearings and a possible trial.

2: Update: UK High Court OKs Appeal Of Part Of Meltwater Copyright Case

Next up today, the Meltwater News Service and the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) will get a chance to appeal part of their case against the Newspaper Licensing Agency (NLA) to the UK High Court. The NLA, which collects royalties for major newspapers in the UK, sued Meltwater claiming that the company, which locates and emails clips of relevant news articles to various PR agencies, had to pay licensing fees both for their use and for their client’s use. Meltwater and the PRCA objected to that, saying that the client’s copies were temporary copies and allowed under UK law. The court let stand other rulings in the case, including that headlines could be copyrighted and clients will still need licenses, but it wants to look closer at the temporary copying issue, which could greatly mitigate the other two. The PRCA is pursuing the appeal even as the Copyright Royalty Board is trying to determine royalty rates for these kinds of uses.

3: Andy Samberg, NBC Sued Over ‘Saturday Night Live’ Sketch Featuring Rihanna

Finally today, St. Louis duo Aleric Banks and Monique Hines are suing SNL comedia Andy Samberg and NBC over two Saturday Night Live skits, namely for two songs “Shy Ronnie”, which features Rihanna, and “Like a Boss”, which featured Seth Rogan when it was performed on the show. The songs were recorded by the group The Lonely Island, which Samberg is a member of and originated on SNL. According to the lawsuit, Banks and Hines wrote the music for the songs and were promised royalties for the work but those promises were not kept, thus prompting them to sue.

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The 3 Count Logo was created by Justin Goff and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

3 Count: Bieber in Jail

Jonathan Bailey — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 17:31:44 +0000

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1: Copyright holders attack BT and TalkTalk for their continued resistance to DEA

First off today, as UK ISPs BT and TalkTalk prepare to take their case against the Digital Economy Act to the UK’S highest court, copyright holders and rights groups are blasting the ISPs’ continued opposition to the act. According to reps of both the Music Publishers Association and Warner Brothers, the time has come for the ISPs to stop trying to fight the law and start enforcing it. The law requires ISPs to pass along notification of alleged infringement to their customers and, after several warnings, sever Internet access to repeat infringers. The law also opens the door to the blocking of Internet sites deemed to be infringing, but the government has said they will not put that part into effect. Rightsholders applauded other ISPs, including Virgin and Sky for their cooperation with copyright holders.

2: ‘Copyright Trolls’ Unite to Prevent Downfall of BitTorrent Lawsuits

Next up today, a case in Virginia involving a mass bittorrent lawsuit has drawn the attention of at least two other law firms engaged in the practice. The system, which involves filing lawsuits against a large number of unnammed defendants to get their personal information via subpoenas to their ISPs, came under fire in the court when the judge dismissed all but one of the defendants and called the process a “shake down”. The judge also ordered the plaintiff to explain why the litigation should be allowed at all. Fearing a ruling that could harm the entire industry, Steele Hansmeier, a law firm that handles similar lawsuits, filed an amicus brief in the matter through another firm, Anderson & Associates, which are also involved with such lawsuits. This is a sign that the parties are taking this ruling very seriously and are worried about its implications nation-wide.

3: Justin Bieber is Behind Bars in New Campaign

Finally today, a new campaign by the advocacy group Fight For the Future depicts teen pop sensation Justin Bieber behind bars. The campaign is an effort to protest proposed legislation in the U.S. that would make streaming, in some circumstances, a criminal offense punishable by up to five years in prison. Bieber famously got his start on YouTube where his singing of various popular songs caught the attention of Usher, who signed the artist. According to Fight For the Future, that could now land other artists in jail if the law passes.

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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.