3 Count: Messed With Zohan

This is daily column on Plagiarism Today where the site brings you three of the days biggest, most important copyright and plagiarism news links. If you want to offer your feedback on the column, use the contact form or just follow me on Twitter at @plagiarismtoday.

1: Prosecution Alters Pirate Bay Charges in Bid to Win Conviction

Yesterday, prosecutors in The Pirate Bay trial in Sweden amended the criminal complaint to remove a portion of their description of The Pirate Bay that claimed that “All components” of the site were necessary for file sharing. Observers and legal scholars believe that this will make it easier for the prosecutor to obtain a conviction, provided they are able to show that the actions of the site’s owners live up to the standard of a crime.

The complaint refers to three components, a Web-based search tool, a database of information and a tracker of connections, but now the prosecutors no longer need to prove or show that all three are necessary for file sharing as the court could, theoretically, decide that two or even one is enough to prove complicity.

2: Messed over by Adam Sandler’s ‘You Don’t Mess with the Zohan,’ sez author’s suit

Robert Cabell, the creator of the gay comic book superhero Jayms Blonde, has sued Adam Sandler, his parent company, Sony and Columbia pictures alleging that the movie “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan” is an infringement on his character and comic book.

In both the movie and the comic book, a trained counter-terrorist works as a hairdresser though in Sandler’s movie it was a bid to start a new life and, in the comics, it was a cover. Cabell claims that he created Jayms Blonde in 2000, with “Zohan” being released a full seven years later.

3: Infringement Case Against McCain Advances

Finally today, a lawsuit against John McCain that started back when the Senator was running for President has been allowed to move forward. A judge has denied McCain’s request to be removed from the lawsuit, filed by Jackson Browne over McCain’s use of his hit song “Running on Empty” as part of a commercial.

McCain has asked to be removed from the suit, saying he had no knowledge of its use and played no role in its selection. However, the judge has denied that motion but is allowing McCain to attempt and show if using the 20-second clip was a fair use.

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.