3 Count: Palling Around

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: TelstraClear bails from copyright code talks

First off, in New Zealand news, the telecommunications company TelstraClear has backed out of negotiations on the implementation of controversial Section 92a, which would require ISPs to disconnect accused file sharers in the country.

The law was postponed last month to allow time for the ISPs and major copyright holders to hash out a draft proposal for implementation of the law. Since implementation would require that all ISPs agree, it seems unlikely that such an agreement will be reached at this time.

When the law was postponed, government officials said that, should the agreement not be reached within a month, that the law would be “suspended”, a fate that seems very likely at this time.

2: MPAA: RealNetworks hamstrings lawsuit by destroying evidence

There are developments today in the lawsuit between the MPAA and Real Networks over Real’s DVD ripping product, RealDVD. The MPAA is accusing Real of destroying evidence related to the case and has said that Real has “irreparably impaired the integrity of the judicial process.”

The court has filed an order to Real to preserve all evidence moving forward but it is unclear if any further action will be taken by the courts.

3: Microsoft dismisses $90m lawsuit

Finally today, Microsoft is involved in a copyright and patent dust up to the tune of $90 million. At issue specifically is Microsoft’s live chat feature, which lets players talk to one another while they play games on the Xbox and Xbox360. According to the suit, Microsoft approached PalTalk about creating the solution for the systems but, according to Microsoft, they decided to use another company instead.

The lawsuit alleges that Microsoft has violated Paltalk’s copyright and “patents concerning interactive applications over multiple computers.” Microsoft has dismissed the suit, saying that “The patents aren’t worth much, certainly not USD 90 million.”

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.

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