3 Count: EU Uh Oh

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: Google Books Accord Reviewed by EU to Assess Effects

First off today, the EU is taking a much closer look at the Google Book Search settlement and what it means for copyrighted works in the EU. The European Commission is seeking comment on the deal, including information on how many European works are affected and if there may be any copyright violations.

Lawyers interviewed for the story seemed convinced that the commission will find that the the project is infringing and that will, in turn, open up the door for lawsuits in the EU, which may lead to a settlement there as well.

In the end, this is just another hurdle Google has to overcome with this project.

2: Study: Copyrights Account For $889 Billion In ‘Value Added’

Next up, a recent study released by the Intellectual Property Alliance found that the “core copyright industries” in 2007, the last year where information is available, accounted for $889.13 billion in “value added,” or 6.44%, of the $13.81 trillion in gross domestic product for the U.S. That represents an overall growth of approximately 6.2% over the year before and outpaced overall economic growth during the same time period, which was 4.8%.

According to the study, the core copyright industries include those who publish music, movies, video games and books but also includes live theater and other copyright-supported industries.

These numbers show that, though there is no doubt the recording industry is on hard times, that overall the market for copyrighted works is increasing and, even as the Web makes copying easier than ever.

3: New Online Copyright Law Baffles Users

Finally today, Thursday will see the beginning of a new “three strikes” law in South Korea, which will require both Web hosts and ISPs to disconnect those who illegally trade copyrighted content after two warnings. Though the new law is supposed to be targeted at the most serious of the infringers, but many are worried that it could impact regular users, including those who accidentally infringe on copyrighted works.

Though the law has been controversial, especially within the Korean blogosphere, it seems set to take effect and it has left many wondering what they should do with their Web sites.

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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