3 Count: Tug of War

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1: Google modifies Europe book plans

First off today Google has offered some concessions on its Google Books Search product in a bid to appease European governments and publishers. The project, which works to scan out-of-print but in-copyright works for publication on the Web has agreed to not include any works that are out of print in the U.S. but are available elsewhere, including many books from Europe.

This comes after both France and Germany have ruled that the Google Book Search settlement, which was between Google, U.S. Publishers and the Author’s Guild, violates the law in their countries.

Though the move was obviously an attempt to placate EU countries, who are concerned about being shut out of the digital book market, it seems unlikely that this will completely calm their fears.

2: Photographer sues Leibovitz for $300,000 over copyright

Next up today, famous celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz is being sued by an Italian photographer claiming that she violated his copyright by using his images without permission and passed them off as her own.

Paolo Pizzetti, a photographer from Siena, says that he was contracted to scout locations for Leibovitz in Italy, including taking several photos of Italian landmarks. However, after sending the images in, he claimed that he was informed that Leibovitz would not be making the trip. He later found out that his images had been used as part of a calendar commissioned by the Lavazza coffee company.

The lawsuit is seeking roughly $300,000 in damages for breach of copyright.

3: Neb. election systems company sues former workers

Finally today, Nebraska-based Election Systems & Software is suing two former employees and a consulting agency for copyright infringement.

Election Systems & Software is a maker of voting machines and applications. They allege that the two employees, working with the consulting firm in some capacity, used internal software and proprietary information to work with clients, namely state and local government agencies, to help them operate elections.

The suit seeks unspecified damages and goes to highlight the dangers that lurk in the work-for-hire area of copyright for employees after they leave their job.

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.

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