3 Count: Oink Oink

Have any suggestions for the 3 Count? Let me know via Twitter @plagiarismtoday.

1: Music File-Sharer ‘Oink’ Cleared of Fraud

First off today, former Oink admin Alan Ellis was cleared for fraud charges today for running the infamous file sharing site in the first such trial in the UK. At its peak, before its closure, Oink reportedly had nearly 200,000 members and aided in the swapping of some 21 million files. Ellis had been charged with defrauding copyright holders, in large part for his acceptance of donations to run the site. The trial lasted seven days.

2: Digital Rights Group Pushes FCC to Protect Net Neutrality

Next up today, net nutrality legislation is bumping up against copyright as the EFF and other consumer-rights groups are expressing concern about a “loophole” in current net neutrality proposals that would allow corporations to interfere with Internet traffic for “activities such as the unlawful distribution of copyrighted works.” An Internet-based campaign is underway to try and remove that particular clause.

3: Comcast’s BitTorrent Settlement Excludes Pirates

Finally, in a related story, if you were affected by Comcast’s throttling of Bittorrent, you may be able to collect a $16 refund from a settlement. However, only if you swear under penalty of perjury that you were not using bittorrent to download infringing materials. The clause is largely expected to greatly reduce the number of people who file claims and collect money.

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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