3 Count: Sympathy

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

1: Smaller Damages Sought in Music Case

First off today Joel Tenenbaum, who was found liable for $675,000 in damages for sharing music files online, was the subject of a hearing where his attorney, Charles Nesson, asked a sympathetic judge to reduce the damages. The record label attorneys disagreed, saying that these were the kinds of damages that the law intended but the judge hinted she sided more closely with Nesson’s arguments. The similar Thomas case is heading to a third trial after the judge in that case significantly reduced the damages.

2: A Win For Publishers

Next up today, a group of academic publishers have won an injunction against the file sharing site Rapidshare that prohibits the site from making available for download dozens of various academic works. Rapidshare accepts uploads from users and makes those files available for download. It profits from selling premium accounts. The company has said it plans to appeal the decision but publishers are calling it the biggest single threat in terms of piracy of academic works.

3: Consumers ‘Confused by Copyright’

Finally today, a poll from Great Britain indicates that 73% of consumers do not realize that it is illegal, in that country, to format shift CDs to their computer. According to the report, this highlights much of the underlying confusion over copyright and is an example of the challenges the government and copyright holders face in changing consumer behavior.

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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