3 Count: 90% Off

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

1: Boston Federal Judge Drastically Cuts $675K Penalty Against Student in Song-Sharing Case

First off today, the judge in the Joel Tenenbaum case has reduced the jury award by 90%, from $675,000 to $67,500, saying that the larger award was “severe” and “oppressive”. Tenenbaum had been accused by the RIAA of sharing songs over Kazaa and was found liable by a jury, which handed down the original verdict. Tenenbaum still is said to think the verdict is too high and the RIAA plans on appealing the reduction.

2: US Could Learn From Brazilian Penalty for Hindering Fair Use

Next up today, a proposed change to the copyright code in Brazil will make it unlawful to use DRM to block access to works in the public domain and would also allow circumvention of DRM for fair uses. This would be in stark contrast to the law in the U.S. and the proposed law in Canada, which make the circumvention of DRM, even for lawful uses, illegal.

Many question whether Brazil’s law will comply with the WIPO treaties, which set for the standards for DRM protection internationally, though, since Brazil’s legislation only affects legal uses of the content, it is unclear if and how it would apply.

3: ISPs Don’t Have To Block The Pirate Bay, Court Rules

Finally today, a commercial court in Belgium has ruled that two ISPs in the country are not required to block The Pirate Bay. The request came at the behest of the Belgian anti-piracy outfit the Belgian Anti-Piracy Foundation, who was disappointed in the ruling.

The court ruled that such blocking would be “disproportionate”, especially considering the site has existed for several years but the request only comes now.

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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