3 Count: Spooky Scary

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

1: Can You Sell Your Imported Gadgets? Court Guts “First Sale”

First off today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in the Omega watch case and may have changed the first sale paradigm. The case stems from a lawsuit in which Omega Watches sued Costco, which legally purchased watches overseas for sale in their stores in the U.S., against Omega’s wishes. Omega was initially denied in court but then added a small logo to the watches and sued for the illegal importation of copyrighted works, they won at the district court and the Appeals Court has now agreed. This could potentially change the first sale doctrine, which allows a user to resell legally obtained copyrighted works and has many worried.

2: Labels Try to Catch Porn Industry With Pants Down

Next up today, Warner Brothers and a collection of other labels have sued RK Netmedia, a pornography company that, they claim, has unlawfully used their music in their videos. According to the film studio, the use of the music is a fair use and the result of ambient sound from live recordings, the record labels disagree and are suing for the maximum damages allowed, calling the use of the music “calculated”.

3: Who You Gonna Call? Ghostbuster Feud Lands MySpace In Court

Finally today, Ben Davis, the person behind “Ghost Scene Investigations” has sued Myspace claiming that his copyrights and trademarks are being violated by Keith Engel, who runs “Ghost Scene Investigations of Tulsa”. Engel set up a page on Myspace to promote his services, prompting Davis to sue both Myspace and Engel. Most experts believe both the trademark and copyright claims to be dubious, especially against Myspace which is given safe harbor from copyright liability as a host.

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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