3 Count: Betty Booped

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

1: Australia Confirms ISPs Are Not Copyright Cops

First off today an appeals court in Australia has dismissed a case against local ISP iiNet, which was brought by the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT), saying that ISPs do not have to take action to curtail copyright infringement on their networks. AFACT had sued iiNet claiming that they did not do enough to prevent piracy by their customers. The court, however, ruled that iiNet had no such obligations and is not liable for infringement from its customers, thus dismissing the case. The case had been widely watched both in the country and abroad as it may have set the stage for a “three strikes” regime in the country.

2: Irish Govt Pushing Through ‘Illegal Downloads’ Changes to Copyright Law

Next up today, new legislation is being fast tracked in Ireland to institute something of a three strikes system in that country. The idea being that judges would be able to enter injunctions against ISPs to block file sharing customers. The legislation, which is considered a piece of secondary legislation in the country, may pass as early as Friday. Ireland has been home to many battles over “Three Strikes”, most famously Eircom, which agreed to institute such a policy even though a later lawsuit, one against another ISP, determined they were not required to.

3: Ninth Circuit: Creator’s Family Doesn’t Hold Copyright To Betty Boop

Finally today, the heirs to the famous animator Max Fleischer do not have a legitimate trademark or copyright claim to the iconic character Betty Boop, which he created in 1930. Fleischer sold his creation ten years after making it but his heirs established Max Fleischer in the 1970s in a bid to repurchase the rights and revive the business. However, the court ruled that they could not prove a chain of ownership over the rights and, as such, have no valid claim over the character. Who does is, quite literally, anyone’s guess.

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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