3 Count: Use the Force

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

1: George Lucas Taking ‘Star Wars’ Stormtrooper Battle to Supreme Court

First off today, George Lucas and Lucasfilms, the owners Star Wars, is taking his dispute with prop-maker Andrew Ainsworth to the UK Supreme Court. Ainsworth, who worked on the original films and helped design the original iconic stormtrooper uniform, has been selling duplicates using the molds he created. George Lucas, however, has sought to prevent this but the courts to date have ruled on the side of Ainsworth, saying that costumes do not qualify for copyrightability as they are useful articles. Lucas is now appealing the case to the country’s highest court.

2: BMI Site Latest Target of Anonymous DDoS Attacks

Next up today Anonymous, has announced that it is resuming “Operation Payback” and is launching a new wave of DDOS attacks against various copyright interests, starting with Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), a UK company that handles licensing of music in the nation and has been a target of the group before. According to a press release by anonymous, this is the first of many attacks against “copywrongs” and the group specifically mentions the Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN as an example.

3: Righthaven Accuses Defendant of Running Up Legal Fees in Copyright Case

Finally today, Righthaven, the copyright enforcers for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Denver Post, is on the run from Democratic Underground, which it had previously sued for copyright infringement. Righthaven dropped its case against DU after a fair use defeat in a similar case but DU, with the assistance of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, has pressed on, seeking attorneys fees, a declaratory judgment of non-infringement as well a rejection the seizure of the domain, a routine demand Righthaven makes in its lawsuits. Righthaven is now saying that DU is simply trying to drive up legal expenses and is asking the judge to dismiss DU’s counterclaims.

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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