3 Count: Pirate Blockade

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1: The Pirate Bay Could be Blocked in UK

First off today, a court ruling in the UK could pave the way for The Pirate Bay to be blocked in the country. A High Court in the country ruled that The Pirate Bay and its users unlawfully share copyrighted music and that both are responsible for the infringement. This could pave the way for an order requiring ISPs to block the site, as was done with Newzbin2 previously. Newzbin2, however, quickly responded with new tools that allowed users to circumvent the blockade.

2: Megaupload Defendants to Face More Copyright, Fraud Charges

Next up today, Megaupload defendants will be facing still more charges after a grand jury handed down some 8 new counts including three new copyright counts and five new wire fraud ones. The move brings the total number of counts to 13, up from the original 5 in the Jan. 5 indictment. Megaupload was famously shuttered last month through a joint action by U.S., New Zealand and EU law enforcement that also resulted in the arrest of the site’s founder, Kim Dotcom, and several other employees, now called the “Mega Consipiracy”. Dotcom is still being held without bail in New Zealand.

3: Philip K. Dick Estate Drops “Adjustment Bureau” Copyright Lawsuit

Finally today, the estate for science fiction author Philip K. Dick has apparently dropped its lawsuit against the producer and filmmaker behind the 2011 film “The Adjustment Bureau”. The decision comes after a judge in the case threw out key portions on jurisdictional grounds, saying that the matter was best left for a state court. The lawsuit came about after the film was released, when the filmmakers paid $1.6 million to the estate for the rights to turn Dick’s original story into a movie. However, after the film was released, the filmmakers claim to have learned that the story was in the public domain due to confusion as to when the story was published. As a result, they did not pay royalties to the estate, prompting the suit. The estate may now file the case in state court or simply abandon it altogether.

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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