3 Count: Hanging the Jury

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

1: Jury Note Raises Possibility That Verdict Won’t be Reached in 1st Round of Oracle-Google Trial

First off today, the Associated Press reports that the Google/Oracle trial, which is now wrapping up its first week of jury deliberations in the copyright portion of the trial, may have that section end in a hung jury. A jury note given to the judge asked what would happen if the jury were unable to reach a verdict and that some jurors were not budging from their positions. The judge indicated that, if the jury could not reach a verdict, they would move on to the second phase of the trial, the patent phase, and retry the copyright portion later. Oracle sued Google claiming that Google had violated their copyrights and patents when they built their own version of JAVA for the Android mobile operating system. The trial was broken into two parts to speed along the process.

2: Authors Contend Google’s Book-scanning Project Hurting Millions

Next up today, Agam Shah at PC World reports that the Google Book Search case was back and court and it seems Google and the Authors Guild have taken the gloves off. The Authors Guild contended that Google’s Book Search product, which scans and makes searchable printed books, has harmed “millions” of authors and is seeking class action status for the lawsuit. Google, on the other hand, wants the Authors’ Guild removed from the case saying that they do not represent individual rigthsholders involved. The two sides had previously put forth two different settlement proposals, both of which were shot down by the court. Also involved in the lawsuit are representatives of publishers and photographers.

3: EU Digital Chief Downbeat About Global Copyright Pact

Finally today, Claire Davenport at Reuters reports that Neelie Kroes, the EU’s Commissioner for Technology and Telecoms is bleak on the future for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) within the bloc. According to Kroes, opposition to the treaty, which was designed to harmonize enforcement of copyright, trademark and patent across multiple countries, has grown so much that signing it is unlikely to ever take effect. Many of the countries in the EU signed ACTA separately but are hesitating on ratifying it due to strong opposition.

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.

Want the Full Story?

Tune in every Wednesday evening at 5 PM ET for the live recording of the Copyright 2.0 Show or wait and get the edited version Friday right here on Plagiarism Today.

The 3 Count Logo was created by Justin Goff and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

Want to Reuse or Republish this Content?

If you want to feature this article in your site, classroom or elsewhere, just let us know! We usually grant permission within 24 hours.

Click Here to Get Permission for Free