3 Count: Rotten Apples

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1: Artist Files Copyright Suit against Apple for Retina Display Photo

First off today, Patently Apple is reporting that photographer Sabine Liewald has sued Apple for copyright infringement, claiming the tech giant used one of her photographs, a closeup of an eye, in advertisements and promotional materials without permission. According to Liewald, Apple purchased a license to use the photo from her agent, Factory Downtown, but had only acquired “comping” rights in it, meaning that it was to be used for layout purposes only. However, according to Liewald, Apple used their logo in their recent unveiling of the Retina-display Macbooks and later in advertisements. Liewald is suing for actual damages, including Apple’s profits, and statutory damages as well.

2: Apple Agrees To Pay Swiss Federal Railway Service For Purloined iOS 6 Clock Design

Next up today, John Brownlee of Cult of Mac writes that Apple has settled another copyright case, this one involving the clock app it uses in the iPad version of its mobile iOS operating system. In its newest software update, Apple used a black, white and white clock with a red second hand that bears a strong resemblance to a famous clock design by the Swiss Federal Railway Service (SFRS). This prompted the SFRS to threaten Apple with a lawsuit but Apple has chosen to sign a licensing deal with the SFRS and put the issue to rest. The financial terms of the licensing arrangement have not been disclosed.

3: Man sentenced to prison for copyright infringement

Finally today, the Enumcla Courier-Herald reports that a Federal court in Seattle has sentenced and Everett man to 40 months in prison for two counts of criminal copyright infringement. Sang Jin Kim was indicted in December of last year and pleaded guilty in July. Kim operated sites that distributed pirated movies, television shows and software and specialized in content from South Korea, which was in turn targeted at the local Korean community. Kim’s sites required payment from users for the downloads, which helped contribute to the case becoming a criminal matter. The matter came to the attention of U.S. authorities after South Korean officials alerted U.S. Immigration and Customers Enforcement (ICE) of the operation. ICE teamed up with Homeland Security Investigations to perform buys and eventually shutter the sites.

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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