3 Count: Made in Taiwan

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1: Websites Can Legally Pirate Porn Movies, Prosecutors Rule

First off today, Andy at Torrentfreak writes that Japanese pornographers have been fighting an uphill battle when trying to deal with sites pirating their content in Taiwan. The Taipei District Court Prosecutors Office announced that it would not be pressing any charges against those pirating pornographic material.

The reason is that, under Taiwanese law, pornography is considered obscene and does not qualify for copyright protection. This has prompted the producers of the material to threaten to report such sites to the prosecutors not for copyright infringement, but for spreading indecent material.

However, even those arguments seemed to fall on deaf ears as the prosecutors found that the sites displayed warning batters and worked to keep minors out, meaning there was no reason to prosecute charges on those grounds either. Other types of content, including regular movies, music and text enjoy copyright protection in Taiwan.

2: Rock Band Boston Involved in Copyright Termination Fight

Next up today, Eriq Gardner at The Hollywood Reporter Esquire reports that Tom Scholz, head of the 70s music group Boston, has filed copyright termination papers, seeking to end his 35-year-old deal with his former label. However, the label has fired back, suing Scholz and seeking a declaratory judgment that the termination is invalid.

The reason the publisher makes the argument is because, according to the company, the band and the label signed a new agreement in 1978, three years after their original 1975 agreement. This would push back the date of copyright termination to at least 2015.

However, the publisher is not making the argument that the band’s songs were created as a work for hire, which would mean that they do not qualify for copyright termination. This means that, unless they change arguments, even a victory would likely only delay termination a few years.

3: Copyright Deal Could End Tai-Tai Video Fight

Finally today, Austin Chlu at The South China Morning Post reports that a dispute over an “embarrassing” video may be reaching a conclusion through a copyright deal.

Journalist Lorea Solabarrieta sought to create a Chinese show similar to the “Real Housewives” series. So she recruited GLoria, the wife of wealthy businessman David Chor Ki-kwong to film a 12-minute documentary entitled “The Life of a Hong Kong Tai Tai”. In the video, Gloria confessed to being lonely and feeling that her husband was not spending enough time with her.

Solabarrieta posted the video on YouTube and Chor quickly sued, saying that the video was an embarrassment. Chor secured an injunction requiring Solabarrieta to remove the video, which she says she did, but Chor is pressing on saying she missed the deadlines and is in contempt of court.

However, Solabarrieta is apparently working to reach an agreement where she will sell the copyright in the video to Chor in exchange for dropping the entire case. While the amount has not been stated, Solabarrieta has said it will be enough to cover her legal expenses. Solabarrieta said that, while she doesn’t want to sell the video, she wants to end this case quickly.

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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