3 Count: California Dreams

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1: Trio Arraigned on Counts of Conspiracy, Receiving Stolen Property, Grand Theft

First off today, Ted Johnson at Variety reports that three brothers in Northern California were arrested and arraigned on criminal charges including receiving stolen property, grand theft and conspiracy over their role in the website mediamp4.com.

The site, which has since been shut down, was home to streaming movies and TV shows including “Black Swan” and “How I Met Your Mother”. The move comes from the California Department of Justice, which was working in conjunction with the MPAA.

According to California’s Attorney General, Kamala Harris, the MPAA sent cease and desist letters to the trio regarding two other domains they operated. They shut down those sites but resumed under a new one, prompting the criminal action.

2: CBS’ Les Moonves Escapes Deposition in Aereo Case

Next up today, Eriq Gardner at The Hollywood Reporter Esquire reports that the judge in the Aereo case has ruled on several issues related to evidence discovery and that, while broadcasters will have to turn over recent rebroadcasting agreements, CBS CEO Leslie Moonves will not have to be deposed.

Aereo is a startup that uses a series of tiny antennas, one per customer, to capture and transmit over-the-air broadcast television online and to allow recording of it. Broadcasters sues Aereo claiming it was copyright infringing and, though an appeal over a preliminary injunction is ongoing, the lower court case is also progressing on the issue of discovery.

Aereo has been seeking a lot of new information from broadcasters and a recently ruling from the judge in the case denies them access to CBS’ CEO, which had previously downplayed the importance of Aereo publicly, but gave them access to rebroadcasting agreements negotiated after Aereo began operations. Aereo is hoping both Moonves and the contracts will show that they have not had a drastic impact on broadcasters’ business and, as such, are not infringements.

3: Baidu Sues Qihoo 360 In China For Search Engine Sitemap Format Plagiarism

Finally today, China Tech News writes that Baidu, the country’s search leader, has filed a lawsuit against competitor Qihoo alleging that the latter plagiarized sitemap documentation and format information that Baidu gives to webmasters.

At specific issue in this lawsuit is Qihoo’s recent launch of its “360 search” site, which Baidu had already successfully suied for unfair competition and trademark infringement.

The latest lawsuit demands that Qihoo stop the infringement, make a public apology and pay compensation of CNY500,000 ($81,000).

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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