3 Count: 100 Million…

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1: Agence France Presse And Getty Images Seek New Trial After Million Dollar Loss In Morel Copyright Infringement Case

First off today, Jeremy Nicholl at the Rusian Photos Blog reports that the Agence France Presse (AFP) and Getty Images have asked a judge to overturn an earlier ruling that ordered them to pay photographer Daniel Morel $1.2 million for their infringement of his work.

The story began in 2010 when Morel, who was in Haiti, took photographs immediately after the earthquake and posted them on Twitter. The AFP took the photos off of a separate Twitter account and used the photos as part of its news coverage and then licensed the images to other outlets through Getty. However, after both parties were notified that the use was infringing, there were issues getting the photos pulled and, when Morel threatened legal action, the AFP and Getty sued him first.

Morel won his case and was awarded $1.22 million by a jury for willful copyright infringement. The judge had previously ruled that the AFP and Getty had infringed but left it to the jury to decide the amount of damages and if the infringement was willful. After the loss, the AFP and Getty filed new documents asking the court to either strike the jury’s finding of willful infringement or, failing that, hold a new trial.

2: ‘Blurred Lines’ Lawsuit: Sony/ATV Settles With Marvin Gaye’s Family

Next up today, Eriq Gardner at The Hollywood Reporter Esquire reports that Robin Thicke’s publisher, EMI, which is owned by Sony/ATV, have settled their lawsuit against the estate of Marvin Gaye over the hit song “Blurred Lines”.

Thicke proactively sued the Gaye estate after the estate says it noticed similarities between “Blurred Lines” and Gaye’s “Got to Give it Up” and the two sides were unable to reach a settlement. The Gaye estate countersued and also sued Thicke’s producers and Sony/ATV.

The settlement does not put an end to the larger lawsuit, which is heading toward a trial, but it does mean Sony/ATV will not have to defend itself against conflict of interest claims as the publisher for both Thicke and Gaye.

3: Google Receives Its 100 Millionth Piracy Notice. Nothing Changes…

Finally today, Paul Resnilkoff at Digital Music News reports that the IFPI, which represents record labels internationally, has announced it has sent its 100 millionth DMCA notice to Google.

In response to this, the IFP and its affiliated groups, including the RIAA, have posted an open letter calling on Google to take more meaningful steps in reducing the number of visitors directed to infringing content.

Specifically, the groups have five requests including the successful demotion of infringing sites, ensuring that take downs are effective over the long term, providing better information to consumers, changing auto-complete to avoid infringing searches and strengthening its repeat infringer policy.

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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