3 Count: Far Crying

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1: Accused Movie Pirate Wins Extortion Case Against Copyright Trolls

First off today, Ernesto at Torrentfreak writes that the law firm Dunlap, Grubb and Weaver has consented to a judgment that orders them to pay nearly $40,000 to a former defendant in a copyright infringement lawsuit.

The firm had been representing movie studios and engaged in mass lawsuits against suspected file sharers. However, one of the defendants, Dmitry Shirokov, fought back and claimed that the firm’s allegations were based on shoddy evidence and falsified U.S. Copyright Office records.

Shirokov was denied a bid to make his lawsuit a class action case, meaning that the payment only applies to him, but the court did eventually side with him after years of wrangling, pushing the firm to agree to the judgment, which includes all legal fees.

2: Piracy Sites are ‘Rife with Scams’ Says Media Industry

Next up today, Leo Kelion at The BBC reports that a study commissioned by the Industry Trust for Intellectual Property Awareness looked at 30 of the top sites where visitors routinely download infringing content and found that only one was free of malware or credit card scams.

Specifically, the study found that some 20 of the sites featured credit card fraud and malware was found on 27 of the sites, most of which were triggered through fake “play” or “download” buttons. Further, the study included a survey of some 4,201 pirate site visitors and found that 77% of respondents have said they downloaded malware or other unwanted material using such sites.

The study withheld the names of the sites involved, leading some to criticize the report as scaremongering, but Incopro, the anti-piracy consultancy service that conducted the study, stands by the research.

3: A Publishing Company Is Enforcing A Copyright On The Works Of Marx And Engels And People Are Freaking Out

Finally today, Dylan Love at Business Insider reports that publisher Lawrence and Wishart has sent notices of copyright infringement to The Marxist Internet Archive, a non-profit site dedicated to sharing the works of Karl Marx.

Nine years ago, the publisher gave the archive permission to use the first 10 volumes of the “Marx and Engels Collected Works” for free. However, ahead of an impending digital publication, it has revoked those rights and ordered it’s removal by tomorrow.

This has led many to accuse the publisher of being capitalistic, very much against the spirit of Marx. Others wonder why only the first 10 volumes is considered competition when over 50 volumes are in the collection. The publisher, however, is standing firm.

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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