3 Count: Renewed and Revived

Jonathan BaileyMay 27, 2014

2 minutes read

Have any suggestions for the 3 Count? Let me know via Twitter @plagiarismtoday.

1: Torrentz.eu Domain Unsuspended and Back in Action

First off today, Ernesto at Torrentfreak writes that the domain for the popular BitTorrent search engine Torrentz.eu has been restored just one day after their Polish registrar shut it down following a request from the City of London Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit.

The City of London Police contacted the registrar demanding its suspension, saying that the site was infringing copyright. However, lawyers representing the site contacted thee registrar and said that the suspension was unlawful and that Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the organization that sets the policies for domain registrations, requires court orders for such suspensions.

The registrar involved has not responded to the letter but has restored the domain, bringing the site back to life. The City of London Police has not responded directly to the restoration of the site.

2: Judge Reinstates ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ Author’s Lawsuit Against Museum

Next up today, Verna Gates at Reuters is reporting that a judge has reinstated a lawsuit by Harper Lee, author of “To Kill a Mockingbird” against an Alabama museum that she accuses of misusing her intellectual property.

In February, Lee announced that the two sides had reached a settlement in the case but now Lee says that the museum has not complied with the terms and is attempting to change the agreement.

Lee accuses the museum, which is located in Monroeville, the town that inspired the book, of earning more than $500,000 in 2011 by selling goods based on her sole published work. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

3: Pirate Party Runs Aground in European Parliamentary Elections

Finally today, Simon Sharwood at The Register reports that the Pirate Party, which campaigns on extreme copyright reform amonth other platforms, will have fewer seats in the European Parliament after the latest election, losing both of the seats that it did hold and only gaining one to replace it.

In Sweden, considered the party’s stronghold and home, support for the party fell from 7.1% in the last election to 2.2%, meaning it goes from having two Parliament members in the nation to having none. However, in Germany the party managed to gain 1.4% of the popular vote which, in that nation, is enough to earn them one seat.

In other nations where The Pirate party was on the ballot they failed to gain any seats. This included Finland and the Czech Republic, with 0.7% and 4.78% percent of the vote in each, in both cases below the threshold to secure a seat. In other nations, including Greece, Slovenia, Spain and Hungary the Pirate Party candidates did not secure enough votes to make it out of the “other parties” column in the tallies.

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.