3 Count: No Settlement Till Brooklyn

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

1: Beastie Boys win $1.7 million in copyright case vs. Monster Beverage

First off today, Nate Raymond at Reuters reports that the Beastie Boys have emerged victorious in their court case against Monster Beverage with the jury awarding them some $1.7 million in damages over the infringing use of their songs in a promotional video.

Monster, as part of their promotional effort for a snowboarding event they sponsored, released a promo video that featured remixes of three of the band’s songs. Monster admitted to the infringement, but said that it was a simple mistake and that they owed no more than $125,000 where the band wanted some $2.5 million for copyright infringement and false endorsement.

The jury award seems to indicate that the jurors sided more with the band than the brand on the damages issue. The snowboarding competition began after one of the band members, Adam Yauch, passed away leaving explicit instructions in his will that his music never be used promotional purposes, a policy the band had had for many years.

2: Cartoon HD iOS App Offline

Next up today, James Vincent at The Independent reports that Cartoon HD, an illegal app that was popular on the iOS and Android mobile platforms for the illegal viewing of movies and TV shows, has been taken offline.

The app first appeared in late 2013. It was quickly removed from the official iOS app store but reappeared for free on various unofficial sites. However, now the app is completely offline with a tweet from the app’s developers sating plainly “Sorry! Cartoon HD is closed”.

Users of the app have taken to Twitter to express their dismay and frustration at the app’s closing.

3: Louis CK On Piracy In Australia: ‘The Whole Country Pirates TV’

Finally today, Luke Hopewell at Gizmodo Australia reports that comedian Louis CK, speaking on the Opie and Anthony Show, made several statements about Australia and piracy that has caught the attention of the nation.

According to Louis CK, where only “weirdos” pirate content in the U.S., everyone pirate material in Australia because there’s a lack of means to obtain it legitimately. He said he realized this after touring the country and having many people approach him to tell him they love is sitcom “Louie”, which is not available legally in the country.

Louis CK is noted for his experiments with distribution, having offered many of his standup specials for $5 online with out DRM. The comments also come as Australia’s government is looking to strengthen their anti-piracy laws, including putting greater demands on ISPs to stop infringements.

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.

Want the Full Story?

Tune in every Wednesday evening at 5 PM ET for the live recording of the Copyright 2.0 Show or wait and get the edited version Friday right here on Plagiarism Today.

The 3 Count Logo was created by Justin Goff and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.