3 Count: Questionable Email

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

1: Zuffa Reaches Settlement in $32 million Lawsuit Against PPV Pirate

First off today, Marc Raymond at Fox Sports reports that Luffa LLC, the company that owns the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has announced that is has reached a settlement with Steven Messina, a 27-year-old New York Man that they had sued for $32 million alleging he had uploaded UFC pay-per-views online illegally.

According to Zuffa, Messina had uploaded some 141 UFC events to file sharing sites and referred to himself as the “Provider of Best MMA and Boxing rips online!” He also solicited donations to aid in his efforts and cover his PPV expenses.

The financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed but Messina will have to cooperate with Zuffa and law enforcement in their investigations and he has surrendered his equipment and his records to Zuffa.

2: Microsoft buys Minecraft Maker Mojang for $2.5 Billion

Next up today, Ial Paul at PC World reports that Microsoft has concluded it’s rumored purchase of Mojang AB, the Swedish company behind the popular independent game Minecraft.

The sale, which went for $2.5 billion, represents an about-face for Mojang co-found Markus “Notch” Persson, who not only has been openly critical of Microsoft, in particular its handling of Windows 8, but also made numerous statements condoning piracy. However, in a statement, Persson said that he sold the company not because of money, but because he never envisioned Minecraft would become as popular as it did and doesn’t with to be a symbol independent game development.

Microsoft has said that it will continue to make Minecraft available on all of its current platforms including Playstation, which is a direct competitor to Microsoft’s Xbox, Android and iOS, which compete with Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS, where Minecraft is currently not available.

3: Kim Dotcom, Pushing His ‘Internet Mana’ Party, Brings Snowden But Lacks Bombshell at ‘Moment of Truth’

Finally today, Marc Schneider at Billboard reports that Kim Dotcom, the founder of Megaupload, held a “Moment of Truth” town hall event in New Zealand last night. Though he had Edward Snowden and Julian Assange attending via the Internet and had promised to expose wrongdoings by current New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, the event left most disappointed.

Dotcom was arrested and Megaupload shuttered in January 2012 following an joint action by U.S. and New Zealand authorities. However, a hearing on extradition has been repeatedly delayed and is not expected now until February 2015. In the meantime, Dotcom has founded the “Internet Mana Party”, a political party focused on Internet issues that is expected to gain 2-3 seats in the 120-seat Parliament in the upcoming election.

At the event, Dotcom had said he would provide evidence of wrongdoing by Key. He presented an alleged email between a representative of Warner Brothers and the MPAA, which claims that Key granted Dotcom residency in New Zealand to assist with the efforts to extradite him. Key had previously claimed that he had no knowledge about the raid before it took place. However, both Key and Warner Brothers have said that the email is a fake and that the conversation never took place.

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.

Want to Reuse or Republish this Content?

If you want to feature this article in your site, classroom or elsewhere, just let us know! We usually grant permission within 24 hours.

Click Here to Get Permission for Free