3 Count: Teapot Temptest

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

1: Marvin Gaye Family Wants ‘Blurred Lines’ Judge to Punish Record Labels, T.I.

First off today, Eriq Gardner at The Hollywood Reporter Esquire reports that attorneys representing the estate of Marvin Gaye have filed a motion asking that the jury seeking to have both the labels behind Blurred Lines and the rapper T.I. also held liable for the infringement.

The dispute centers around Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams’ song Blurred Lines, which the Gaye estate claims is an infringement of Marvin Gaye’s Got to Give it Up. After Thicke and Williams proactively sued, the Gaye estate countersued taking the matter to a jury trial, where the jury recently awarded the estate some $7.4 million.

However, the verdict only held Thicke and Williams responsible and declined to hold T.I., who also performed on the track, or the record labels liable. This motion could mean additional damages for the Gaye estate, but might also help with their efforts to secure an injunction barring distribution of the song until a licensing and royalty deal can be reached.

2: Jeff Minter reportedly engaged in legal fight with Atari over TxK

Next up today, Alex Wawro at Gamasutra reports that Jeff Minter, the founder of Llamasoft, has taken to Twitter and Facebook to accuse Atari of behaving like a “copyright troll” in their threats over his game TxK.

According to Winter, Atari has sent him cease and desist letters over the game claiming that it bears too close of a resemblance to the Atari game Tempest 2000. The games do indeed appear to be very close and several reviews referred to TxK as a “spiritual successor” to Tempest 2000.

According to Minter, who previously worked for Atari, the company’s legal threats are preventing him from porting his game, which is currently only on the PlayStation Vita, to other platforms. However, Atari, in a response, claims that there is no lawsuit at this time but the game does possess similarity in features and appearance to Tempest 2000, making it an infringement.

Minter claims to have worked on Tempest 2000, something Atari denies, but the point is likely irrelevant since Minter’s work would be owned by Atari as his employer.

3: Microsoft Tackles China Piracy with Free Upgrade to Windows 10

Finally today, Bill Rigby and Paul Carsten at Reuters reports that Microsoft has announced it will be making its upcoming release of Windows 10 available to all users of Windows, including those who have pirated copies.

According to Microsoft, the plan is to “re-engage” with millions of pirate customers in China and other nations with large piracy rates. But while the plan may be to connect with foreign pirates, those running infringing software in the U.S. and elsewhere will also benefit as Windows 10 will be free for all qualifying devices.

A qualifying device, according to Microsoft, is any computer running Windows 7 or later, regardless of legitimacy. Windows 10 is slated for release sometime this summer.

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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