3 Count: Rorschach Test

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1: Survivor frontman Frankie Sullivan slams Kim Davis for ‘Eye of the Tiger’

First off today, Mary Bowman at USA Today reports that the band Survivor is upset at Kim Davis and the organizers of a rally for her as they used their song, Eye of the Tiger, as part of the event and are considering a lawsuit.

Kim Davis is the Rowan County Clerk in Kentucky who has become famous for refusing to grant marriage licenses in protest of the legalization of gay marriage. A judge recently jailed her over the weekend for contempt of court and she was freed yesterday. As she appeared at a rally in her honor, the event played Eye of the Tiger, much to the chagrin of members of the band.

The band’s co-founder Jim Peterik took to Twitter to object to the use and said that his publisher will be sending a cease and desist. The band’s frontman, Frankie Sullivan took to Facebook saying that the band did not grant her rights to use the song and never would do so. The band has also told at least one publication that they are considering a lawsuit if appropriate.

2: Hacker Mag 2600 Laughs off Getty Images Inkspots Copyright Claim

Next up today, Richard Chirgwin at The Register reports that the hacker publication 2600 has received a legal threat from Trunk Archive, an image licensing group owned by Getty Images, over the cover of a 2012 edition of the magazine.

The cover in question was styled to look like an office mail envelope featuring an ink splatter in the lower right hand corner. According to Trunk Archive, the inkblots were sourced from an image they hold the rights to featuring a model standing in front of an ink-splattered background. The cover would have used only the very upper left hand portion of the image, cropping out the model.

However, 2600 claims that both their cover and the Trunk Archive photo got their inkblots from the same place, a photo on DeviantArt. However, even if that’s not the case, according to 2600, their use of the photograph is highly transformative and is a clear fair use. As such, they are refusing to comply with Trunk Archive’s demands, which includes a payment and removal of the image, and are asking anyone else who have received similar threats from Trunk Archive to come forward.

3: The Real Reason Netflix Won’t Offer Offline Downloads

Finally today, Gerald Lynch at Gizmodo UK reports that Netflix’s Chief Product Officer, Neil Hunt, has spoken out about why Netflix will not be offering downloads or offline viewing of streamed content, even though its competitor Amazon recently announced the feature.

According to Hunt, the reason isn’t simply because of copyright, but because of the “paradox of choice” where giving users more options leads to them actually using the product less. To support this, he cited an effort to introduce half stars into the review system, a heavily-requested feature, only to see ratings drop by 11%.

The feature remains one of the most demanded so that users can view Netflix movies and shows while in a location that doesn’t have Internet access. Many have suspected, and continue to suspect, offline viewing is not available due to contracts with the rightsholders who license their work to Netflix but Netflix disagrees, saying that, while Amazon’s move is good PR, it may not lead to a great customer experience.

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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