3 Count: John D’oh

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1: Eighth Circuit Backs John Doe Copyright Complaints

First off today, Mark Dugdale at IP Pro reports that the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court ruling that dismissed a counterclaim against a copyright holder who had sued a “John Doe” defendant in hopes of learning their identity.

The case involved Leigh Leaverton, who was targeted by Killer Joe Nevada, rightsholders to the 2012 film Killer Joe. She was identified as a “John Doe” defendant, accused of sharing the film online but, when her identity was revealed by her ISP, Killer Joe Nevada dropped the case so they could either approach Leaverton directly to push a settlement or drop the matter altogether.

Leaverton, however, wanted Killer Joe Nevada to pay her attorney fees in fighting the order to turn over her name, claiming that the lawsuit was without merit and was conducted without an investigation. However, both the lower court and the appeals court have now upheld the right of a rights holder to file a “John Doe” lawsuit to learn the identity of a suspected infringer and that Killer Joe Nevada did nothing to abuse the law or act unreasonably.

2: Adele Accused of ‘Stealing’ Kurdish Singer’s 1985 Song for New Album 25

Next up today, Paul Gallagher at The Independent reports that fans of the Turkish musician Ahmet Kaya are claiming that Adele’s new song Million Years Ago is a plagiarism of Kaya’s Acilara Tutunmak (Clinging to Pain).

Million Years Ago is part of Adele’s latest release, 25, which has gone on to be one of the most popular and fastest-selling albums in recent memory. However, fans point to similarities between Million Years Ago and Kaya’s song, which was released in 1985, claiming that it’s a rip off.

Kaya died in 2000 and there’s been no response from representative of his estate or his record label. However, experts who have listened to the tracks say that, while there are similarities, they aren’t as close as other famous copyright cases.

3: Busted Kickass and Pirate Bay Unloaders Crowdfund ‘Fines’

Finally today, Ernesto at Torrentfreak writes that two prominent uploader on major BitTorrent websites were caught and reached settlements with the Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN and have turned to crowdfunding their settlements to avoid paying them out of pocket.

BREIN successfully located two members of the Dutch Movie Theater Group, a prominent group that shared thousands of films on The Pirate Bay and Kickass Torrents, and reached settlements with them for around €2,000 ($2,200) along with an agreement to cease infringing activities.

According to BREIN, this amount was reached based on their incomes of the two men. However, they both announced crowdfunding campaigns aimed at covering those penalties. BREIN has said that it is considering additional action in light of the campaigns but it is unclear if crowdfunding was banned in the settlements.

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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