3 Count: Supreme Court Revisit

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1: Supreme Court Takes Up Copyright Case over Resold Textbooks—Again

First off today, Joe Mullin at Ars Technica reports that the Kirtsaeng case will be headed to the Supreme Court, for a second time, as the court will try to rule whether the textbook reseller is owed attorney fees and damages after his earlier Supreme Court victory.

The case began in 2008 when publisher John Wiley & Sons sued Supap Kirtsaeng over his importation of cheap textbooks from overseas for resale in the United States market. The case made it before the Supreme Court in 2012 where the court ruled 6-3 that the importation and resale was legal under the first sale doctrine, which allows the resale of legally-purchased copyrighted works.

However, when the case was over, Kirtsaeng sought to get his attorneys fees and court costs covered by the publisher but the court refused saying that arguments made by the plaintiffs were not wholly unreasonable. That prompted Kirtsaeng’s attorneys to argue that, if the lawsuit had been filed in any other circuit, he likely would have won the fees, pushing the matter to the Supreme Court in hopes of both winning the award and harmonizing the awarding of such fees across the circuits.

2: Beastie Boys, Monster Settle Copyright Lawsuit

Next up today, Jonathan Steeple at Reuters reports that Beastie Boys have settled the copyright case with Monster Beverage Corp, bringing too end years of litigation that resulted in a multi-million dollar judgment against the beverage brand.

The lawsuit began when Monster used a four-minute “megamix” video by DJ Z-Trip to promote an extreme snowboarding event tied to Monster’s brand. The video used several Beastie Boys songs though the band did not grant permission for the music to be used. Monster conceded that they were liable for copyright infringement but disputed the damages the band wanted, prompting a jury trial and an award of $1.7 million in damages plus an award of nearly $670,000 in legal costs.

The two sides have now settled their lawsuit and are dismissing the case. The terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.

3: 50 Cent Wins Copyright Lawsuit Over ‘I Get Money’

Finally today, Adelle Platon at Billboard reports that rapper 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, has won the dismissal of a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against him that alleged in he stole the beat to his 2007 hit song I Get Money.

The lawsuit was filed in 2010 by Tyrone Simmons, who raps under the name Young Caliber. Simmons claimed that the song used a beat he created without permission or licensing. However, the appeals court has ruled that Simmons waited too long to make his claim and is time-barred from pursuing it.

The court did not rule on the validity of the claim, but rather, focused on its timeliness ruling in favor of Jackson. The decision likely brings an end to the lawsuit.

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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