3 Count: Wrapping Up

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1: Oracle v. Google Draws to a Close, Jury Sent Home Until Next Week

First off today, Joe Mullin at Ars Technica reports that the presentation of evidence has ended at the Oracle v. Google trial and the jury was sent home for the weekend and is expected to start deliberations today.

The trial centers around Google’s Android mobile operating system. As part of it, Google implemented its own version of the Java programming language, which is owned by Oracle. However, Google claims that it did not reuse any Oracle-owned code and instead only copied the APIs to ensure compatibility. Google is arguing that this is a fair use while Oracle is seeking nearly $9 billion in damages for copyright infringement.

The second trial, which was forced when the first jury was deadlocked on the issue of fair use and a series of appeals affirmed the copyrightability of APIs, had been taking place for a week with Oracle arguing significant harm to their bottom line caused by Google’s implementation of Java. Google, however, has argued that their version was not a competitor to Oracle’s version and was not crucial to Android’s success. With the presentation of evidence over, both sides are expected to make closing arguments today and the case will be turned over to the jury for deliberations.

2: Fox ‘Stole’ a Game Clip, Used it in Family Guy & DMCA’d the Original

Next up today, Andy at Torrentfreak writes that Fox, in a recent episode of the show Family Guy, used two separate clips from classic NES games highlighting bugs that gave players an unfair advantage. However, when the episode went live, both of the original clips were temporarily removed from YouTube but were restored after Fox became aware of the error.

In the episode, Peter plays Tecmo Bowl and Double Dribble with his friends, in both cases using well-known exploits to win the games. The clips of Peter playing were taken from popular YouTube videos highlighting the bugs.

However, when Fox uploaded the episode into Content ID, it matched the original clips against the new episode and removed them. However, when Fox became aware of the problem, they had both of the videos restored. While the matter seems to be resolved, it’s further stoking tensions over Content ID at YouTube and how sometimes legitimate content is blocked or monetized without creator permission by it.

3: Nintendo is Filing Copyright Claims on Mario Minecraft Videos

Finally today, Ron Whitaker at The Escapist reports that Nintendo has found itself in the heart of another YouTube copyright controversy as the company has been reportedly making copyright claims on Super Mario Brothers themed Minecraft videos, despite at least some previous assurances that they wouldn’t. 

Recently Nintendo released the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack for Minecraft on the Wii U. The expansion pack contains various character skins and other elements from the Super Mario series into the Minecraft universe. Minecraft, however, is a game well loved by YouTubers and is widely featured in videos on the site. Nintendo, on the other hand, has had a more hostile relationship with YouTubers, forcing them to join a special partner program to avoid a copyright claim on their videos.

4J Studios, the developer of the pack, has posted on Twitter saying that they are aware of the copyright strikes and are following up with Nintendo on them. They say that Nintendo had assured them that they would not push copyright claims on Minecraft videos.

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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