3 Count: Sleigh Bells Ringing

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1: Demi Lovato hit with copyright lawsuit by Sleigh Bells

First off today, Gerrick D. Kennedy at the Los Angeles Times reports that musician Demi Lovato is being sued by the indie duo Sleigh Bells over allegations that Lovato lifted work from their song in a track of her own.

According to Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller, the two people in Sleigh Bells, Lovato used material from their track Infinity Guitars in her song Confident. They say that the songs have similarity that go beyond coincidence and step into the realm of copyright infringement.

The move comes nine months after a Twitter scrape that saw Sleigh Bells accuse Lovato of failing to clear samples used in the song. However, Lovato has denied that any samples were used or that any infringement took place. The lawsuit also names Lovato’s producers and record label in the lawsuit.

2: Cox Communications Appeals $25 Million Piracy Verdict

Next up today, Wendy Davis at MediaPost reports that Cox Communications has filed an appeal of a verdict ordering it to pay damages to music publisher BMG $25 million for their alleged failure to do enough to stop piracy on their network.

The verdict was handed down late last year and was the product of BMG and anti-piracy firm Rightscorp, both of which claimed that Cox was not taking steps required under the law to terminate repeat infringers. Though Cox would terminate such accounts, they could be trivially reactivated upon request. This prompted the court to find against Cox and order it to pay the damages.

Cox is appealing the decision, saying that its policy was in compliance with the law. In the meantime, the decision has had a ripple effect in the industry with other ISPs taking notice and Rightscorp, which has been sending notices to other ISPs in hopes of improving compliance for its notices.

3: Users May Get 3 Years in Jail for Viewing Torrent Site, Blocked URL in India

Finally today, Javed Anwer at India Today reports that the language shown to visitors on blocked URLs has been changed, leading some to worry that the government is attempting to crack down on just those who attempt to access infringing sites, possibly punishing them with three years of prison time.

India, like many nations, allows courts to order local ISPs to block access to websites that it deems to be primarily for copyright infringement. However, now rather than simply alerting visitors to the fact the site has been blocked, such sites now carry a warning of fines and prison time for attempting to access the site.

However, more recent information indicates that the warning is not due to a new government effort, but rather, a court order that requires ISPs not to just block sites, but to explain why they are blocked, making it more about education than legal efforts.

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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