3 Count: Grande Lawsuit

Maybe the last time...

3 Count LogoHave any suggestions for the 3 Count? Let me know via Twitter @plagiarismtoday.

1: Ariana Grande is ‘Sued for Music Copyright’ Over Her Track ‘One Last Time’

First off today, the BBC reports that musician Ariana Grande has been sued by songwriter Alex Greggs over alleged copying of his music and making it part of her recent song One Last Time.

According to Greggs, Grande used elements from his electronic dance song Takes All Night, which he wrote for Skye Stevens, in her song. He claims that Grande’s song took both music and lyrics from his work and used it without proper license or attribution.

Greggs is a well known songwriter who has worked with Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake and Michael Jackson among others. The lawsuit comes just days after singer Demi Lovato was served with a similar lawsuit from the band Sleigh Bells.

2: ‘Blurred Lines’ Creators Urge Appeals Court to Reverse Marvin Gaye Family’s Trial Victory

Next up today, Eriq Gardner at Billboard reports that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams have filed their opening brief with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in the Blurred Lines case, firing the opening salvo in what they hope will be the overturning of the jury verdict.

Thicke and Williams were sued by the estate of Marvin Gaye, who claimed that Blurred Lines was an infringement of the composition for Gaye’ Got to Give it Up. The case went to a jury trial and the jury sided with the Gaye estate, awarding some $5.3 million in damages and profits in addition to a 50 percent royalty going forward on songwriter and publishing revenues.

However, Thicke and Williams are hoping to overturn that ruling, telling the appeals court that the trial was “a cascade of legal errors” that warrants a new trial. The Gaye estate will soon make their own filing and then the case will likely be scheduled for a hearing before the court.

3: Denuvo Weakens After ‘Inside’ Gets Cracked in Record Time

Finally today, Andy at Torrentfreak writes that the Denuvo copy protection technology has been cracked in record time, possibly indicating weaknesses in the system, which was once seen as impenetrable by would-be pirates.

The Denuvo system has been widely hailed as nearly invincible to hacking with many of the games it protects failing to appear on pirate websites even months after launch. However, cracks in the armor began to show when one game, Rise of the Tomb Raider, was cracked after more than six months after release.

However, now the Conpsiracy group has found a way to circumvent Denovo with the game Inside, which was released just six weeks ago. While still a significant head start, the quicker turnaround may represent weaknesses in the software. Others, however, say that the quicker turnaround may be due to the game’s smaller file size, which may have made the defenses easier to breach.

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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