3 Count: Unsettled Questions

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1: SiriusXM Wins Appeal in Turtles Copyright Suit, Digital Music Battle Drags On

First off today, Jeff John Roberts at Fortune reports that a New York Appeals Court has handed a victory to SiriusXM in their case against Flo & Eddie of the Turtles.

Flo & Eddie of The Turtles sued SiriusXM for failing to pay royalties on their pre-1972 sound recordings. Such recordings are not covered under federal copyright law but instead a protected under state common law so the band sued in multiple states, including New York, Florida and California.

The case itself was recently settled but the final damages being paid is contingent on the outcome of various appeals. As such, the ruling likely will reduce the amount the band and the other members in the class action lawsuit will receive. However, it could also put the case on a trajectory to head to the Supreme Court due to issues over interstate commerce.

2: Chinese firms ordered to pay Disney, Pixar $194,000 for copying ‘Cars’: Xinhua

Next up today, Engen Tham at Reuters reports that a Shanghai court has ordered two local firms to pay more than 1.35 million yuan ($194,440) to Disney and Pixar for copying parts of Cars and Cars 2. 

The issue stemmed from a Chinese-made animated film The Autobots, which drew internatimonal criticism for stark similarities between the film and the Cars movies. The court agreed and found that characters in The Autobots were significantly similar to the original Disney films and ordered the companies to both cease infringing activities and pay both economic damages and legal costs.

Pixar, Disney nor the Chinese companies had any comment on the decision, which was announced in the official Xinhua news agency.

3: Facebook Developing Copyright ID System to Stem Music Rights Infringement

Finally today, Dan Rys at Billboard reports that Facebook is working on a content filtering system that will remove videos containing copyrighted music automatically.

The system, which would be similar to YouTube’s Content ID system, comes on the heels of widespread criticism by members of the music industry, who criticize the site for doing little to stop copyright infringements on its video platform.

Facebook is also said to be working with record labels and publishers to try and secure licensing deals to play music legitimately on the site. However, Facebook has said that it doesn’t expect those deals to be finalized for some time.

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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