3 Count: Not Pausing Stopping

Don't stop believing either...

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

1: Judge Won’t Pause VidAngel Injunction

First off today, Ashley Cullins at The Hollywood Reporter Esquire reports a judge has denied VidAngel a stay of injunction, meaning that the video streaming service was forced to stay closed over the holiday break and, instead, take their appeal to the 9th Circuit.

VidAngel is a movie streaming service that focuses on allowing users to filter out explicit or otherwise unwanted content. However, rather than licensing films for the service, VidAngel purchases DVDs that they then “sell” to customers for $20 and then buy back for $19 after they are streamed, making them cost $1 to stream.

VidAngel was sued by several major studios and, on December 12, was hit with an injunction. VidAngel asked for a stay, saying that there was no way they could comply with the injunction without effectively shutting down. The judge has denied that stay, forcing VidAngel to seek relief from the Appeals Court.

2: Cox’s Repeat Infringer Policy Was an Elaborate Sham, BMG Says

Next up today, Ernesto at Torrentfreak writes that BMG has filed its response to an appeal by Cox Communications in their lawsuit over Cox’s compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

BMG had sued Cox alleging that that Cox was complicit in copyright infringing taking place on its network due to the lack of an effective policy for terminating repeat infringers. According to BMG, Cox’ policy, which is required as part of the DMCA, made it simple for infringers and those who had lost access to get reconnected and the court agreed, hitting Cox with $25 million in damages.

Cox appealed those damages but BMG has responded saying that Cox brought forth no new evidence and that it’s policy was undisputedly a “sham”. Cox is seeking either a reversal of the verdict or, at the very least, a new trial.

3: Germany sees ‘overwhelming’ sales of Hitler’s Mein Kampf

Finally today, the BBC reports that, as the works of Adolf Hitler fell into the public domain in Germany this January 1st, the country was “overwhelming” sales of Hitler’s Mein Kampf, his manifesto that largely created the nazi movement.

The book’s copyright had been held by the German state of Bavaria, which used the copyright to block publication. However, the book, along with the rest of rest of Hitler’s work, fell into the public domain January 1, 2017 in Germany. The year marks 70 years after Hitler’s death.

The book sold an estimated 85,000 copies though the new reprints come with commentaries and notes aimed at discrediting Hitler’s ideology. The new copies are also devoid of Nazi imagery, including images of Hitler, as such images are illegal in Germany.

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.

The 3 Count Logo was created by Justin Goff and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

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