3 Count: Nobody to Love

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1: Justin Bieber, Usher Prevail in $10 Million ‘Somebody to Love’ Copyright Lawsuit

First off today, Tim Kenneally at TheWrap reports that Justin Bieber and Usher have emerged victorious (again) in the Somebody to Love lawsuit with a judge dismissing the case.

The lawsuit was filed by singer Devin Copeland and songwriter Mareio Oberton who claimed they wrote the song in 2008 and that a deal to work with Usher and Bieber fell through. However, the judge has dismissed the case saying that any copying was modest and that it doesn’t qualify for as a copyright infringement.

The song began life as a demo on YouTube by Usher but was eventually released on an album by Bieber. After the lawsuit was filed, the judge initially tossed it on a motion to dismiss but the appeals court overturned that, saying that there was enough evidence to move the case forward. Now the judge is granting summary judgment to the defendants, saying that, even with the evidence presented, there is not enough to move forward farther. The case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it can not be refiled.

2: Wrongfully Accused ‘Movie Pirate’ Gets $17,000 in Compensation

Next up today, Ernesto at Torrentfreak writes that a wrongfully accused movie pirate will receive $17,000 in compensation from the makers of the Adam Sandler film The Cobbler. 

The man, Thomas Gonzales, was sued by the filmmakers for alleged piracy of the film. However, Gonzales run an adult foster care home, where many people have access to the internet. Despite knowing this, the filmmakers pressed forward with the case.

The court quickly ruled that Gonzales was not an infringer but now the court is ordering the filmmakers to pay his legal fees. The case has been widely cited as an example of copyright “trolling”, where rightsholders target a large number of suspected infringers in hopes of getting quick settlements.

3: How Ronda Rousey Clips Reveal Facebook’s Copyright Challenge

Finally today, Jeff John Roberts at Fortune reports that the recent Rhond Rousey fight highlights ome of Facebook’s challenges when it comes to copyright. 

In late December Rousey lost her fight against Amanda Nunes in just over 40 second. It mirrored how Rousey did the same to her opponent in mid 2015. However, both fights were widely uploaded and posted to Facebook despite promises in the interim that the site would take action against copyright infringement.

Facebook has promised drastic changes to address copyright issues on the platform but, to date, those changes have had little impact. They include a Rights Manager tool that allows some creators to monitor and stop infringements, but not monetize them and ongoing talks with record labels to license music.

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.