3 Count: Ngach RIn

It means debate over, in case you are wondering...

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

1: YouTube Restores Influential Conservative Website’s Channel

First off today, James Rogers at Fox News reports that the YouTube channel Legal Insurrection was removed from the site due to multiple complaints of copyright infringement before being restored days later.

The channel is a well known conservative news channel on the site. It had received multiple copyright claims filed by the Modern Languages Association (MLA) over videos they uploaded that contained audio from a recent MLA vote to boycott Israeli universities.

According to the founder of the channel, they filed counternotices with YouTube and were able to get the videos and channel restored. The MLA has not responded or commented on the notices.

2: Gwen Stefani, Pharrell Williams Accused of Copying “Spark the Fire” Chorus

Next up today, Ashley Cullins at The Hollywood Reporter Esquire reports that musician Richard Morrill has filed a lawsuit against Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams claiming that the duo’s song Spark the Fire infringes his 1996 song Who’s Got my Lightah.

According to Morrill, he introduced his song to Stefani when she was in her twenties and he was resonsible for coloring and styling her hair. He says he only learned of the infringement after the duo performed their song for The Voice and someone sent him a video of it.

The suit claims that the rhythm, melody and background music are “almost identical” and pays special attention to the fact the two songs pronounce “fire” in the same way.

3: Axanar Judge Closes Book On Klingon Language Debate

Finally today, Michael Hinman at GeekNation reports that, even as the Axanar case is heating up, one element of it is slipping quietly into the night: The copyrightability of the Klingon language.

The Axanar case centers around the Star Trek fan film Prelude to Axanar, which was used to help crowdfund $1.1 million for a feature-length Axanar production. However, after the crowdfunding campaign closed, Paramount and CBS, owners of Star Trek, filed a lawsuit for copyright infringement. Recently, the judge ruled in favor of CBS and Paramount on most issues, even stripping away Axanar’s fair use defense, but reserving one element that needed to be decided by a jury for trial.

However, one part of the case that won’t be moving forward is the debate over the Klingon language. Originally, CBS and Paramount had argued copyright protection in the language itself. But, after a brief filed by the Language Creation Society, the issue has been dropped with the court and the plaintiffs focusing more on characters, costumes and other more-clearly protectable elements.

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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