3 Count: NOT Funny

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1: Conan O’Brien Demands Halt to Lawsuit Accusing Him of Stealing Five Jokes

First off today, Eriq Gardner at The Hollywood Reporter Esquire reports that comedian and late night host Conan O’Brien, has submitted a motion for summary judgment asking for dismissal of a copyright lawsuit that accuses him of stealing five jokes.

The lawsuit was filed by Robert “Alex” Kaseberg, who claims that O’Brien, or one of his writers, lifted five jokes from his blog for a monologue. However, according O’Brien and his fellow defendants, Kaseberg’s case is “thin” and was merely a product of his attempt to leverage the lawsuit into a writing job for O’Brien’s show.

As part of their defense, O’Brien discussed at lengthy the process the show goes through for writing jokes, which includes anonymous submission by writers and several edits/vetting steps along the way. O’Brien further contends that, even if the jokes were lifted from the blog, that there was no copyrightable material taken, further necessitating that the lawsuit be dismissed.

2: Commission Stalling on Copyright Waiver for Visually Impaired Persons

Next up today, Samuel Morgan at EurActiv reports that the European Commission is asking the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for advice on how to implement the Marrakesh VIP Treaty (MVT), which the European Commission signed in 2014. That treaty aims to provide copyright exemptions on literary works that will enable those with visual impairments to have access to them.

Though the MVT was originally agreed on in 2013, the European Commission is yet to ratify the treaty. This has led to accusations that Commission is  dragging its feet though its unclear if the current move will be seen as a genuine attempt to move the process forward or further delay the process.

Several nations in the EU have opposed the MVT as signed. The largest is Germany, which proposed an amendment to it that would grant compensation to secondary rights holders, such as publishers, when their work is used. However, such a provision comes with challenges of its own, especially internationally.

3: Spinrilla Is Reportedly Facing A Lawsuit From Major Labels

Finally today, Will Bundy at Fader reports that the RIAA has filed a lawsuit against mixtape streaming site Spinrilla, alleging that the site is making available recordings without a license.

The lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of all three of the major record labels, claims that the site it responsible for the illegal sharing of over 21,000 unauthorized recordings. This is done through the website and its apps, which allow users to upload content that others can download or stream on demand for free.

The RIAA goes on to accuse that “a substantial amount” of the content uploaded is owned by one of the three labels and that the infringement was part of the design of Spinrilla.

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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