3 Count: I Disappear

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

1: Critical Report Could Derail ‘Copyright Boss’ Bill

First off today, Andrew Albanese at Publishers Weekly reprots that a leaked internal report from the U.S. Copyright Office threatens to slow down efforts to pull the office out from the oversight of the Library of Congress.

In September 2016 Carla Hayden was appointed as the Librarian of Congress and she abruptly removed the then-Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante. The sudden removal shocked many and, since then, there’s been a push to remove the Copyright Office out from underneath the Library of Congress as part of a bid to modernize it.

However, a recently-leaked report found that the U.S. Copyright Office spent over $10 million in project overuns for a never-finished electronic licensing project and an alleged $25 million fake line item for their initial 2018 fiscal year appropriations request. The report, which comes from Library of Congress Inspector General’s Office, paints Pallante’s work in a different light and could halt legislation to make the position a Presidential appointment. The bill still has broad support but could suffer setbacks and slowdowns due to this report.

2: Opprobrium Denies Sending Metallica Cease-and-Desist Letter for ‘Moth Into Flame’

Next up today, Dave Lifton at Ultimate Classic Rock reports that, over the weekend, news began to surface that the band Opprobrium had sent a cease-and-desist letter to Metallica over the recent Metallica song Moth Into Flame. However, the band is now denying that it sent such a letter, saying that someone is spreading lies.

The issue dealt with the band’s 1988 song Hunger for Power, which, according to a cease and desist letter received by Michale Howard of Brutal Records, the band felt was too close to Moth Into Flame, prompting the band to demand that Metallica cease and desist with the copyright infringement.

However, in a statement on Facebook, Opprobrium has denied sending that letter saying that they are fans of Metallica and do not support whoever created or sent the letter. Furthermore, they said that they own the rights to all of their music and that no one else has the right to send such a letter over their songs.

3: ‘Diehard Researchers:’ Folk Band Finally Solves Copyright Conundrum Over Old, Gwich’in Love Song

Finally today, Priscilla Hwang at the CBC reports that Canadian folk band The Hummingbirds have cleared a copyright issue with their latest album through meticulous research and a great deal of leg work.

At issue was the song Goodbye Shaanyuu, which was a song they were familiar with through oral tradition. However, when they tried to include it on their latest album, the label said they needed clearances for the track and that sent them on a seven-month quest to find Annie Cadzow, the song’s composer.

Upon learning of her passing, the band quickly moved to find her nearest living relative and eventually located her eldest daughter, who is 86. They then asked her the date of her monther’s death and then confirmed it with three different sources. With clearance in hand, the album is now able to move to release, seven months later than expected.

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.