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1: The Trump Admin’s Advice to Supreme Court in Copyright Case Is a True Mind-Bender
First off today, Eriq Gardner at The Hollywood Reporter Esquire reports that Trump administration via the Solicitor General has filed its brief with the US. Supreme Court in the Lenz v. Universal case and, to many, the brief is a bit of a head scratcher.
The case centers around Stephanie Lenz who uploaded a short video of her baby dancing with Prince’s Let’s Go Crazy playing in the background. Though just a few seconds long, Universal filed a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice with Google to get the video removed. Though Lenz was able to get the video restored, she sued, accusing Universal of filing a false takedown.
Though the appeals court ruled that copyright holders do need to consider fair use when filing a notice, it also ruled that, if they had a good faith belief there was no fair use, it was protected from liability. Neither side was happy with that ruling so both appealed to the U.S. Supreme court, which asked for help from the Solicitor General in October. The Solicitor General has done so by saying it’s possible the Lenz video does violate the copyright of Universal and, even though the court made a significant “legal error” in the case, it’s now not a good vehicle for rectifying that error so the Solicitor General advises the court not to take the case.
2: ISP Lands Supreme Court Win Over Copyright Trolls
Next up today, Andy at Torrentfreak writes that, in Norway, a local ISP has won a fight before the nation’s Supreme Court against a copyright “troll” that was seeking to unmask suspected pirates in the country.
The case involved a company named Scanbox entertainment, which hired an anti-piracy firm to track people sharing the film The Captive. After discovering the IP addresses of such pirates, they discovered 8 belonged to the ISP Telenor and they petitioned the court to compel the ISP to turn over the identities of those 8 suspected pirates. However, Telenor refused but Scanbox won the case in the lower court.
However, that decision was overturned on appeal and the case was taken to the Supreme Court, which also ruled against Scanbox. According to the Supreme Court, the internet uers’ right to privacy outweighed their right to to discover the information. Scanbox is now required to pay nearly $70,000 in costs to the ISP, bringing an end to the case.
3: Applebee’s Sued For Not Paying Licensing For AC/DC Track
Finally today, WRIF is reporting that Sony Music has filed a lawsuit against Applebee’s for copyright infringement alleging that the restauraint chain failed to pay a required license fee for its music in commercials.
At issue were two songs AC/DC’s Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution and C + C Music Factory’s Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now). According to the lawsuit, Applebee’s agreed to $250,000 for the AC/DC track and $50,000 for the C + C Music Factory song for use of them in separate ads for the chain.
However, Applebee’s denies the allegation and claim that they sent payment through a third party. Sony, however, claims that they never received the payment and were forced to file the lawsuit.
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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