3 Count: Pirates of Pirates of the Caribbean

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1: Disney Accused Of Plundering ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean’ In Copyright Lawsuit

First off today, Dominic Patten at Deadline Hollywood reports that A Lee Alfred and Ezequiel Martinez have filed a lawsuit against Disney alleging that the movie giant stole “themes, settings, dialogue, characters, plot, mood and sequence of events” from their spec script for Pirates of the Caribbean.

According to the duo, they were working with Disney on a project entitled Red Hood when, in August of 2000 they handed a script and sizzle reel to Disneys Brigham Taylor, pitching the idea for a Pirates of the Caribbean movie. The Red Hood project fell through but not, so they claim, before Disney began secretly working on the Pirates of the Caribbean project, which debuted in 2003.

According to Disney, the complaint is without merit and they are planning on vigorously defending the lawsuit. Disney further claims that the movie series is based on their well-known theme park ride, first opened in 1967, and solely used Disney intellectual property.

2: Copyright Office Proposes Renewal of DMCA Vehicle Repair Exemptions

Next up today, Tire Business reports that the U.S. Copyright Office has proposed an extension its temporary exemptions on circumventing technological measures for the purpose of repairing a vehicle.

Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), most circumvention of digital rights management (DRM) tools is illegal. However, the U.S. Copyright Office is able to create exemptions in the law where the ban would be overburdensome. One such area has been auto repair where some car manufacturers have used digital locks to restrict 3rd party repairs.

The U.S. Copyright Office implemented an exemption for that purpose but the DMCA exemptions are temporary and must be renewed regularly. The U.S. Copyright Office has already proposed the exemption for circumventing DRM for the purpose of car repair and has published it in the Federal Register. Now begins a comment period where those who oppose and support the exemption can file their comments with the U.S. Copyright Office.

3: Haribo Taken to Court over Halloween Sweets

Finally today, World Intellectual Property Review reports that the candy company Hairbo has been sued by Font Diner, the maker of popular font applications, for allegedly using their font software on their packaging without authorization.

In the U.S., typefaces are not protected by copyright but fonts that are installed on computers are protected and treated as software applications. According to Font Diner, Haribo used eleven different programs, including the Stovetop typeface font software, to make is packaging.

Font Diner further claims that, while the software was obtained legally, there is a license upgrade required for commercial use of their software. As such, they believe Haribo and Galaxy Creative, the company commissioned to create the packaging, have committed copyright infringement. However, Galaxy Creative is not part of the lawsuit because that company has been dissolved.

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.