3 Count: Burn Baby Burn

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

1: Government Allegedly Owes Authors, Illustrators and Journos Copyright Millions

First off today, James Robertson at the Sydney Morning Herald reports that the New South Wales government has been sued by The Copyright Agency alleging that the government owes back pay for an estimated 200 million photocopies made of newspapers, magazines, journal articles and photographs.

The Copyright Agency represents a wide variety of content creators and administers various licenses, including a statutory license granted to state governments to copy and reproduce work. However, under that license, stage governments, such as New South Wales, are supposed to remit a payment for use.

According to The Copyright Agency, New South Wales has failed to do so and forced them to file a lawsuit before the federal Copyright Tribunal. According to The Copyright Agency, New South Wales is the only government with any such issue and that they have been trying to resolve this issue for five years.

2: How an Atlanta Power Couple’s Business Has Heightened Hollywood and Silicon Valley’s Piracy Anxieties

Next up today, Ryan Faughnder at The LA Times reports that the duo behind Tickbox was more than just two random pirates, but was an Atlanta “power couple” known for their lavish lifestyle and even having their children featured on the show Teen Cribs.

Back in October, Tickbox was sued by a group of film studios and streaming services. Tickbox is a Kodi streaming that heavily advertised its ability to offer “free” access to pretty much all films and TV shows. Kodi software, by itself, is not illegal and is just an open source version of other TV set top boxes, such as Amazon Fire TV or Apple TV. However, many users install add-ons to enable access to illegal streaming sources and this has also led to the sale of “fully loaded” Kodi boxes, such as the Tickbox, that come with such add-ons pre-installed.

According to the article, the couple behind the Tickbox, Jeffrey and Carrla Goldstein, lead a lavish lifestyle, including a 12,000 square foot house that has been featured films and commercials. They also have maintained a side business entitled, SiteTick, a streaming service that lets users rent movies and once promoted a show starring Jeff Goldstein himself discussing local events with a local Rabbi.

3: Piracy-Enabling Streaming Boxes Pose ‘Substantial’ Fire and Electrical Risks

Finally today, Carly Page at The Inquisitor reports that the UK charity Electrical Safety First has joined with the Federation Against Copyright Theft to warn consumers of the dangers of Kodi boxes, saying that none of the boxes they tested complied with the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994.

According to their report, Electrical Safety First tested nine illegal streaming boxes and found that they all failed to meet regulations. As such, they are encouraging users to unplug such devices saying that they could pose great risk for fire or electric shock.

However, there have been no reports of either fire or electric shock from such devices, despite more than one million being sold in the UK. Still, the groups encourage those seeking access to films, tv shows and sports to go to an official provider.

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.