3 Count: Dragon Box
Sadly, no actual dragons are involved...
Have any suggestions for the 3 Count? Let me know via Twitter @plagiarismtoday.
1: Studios Sue Dragon Box in Latest Crackdown on Streaming Devices
First off today, Gene Maddaus at Variety reports that Netflix and Amazon havee joined with the major movie studios to file a lawsuit against the makers of Dragon Box, an internet streaming device that they say enables access to content that infringes their copyright.
The lawsuit, which was filed in California, claims that the commercial value of the product comes almost solely from the fact that it provides unauthorized access to copyrighted material. According to Dragon Box’s website, the product has more than a quarter of a million customers across all 50 states, which is impressive considering its $350 price tag.
The lawsuit follows a similar case filed in Georgia against Dragon Box competitor TickBox. The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages and an injunction barring the sale of the Dragon Box device. Though Dragon Box has not responded to the lawsuit, the company’s CEO,Paul Christoforo, has said that he feels the box is legal because all his software is doing is accessing what is already available online.
2: Ed Sheeran-Penned Song for Tim McGraw Is Target of Copyright Lawsuit
Next up today, Eriq Gardner at The Hollywood Reporter Esquire reports that Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Ed Sheeran are facing a lawsuit from two Australian songwriters who claim that the recent track The Rest of Our Life is a copyright infringement of their 2014 work When I Found You.
The Rest of Our Life was performed by McGraw and Hill and the song was co-written by Sheeran. However, according to the lawsuit, it contains “note-for-note” copying of their work. It goes on to claim that the copying was likely known by employees at Sony Music as the duo claim at least one Sony executive admitted to knowing about the similarity between the two songs months ago.
The case comes on the heels of an ongoing dispute between Lana Del Ray and the band Radio head over Del Ray’s recent song Get Free and it’s alleged similarities to Radiohead’s Creep.
3: Judge Issues Devastating Order Against BitTorrent Copyright Troll
Finally today, Ernesto at Torrentfreak writes that a district court in Washington state has issued a minute order that strikes a major blow against Venice PI and its efforts to target suspected pirates of the film Once Upon a Time in Venice.
The case, which is widely considered to be a part of a copyright trolling operation, deals with an alleged illegal download of the film. The case is moving forward with Venice answering concerns about the quality of its evidence with a motion that attempted to its process for gathering data.
The court, however, has responded to that motion less than favorably. It not only called into question the evidence that was presented, saying that the IP address information may have been gathered illegally, but also the company itself noting that the parent companies to Venice PI are invalid. The court, in doing so, placed severe restrictions on Venice PI moving forward, including the evidence it can rely on. Furthermore, there’s even an indication that the company may have to return previous settlements over its alleged falsifications.
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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