3 Count: I Was Framed

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1: MediaWorks and Fairfax NZ Settle with Sky TV Over Copyright Dispute

First off today, Paul McBeth at The New Zealand Herald reports that MediaWorks and FairFax New Zealand have settled a lawsuit with Sky Network Television over the use of clips from Sky programming in TV sports reports.

MediaWorks and Fairfax are both free TV services while Sky operates a pay-TV service. According to Sky, the two companies were taking clips of Sky-aired sports, in particular Rugby, and using them in their news reports going beyond what could be considered fair dealing.

However, the courts disagreed initially refusing to grant an injunction against the use of Sky content. The issue has now been put to rest as both defendants have reached settlements with Sky and both settlements are undisclosed.

2: BBC Points to Geoblocking in Bid to Defeat Lawsuit Over Use of ‘Cosby Show’ Clips

Next up today, Eriq Gardner at The Hollywood Reporter Esquire reports that the BBC has responded to a lawsuit over the use of clips from The Cosby Show not with a claim of fair use, but rather, a claim that geoblocking makes it so that the could has no jurisdiction on the claim.

The lawsuit was filed by the Carsey-Werner company, which owns the rights to The Cosby Show. It claimed that the BBC’s use of clips from the show as part of a documentary about the downfall of Bill Cosby was a copyright infringement. The BBC was widely expected to make a fair use argument but, though hinting at one, the latest filings discuss geoblocking rather than fair use or fair dealing.

The reason, according to the BBC, was that the documentary was aimed solely at UK audiences. US audiences were actually forbidden from seeing it via geoblocking and the court, which is located in southern California, has no jurisdiction on the issue as no infringement took place with its boundaries and the BBC has no clear ties to the region.

3: Dubai Frame Opens Amid Claims of Copyright Infringement

Finally today, Jessica Mairs at Dezeen reports that the Dubai Frame has opened to the public but the opening of the tower comes amidst an ongoing copyright controversy between the municipality of Dubai and the designer.

The Dubai Frame is a a 500-foot tall building linked with a 300-foot wide bridge at the top. The building is meant to resemble a gian picture frame and is an attraction in Dubai, giving visitors a view of the city’s skyline. However, architect Fernando Donis claims that the design in a copyright infringement.

Donis claims that h e submitted his design as part of a 2008 contest held by the municipality. However, he says he received neither a contract nor compensation for his design, other than the $100,000 he won by winning the competition. He filed a lawsuit in a US court because but the lawsuit didn’t make much progress. According to him, it’s nearly impossible to sue the Municipality of Dubai as the government has to give you permission to sue them. “They give themselves sovereign immunity against any lawsuit,” he said in an interview.

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.