3 Count: CLASSICS Redux

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

1: Senators Introduce Bill to Extend Copyright to Classic Recordings

First off today, Ted Johnson at Variety reports that a group of Democratic and Republican Senators have teamed up to introduce the Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service and Important Contributions to Society Act, better known as the CLASSICS Act, to the Senate.

The Act, which shares its name with the House version that was introduced last year, aims to modernize the handling of pre-1972 sound recordings by granting them identical status to later sound recordings for the purpose of digital transmission royalties and safe harbors. Currently, pre-1972 sound recordings are covered under state copyright laws, which has created a great deal of uncertainty as it pertains to royalties and rights contained in them.

While the CLASSICS Act is not a full federalization of pre-1972 sound recordings, it would address the most pressing issues currently facing them. This act is supported by both the Recording Industry Association of America and Pandora, giving it support from licensors and licensees alike. I have a full write up on the House version of the act here.

2: Dixon Hughes Goodman and IIA Sued for Copyright Infringement

Next up today, Michael Cohn at Accounting Today (nice name by the way) reports that Compliance Education Institute LLC (CEI), a training software provider, has filed a lawsuit against Dixon Hughes Goodman (DHG), a major accounting firm and the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), a professional association for auditors.

According to CEI, DHG posted a four-part series on their website that used excerpts of their course sold by CEI. The series was then picked up at least in part by the IIA, which published it on their site as well.

In addition to the lawsuit, CEI has gone public with the accusations, publishing both a side-by-side comparison of the works and the original legal complaint on their website.

3: National Signing Day: Why are college football Twitter accounts being suspended?

Finally today, Jordan Heck at the Sporting News reports that on Tuesday, just ahead of National Signing Day, several college football teams had their Twitter accounts suspended due to them being targeted by several Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notices.

The schools impacted included the University of Georgia, the University of Missouri, University of South Florida and the University of Texas.  The cause of the suspensions were due to DMCA notices from the RIAA (and some from Twitter itself) over the use of unlicensed songs, most likely in promotional videos.

All of the accounts were restored relatively quickly, in most cases by Wednesday morning.

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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