3 Count: Poppy Responds

Poppy eating cotton candy? I don't get it either...

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

1: Fox Searchlight Defends ‘Shape of Water’ From Plagiarism Suit

First off today, Gene Maddaus at Variety reports that Fox Searchlight has responded to The Shape of Water plagiarism lawsuit saying that the works involved are extremely different and that the alleged similarities are not protectable under copyright law.

The lawsuit was filed by the son of playwright Paul Zindel, who claimed that the movie was a copyright infringement of Zindel’s play Let Me Hear You Whisper. To highlight this he pointed to several factors including similarities in the plot and characters between the film and his father’s work.

However, Fox Searchlight has hit back saying that the elements the estate is claiming are copied are not protectable under copyright and that many of them have been featured in plenty of other works. Fox also notes that the two works are radically different with Zindel’s work being more child-friendly while The Shape of Water took more of an adult approach to the story.

2: RIAA: ISP Profited From Keeping Pirating Customers Aboard

Next up today, Ernesto at Torrentfreak writes that the RIAA has filed an amended complaint against Grande Communications, an ISP that the RIAA says has not done enough to prevent piracy on its network.

According to the RIAA, Grande Communications has not been terminating the accounts of repeat infringers, prompting them to file the lawsuit. However, Grande Communications got the lawsuit pared down, getting the court to completely drop the case against their parent company and the claims of vicarious copyright infringement against them. According to the court, there was no evidence that Grande had profited directly from the infringement, making it so that a vicarious copyright infringement claim was not appropriate.

RIAA could have moved forward with its contributory copyright infringement claims but instead has filed an amended complaint, saying that it has new evidence from discovery. Specifically, it says it has evidence Grande s imply stopped suspending suspected infringers in 2010 in a bid to earn more money. The amended complaint also has new evidence implicating Grande’s parent company and the lawsuit hopes to revive both the vicarious copyright infringement claims against Grande and the original claims against the parent.

3: Poppy Responds to Mars Argo Copyright Suit, Calls It ‘Desperate Grab for Fame’

Finally today, Gil Kaufman at Billboard reports that Poppy has responded to a lawsuit filed by fellow YouTube performer Mars Argo by claiming that the lawsuit is nothing but an attempt to gain publicity.

The lawsuit alleges that Poppy and Titanic Sinclair are ripping off Argo’s character, noting that Sinclair once worked with Argo until the pair split up and Sinclair began working with Poppy. According to Argo’s lawsuit, Sinclair was abusive toward her and that Sinclair and Poppy are working together to infringe upon the character and identity she created.

Poppy has said that the lawsuit is nothing more than an attempt at publicity and to force her to reveal details about her meticulously protected private life. Furthermore, Poppy adds that Argo is working with a man who was previously abusive to her and, in a statement, says that Argo’s claims of stalking and harassment are “preposterous projections of her own actions.”

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.

Want to Reuse or Republish this Content?

If you want to feature this article in your site, classroom or elsewhere, just let us know! We usually grant permission within 24 hours.

Click Here to Get Permission for Free