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1: Screenwriter Accuses Paramount of Copyright Infringement Over ‘What Men Want’
First off today, Jose Martinez at Complex reports that screenwriter Joe Carlini has filed a lawsuit against Paramount, BET, Will Packer and others involved with the 2019 film What Men Want claiming that the film was at least partially based on a screenplay he had been shopping around entitled What the F is He Thinking?
According to the lawsuit, the two works have a large number of similarities including the premise of a main character that claims to understand men, gaining the power to hear men’s thoughts after hitting their head and then losing it after another bump. Carlini claims that he was in talks with others in the industry to get the film made but noticed the similarities between his work and the film when it was released.
He is suing for damages, including a portion of the $72 million that the film grossed.
2: Jury Rules Against Photographer Who Sued Hundreds Over Indy Skyline Image
Next up today, Dave Stafford at The Indiana Lawyer reports that a jury has ruled against an attorney photographer in his case against a real estate services company that used a photo he took without his permission.
The lawsuit was filed by Rich Bell, who took a photo of the Indianapolis skyline that appeared on the website of Carmen Commercial Real Estate Services without his permission. He filed the lawsuit in 2016 but the defendants raised questions about whether or not he was the actual owner of the photo, noting that he took the image when employed at the law firm Cohen & Malad. As such, the defendants argued that the firm, not Bell, was the owner of the photo and the jury agreed.
The lawsuit, however, was just one piece of a much larger campaign by Bell. According to lawyers representing the defendants, Bell has filed lawsuits against hundreds of other users of the image and they hope that this verdict will bring an end to the campaign and that they will be able to claim attorneys fees in this case.
3: One-Third of All Young People Use Stream Ripping to Steal Music, Global Study Shows
Finally today, Chris Willman at Variety reports that the IFPI, an international organization representing the music industry, has released a global study on the state of the music industry and finds that piracy, despite remaining a concern, has dropped and that, while music streaming is growing across all age groups, older people are adopting much more quickly.
The report found that 34% of 16-23 year olds used some kind of “stream ripping service” and that 38% had used some kind of illegal service in the past month. This indicates not just that stream ripping is the primary means for music piracy, but that younger people are pirating at a much higher rate than the larger population, which was 23% for using stream rippers and 27% for using any kind of illegal service.
That said, the numbers represent a significant drop compared to previous numbers presented by the IFPI. While the IFPI doesn’t make the comparison itself, it is still good news in the battle against piracy. Also good news is that, for the first time more than half of music listeners 35-64 used streaming services, up 8% from just last year. The streaming market for younger demographic also rose but only by 5% to 83%. Still, the number of younger listeners that paid for streaming reached 52%, passing the halfway point.
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