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1: Settlement Agreed Upon in Audio Book Captions Lawsuit
First off today, The Associated Press reports that audiobook company Audible has reached a settlement with the various publishers over Audible’s new book captioning feature.
The lawsuit was filed by the five major publishers in August 2019. They complained that Audible’s new feature, in-app captions, was a violation of both their books’ copyright and the contract they have with the company. Audible halted the rollout of the feature on books impacted by the lawsuit while both sides continued to work on an agreement.
However, it appears that settlement has now been reached as Audible has told the court that “the parties have resolved their disputes” and anticipate submitting settlement documents by January 21. Details about the settlement have not been disclosed.
2: Operator of Popcorn Time Info Site is Liable for Piracy, Supreme Court Rules
Next up today, Ernesto at Torrentfreak writes that the Danish Supreme Court has upheld a prison sentence against the operator of a site that provided information about the piracy app Popcorn Time.
The site did not host any infringing material but did provide detailed instructions on how to use the app for copyright infringement. According to both prosecutors and the courts, that was enough to warrant criminal liability.
The man was arrested in August 2015 and, in 2018, a court handed down a conditional 6-month prison sentence. The defendant then appealed that ruling, arguing it violated EU law, but lost at both an appeals court and now the Supreme Court. In addition to the conditional sentence, he has been sentenced to 120 hours of community service and had more than $67,000 in ad revenue seized.
3: Malibu Media Sued in Florida by Their Former Law Firm
Finally today, Gustavo Turner at XBiz reports that Malibu Media, a company that rose to prominence for filing large numbers of copyright infringement lawsuits against suspected file-sharers, is now the target of litigation as their own attorneys have sued them over alleged unpaid fees.
According to Lomnitzer Law Firm, the company owes more than $280,000 in unpaid fees plus interest. This covers legal services rendered between May 26, 2017 and August 30, 2019.
Malibu Media earned a reputation as a copyright “troll” over their regular filings of lawsuits over suspected infringers. Lomnitzer was the firm that represented them in much of that litigation but claim Malibu did not honor their agreement. As such, they are seeking a judgment for $280,058.32 plus interest against Malibu.
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