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1: Appeals Court Revives Copyright Lawsuit Over ‘Shape of Water’
First off today, Eriq Gardner at The Hollywood Reporter Esquire reports that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has revived a lawsuit over the 2017 film The Shape of Water saying that the lower court erred in tossing the case so early in the process.
The lawsuit was filed by the estate of author Paul Zindel, who penned the play Let Me Hear You Whisper. According to the lawsuit, both that play and The Shape of Water shared a premise of an employee in a laboratory freeing an aquatic creature that is being experimented on. However, at the lower court, the judge felt the similarities were not enough to move the case forward and dismissed it very early in the process.
The Appeals Court, however, said that the plaintiffs should have had more time and opportunities to prove their case and there should have been expert witnesses and additional testimony. Though this doesn’t mean Zindel’s estate wins the case by any stretch, it gives him a second shot to prove that the similarities between the two works go beyond coincidence and common tropes.
2: Saudi Arabia Announces Launch of Pirate Site Blocking Campaign
Next up today, Andy Maxwell at Torrentfreak writes that Saudi Arabia has announced a major campaign to block pirate websites as it aims to prevent some 231 such sites from being accessed within the country.
The move comes amidst ongoing allegations that the country has provided support and protection to beoutQ, a pirate satellite and internet streaming service that lifts sports content from Qatari competitor beIN. The network started shortly after Saudi Arabia placed an embargo on Qatar following international tensions. The World Intellectual Property Organization, recently ruled against Saudi Arabia, saying that the country was not doing enough to stop piracy within its borders.
However, the crackdown, which many feel is just an attempt to deflect criticism, doesn’t actually mention if beoutQ will be among the sites blocked. The country is currently backing a takeover of the Premier League club Newcastle United but issues of piracy have repeatedly stalled those efforts.
3: Spider-Man: Miles Morales Trailer Hit by Copyright Strike on PlayStation’s YouTube Channel
Finally today, Cameron Carliss at GameRant reports that, during the recent PlayStation 5 reveal, the game Spider-Man: Miles Morales was announced to the world and a trailer for the game was shown.
However, that trailer was briefly removed from YouTube due to a copyright notice that was filed by “Gamesoft S.E.” It is unclear who this company is or why they are claiming the video is a copyright infringement as the game features characters from Marvel and was developed by Insomniac Games.
Most likely, it was filed in error as Sony quickly disputed the takedown and it has since been restored. Nonetheless, the video was offline during a key time following the PlayStation 5 launch announcement.
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