3 Count: Amazon Prime Lawsuit

Someone thinks Amazon isn't prime at all...

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1: Amazon Sued For Copyright Infringement Over Films On Prime Video

First off today, Kirsten Errick at Law Street reports that Ralf Hartmann has filed a lawsuit against Amazon alleging that the company has streamed or otherwise distributed several films that he has the exclusive distribution rights for.

According to Hartmann, in 2008 he acquired the exclusive distribution rights for a group of movies from Capella Films. However, despite never granting a license to Amazon, Hartmann claims that they have streamed at least four of those films via their Amazon Prime service. Those include Commander Hamilton and After the Rain, which were distributed in the United States and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, and Drop Dead Gorgeous, which were made available internationally.

The lawsuit goes on to claim that they are unsure of the total damage done. As such, they are seeking a declaratory judgment of infringement, court-determined damages and treble damages. The lawsuit accuses Amazon of direct, contributory and vicarious infringement.

2: California Police Are Using Copyright to Hide Surveillance Documents

Next up today, Edward Ongweso Jr. at Motherboard reports that California police are declining to release documents about surveillance equipment they use despite a recent law requiring them to do so. Their reason: Copyright infringement.

At the beginning of the year, a law went into effect in California that required the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to “conspicuously” release all training materials used by law enforcement. However, attempts to download materials regarding facial recognition and license plate readers were met with a Word document that simply said, “The course presented has claimed copyright for the expanded course online.”

The Electronic Frontier Foundation sent a letter to the commission saying that this was unacceptable and that the law, as passed, enables the sharing of copyright-protected information. This comes amid growing concern about the use of both of these technologies and how they can be used to violate the privacy of citizens.

3: Instagram Hackers Are Using Fake Copyright Notices to Trick People into Giving up Their Account Details

Finally today, Andy Day at Fstoppers reports that, if you receive a direct message from Instagram letting you know that there is a copyright issue on your account, it’s most likely a phishing scam.

The notice is most likely an attempt to trick users into handing over their login information to a scammer. The way it works you’ll receive a direct message claiming that copyright infringement was detected or reported on your account. It will then give you an off-Instagram link to click, which will then prompt you to sign in with your Instagram credentials.

The direct messages do not come from any official Instagram accounts, with the one in the article coming from @TheNorthFace. However, according to the comments, other versions of the scam are also circulating, likely from hacked accounts.

Header Image: Tdorante10 / CC BY-SA via Wikimedia Commons

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