3 Count: French Deal

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1: Google, French Publishers Sign Copyright News Payment Deal

First off today, The Associated Press reports that Google has reached a deal with a large group of French publishers that will allow the search giant to continue to present their content in search results.

In 2019 the European Union passed new copyright legislation that, among other things, required search engines to pay licensing fees for using thumbnails, headlines and snippets from news sources. Google initially resisted the legislation but, since it’s passing, has been working on inking deals.

The latest deal is with Alliance de la Presse d’Information Generale, which sets the rules on how Google will negotiate with the publishers it represents. Google previously had reached deals with some individual papers, including Le Monde.

2: Duchess of Sussex Claims Privacy and Copyright Breached by Paper Group

Next up today, BBC News reports that the Duchess of Sussex has filed a lawsuit against British newspaper alleging that they violated both her privacy and her copyright by publishing an August 2018 letter she sent to her father.

The Duchess, Meghan Markle, has had a very strained relationship with her father and much of the battle has taken place in the public eye. The Mail obtained a copy of a letter sent from Markle to her father in 2018 and published it in its entirety, thus prompting the lawsuit.

The Duchess is asking that the publisher’s defense be tossed, and she is seeking damages both for alleged invasion of privacy and copyright infringement.

3: ‘Copyright Troll’ Law Firm & Partner Charged With Fraud Over Piracy Settlements

Finally today, Andy Maxwell at Torrentfreak writes that a partner at a “copyright troll” firm in Denmark is now facing criminal fraud charges over their handling of copyright infringement cases.

Jeppe Brogaard Clausen is a partner at Danish law firm Njord Law. The firm earned the reputation as a copyright troll by targeting suspected BitTorrent users and collecting small but quick settlements by threatening them with a lawsuit.

However, according to Danish authorities, many of those cases were fraudulent as Njord Law’s clients did not have the necessary rights to go after those cases. Njord Law denies this and says they are currently pursuing some 3,000 cases currently.

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