3 Count: GOOBA Battle

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1: Tekashi 6ix9ine sued for alleged copyright infringement on ‘GOOBA’

First off today, Patrick Clark at NME reports that a Texas production group has filed a lawsuit against rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine for alleged copyright infringement in Tekashi’s hit song GOOBA.

The lawsuit was filed by the group BEATDEMONS, which are suing Tekashi alleging that GOOBA copied from their original track Regular. The lawsuit claims that the two tracks have the same melody, form, structure and function. As such, they are seeking all the profits made from their work.

In an interesting twist, BEATDEMONS released Regular with a description that called it a “6ix9ine x Cardi B type beat”. It’s also not the first legal battle Tekashi has faced over GOOBA as, in June, Kenyan producer Magix Enga claimed that the song was a copy of one his beats. That case briefly caused GOOBA to be removed from YouTube before being restored.

2: Japanese Government Clarifies That Aim Of Current Cosplay Copyright Debate “Is Not To Restrict Any Cosplay Activities”

Next up today, Spencer Baculi at Bounding Into Comics reports that the Japanese government has further clarified the nature of the upcoming cosplay law clarifications saying that their aim is to not restrict any cosplay activities and merely clarify which activities require permission.

Earlier this year, the government announced that it was going to review the laws surrounding copyright and fair use as they pertain to cosplay and write a clarification on them. Now, in an interview, an unnamed member of Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters Cabinet Office said that the move is not about adding new restrictions but simply clarify existing ones.

With the deadline for the document approaching, the minister says that the statement is necessary not to change the law, but because copyright law is very complicated, and many cosplayers are finding it hard to decide when and if they need to get permission.

3: She Brought Diverse Skin Tones Emoji to the iPhone. Now She’s Suing Apple.

Finally today, Reed Albergotti at the Washington Post reports that artist Katrina Parrott has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Apple claiming that the company took her idea for Emoji with multiple skin tones and implemented it without her permission.

According to Parrott, she presented her idea (and her app) directly to Apple in 2013. Through her iDiversicons app, she made it possible for users to pick multiple skin tones for their Emoji and claims that Apple then implemented a similar system directly into their mobile operating system.

Apple has responded to the lawsuit saying that no one can own the copyright to the idea of multiple skin tones for Emoji as ideas are not protectable under copyright. Further, they claim they created their icons independently and did not copy her work.

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