3 Count: Twitch Troubles

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1: Court Dismisses CBC Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Conservative Party

First off today, Mark Gollom at the CBC reports that Conservative Party of Canada has emerged victorious in a lawsuit filed by the CBC as the judge has dismissed the case outright.

The CBC filed the lawsuit back in 2019 alleging that the Conservative Party violated their copyright by using the broadcaster’s footage in a commercial. However, the judge has found that the use was fair dealing and that there is no evidence of any reputational harm to the CBC caused by the ad itself.

The Conservative Party has welcomed the ruling though the CBC has long voiced concern about the use of its clips in political ads. The CBC has said that they are reviewing the court’s decision and may consider filing an appeal.

2: Watch Tower Copyright Lawsuit Targets Creator of “DubTown” Lego Animations

Next up today, Andy Maxwell at Torrentfreak writes that Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, the publisher for the Jehovah’s Witness religious group, has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against “Kevin McFree” a former member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and a lego animator critical of the organization.

McFree, as he’s known through his online alias, uses Lego stop animation to lampoon the Jehovah’s Witness organization. One of his videos, DUBTOWN – Family Worship July Broadcast, featured approximately seven and a half minutes of content from unreleased video. The Society was able to get the video removed from YouTube but McFree has challenged the takedown, arguing fair use.

In response to this, the Society has filed a full lawsuit against McFree, who is identified as John Doe in the lawsuit. In that

lawsuit, they say McFree should not be allowed to use fair use as a defense in the lawsuit given the unpublished nature of the work and the amount taken. McFree has not responded to the lawsuit.

3: Angry Joe Slams Twitch’s “Unfair” DMCA Process After Recent Strike

Finally today, Andrew Amos at Dexerto reports that popular YouTuber and Twitch streamer Jose Antonion Vargas, better known as Angry Joe, has uploaded videos criticizing the Twitch Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) process.

According to Vargas, the Twitch system has two problems. First, copyright strikes do not roll off the account after 90 days and, instead, are permanent. Second, that he has no way to see the strike against his channel and, as such, cannot file a dispute or counternotice.

To make matters worse for Twitch, it doesn’t even plan to add that feature to user dashboards until December 2021, a full 7 months away. Meanwhile, Vargas and other Twitch streamers are frustrated by both the volume of takedown notices they are receiving and the fear of having their accounts shuttered.

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