3 Count: Eastside Blues

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1: Benny Blanco, Ed Sheeran, Halsey and Khalid sued for copyright infringement

First off today, Caleb Triscari at NME reports that Benny Blanco, Ed Sheeran, Halsey and Khalid are facing a lawsuit over their 2018 hit song Eastside.

The lawsuit was filed by Konstantine Lois and Shane Williams, members of the band American XO, who claim that Eastside is an infringement of their 2015 song Loveless. The lawsuit alleges that the two works have similar beats and other musical elements. However, it does not explain how any of the defendants came across the allegedly copied work, just that it must have happened.

Sheeran and Blanco are co-authors of the song and both Halsey and Khalid provide guest vocals for the track. This lawsuit closely mirrors others filed against Sheeran, including his songs Photograph and Thinking Out Loud.

2: Court Orders WhatsApp to Suspend Users Sharing Pirated Movie

Next up today, Andy Maxwell at Torrentfreak writes that The High Court in Delhi has issued a new order that compels the messaging app WhatsApp to suspend users that are reported for piracy.

The move comes amid the release of the action movie Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai, which was released directly to video on demand due to the pandemic. This resulted in widespread piracy of the film, with at least some of it taking place on WhatsApp.

Zee Entertainment, the company behind the film, cited WhatsApp’s own terms of service when approaching the court and secured an order that requires the company to suspend the accounts of users that are illegally sharing the film and provide contact information for eight alleged pirates that are using the service.

3: Sonic the Hedgehog 2’s Synopsis Discovered by Fans

Finally today, Cass Mashall at Polygon reports that a copyright preregistration filed by Paramount Pictures and SEGA of America has potentially leaked the synopsis of the upcoming film Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

The preregistration says that work on the film began in March 2021 and it’s expected to be completed in early 2022 with a release date that year. However, the description of the work lays out the basic plot of the movie indicating that it will be another battle between Sonic and Dr. Robotnik and will include the characters Tails and Knuckles.

Preregistrations of films such as this are very common but typically are more tight lipped when describing the work. It’s rare that such a document actually provides potential spoilers for an upcoming film.

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