3 Count: Resident Legal

Have any suggestions for the 3 Count? Let me know via Twitter @plagiarismtoday.

1: Critics Still Unhappy as EU Clarifies Revamped Copyright Rules

First off today, Foo Yun Chee at Reuters reports that the European Commission has issued a non-binding clarification of the bloc’s recent copyright rules clarifying that the filtering requirement does not apply to all online service providers.

Two years ago, the EU passed controversial new copyright rules that require, among other things, providers to block re-uploading of allegedly infringing material after they’ve been alerted to the infringement. However, the European Commission has clarified that the rule is only intended to apply to providers that are not online encyclopedias or educational bodies. Furthermore, online service providers that don’t make money directly from copyrighted works uploaded to it do not have to worry about it.

However, the clarification has done little to calm fears, with critics worrying the non-binding clarification can just be ignored and that it doesn’t go far enough. Member nations had until June 7 to transpose the new regulations into their laws, though Poland is actively challenging the new rules in court.

2: Artist says Capcom Stole Her Photos for Resident Evil, Devil May Cry Games in Lawsuit

Next up today, Nicole Carpenter at Polygon reports that designer Judy A. Juracek has filed a lawsuit against Capcom claiming that the company has used copyright-protected photos from her book, Surfaces, in multiple games including Resident Evil 4 and Devil May Cry.

According to Juracek, Surfaces contains photographs that she took of various textures and elements and is meant to service as a “visual research” tool for aritsts, architects and others. However, she claims that Capcom took it one step too far and used at least 80 of her images in various games, including the “Shattered Glass” effect that appears on the Resident Evil 4 logo itself.

She is seeking some $12 million in damages for the alleged copyright infringement as well as additional damages for “false copyright management and removal of copyright management” for all of her photos. Capcom had no comment on the lawsuit.

3: Danish Piracy Crackdown Spreads from Torrent Sites to Facebook

Finally today, Ernesto Van der Sar at Torrentfreak writes that a Danish court has convicted a man for illegally streaming TV series and movies over Facebook, marking a pivot for local authorizes as they move from targeting BitTorrent sites to targeting social media streamers.

The police in the country successfully closed the two largest local BitTorrent trackers in October 2020 and then targeted those that rushed to fill the void. Now, they appear to be expanding those efforts to target social media streamers. In this case, the man was sentenced to 20 days of probation and to pay 55,000 Krone ($9,000) in damages.

The efforts are the results of a cooperative agreement between the Rights Alliance, an anti-piracy group based in the country, and the authorities. According to authorities, viewers of such content are not being targeted but that efforts to combat social media-based piracy will be ramping up.

The 3 Count Logo was created by Justin Goff and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.