3 Count: Switched by Nintendo

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1: Nintendo Awarded $1.13m After File-Hosting Site Failed To Remove Pirated Games

First off today, Andy Maxwell at Torrentfreak writes that Nintendo has scored a legal victory against the operators of the file hosting website 1fichier.

1fichier has been a thorn to many rightsholders since at least 2014, when the music industry sounded alarms about the popular file hosting service’s lack of cooperation with taking down allegedly infringing material. However, until this recent lawsuit by Nintendo, the site had not had its day in court.

That court has now ruled that 1fichier, or rather its operator DSTORAGE, to pay 935,500 Euros ($1.3 million) in damages and clarified the responsibilities the site has to remove infringing material. However, it’s unclear if this verdict will lead to any change in their lax takedown policies.

2: Philipp Plein Named in New Copyright Suit Over Artwork on Spring/Summer 2020 Wares

Next up today, The Fashion Law reports that fashion designer Philipp Plein is facing a lawsuit from the company Resurrect By Night (RBN) over allegations that his Spring/Summer 2020 line violated several of their copyrights.

RBN’s founder, Daren Chambers, takes vintage clothing and paints on them to create a style that he said is both “authentic” and “distinct.” However, he alleges that Plein and his corporate ties took his unique style and approach, including some of his pieces, and created new works based upon them.

RBN further claims that they contacted all the defendants in the case back in September 2020 with a cease and desist, and they refused to comply. As such, they have filed the lawsuit and are seeking both monetary damages and an injunction barring the sale of the allegedly infringing works.

3: Tencent Ordered to Pay Compensation for Copyright Infringement

Finally today, Ding Yining at Shine reports that the Beijing Internet Court has ordered Tencent to pay 10,000 yuan ($1,500) to the Music Copyright Society of China for using music on its video-streaming site without permission.

According to the lawsuit, Tencent used music in various TV series on its online streaming platform despite not having authorization from the rightsholders. Tencent had argued that the rights to the song were unclear and that it wasn’t liable as it was not the producer of the series in question.

Despite those claims, the court found in favor of the rightsholders and ordered it to pay the damages.

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