3 Count: 5th Circuit, 12th Man

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1: 5th Circuit Set to Referee ‘Egregious’ 12th Man Copyright Case

First off today, Barbara Grzincic at Reuters reports that historian Michael Bynum is asking the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to revive his lawsuit against Texas A&M University over the university’s use of his book.

According to the lawsuit filed by Bynum, Texas A&M took the first chapter of his unpublished book about E. King Gill and published it wholesale on their website. Though this may seem to be a clear copyright infringement, a recent ruling by the Supreme Court holds that states cannot be held liable for copyright infringement.

However, Bynum argues that the ruling in question only applies to statutory cases, not “egregious” cases that amount to “a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.” The state of Texas, predictably, claims that the Supreme Court ruling means that the lawsuit violates due process and that the case should be tossed.

2: Roblox Partners with Sony Music to Connect Artists with Money-Making Activities in the Metaverse

Next up today, Sarah Perez at TechCrunch reports that the video game platform Roblox has announced a new partnership with Sony Music Entertainment to allow Roblox users to create new music experiences. However, the deal does nothing to stop a $200 million lawsuit that was filed against Roblox last month.

Details of the new deal are few and far between, but Roblox has said the deai enables it to engage in “commercial activities” with Sony Artists. In the past, Roblox has featured virtual concerts, including a prominent one by Lil Nas X.

However, this likely won’t do much to appease the group of music publishers (which Sony was not a party to) that filed a lawsuit against Roblox last month. They are seeking some $200 million in damages. According to that lawsuit, Roblox has been enabling users to stream and present unlicensed music without first acquiring a license.

3: Modder ‘Fixes’ the Resident Evil Village Enemy Capcom Is Accused of Copying

Finally today, Joe Skrebels at IGN reports that a modder has altered the game Resident Evil Village to remove a character in the game that has been accused of being a work of plagiarism and a copyright infringement.

The issue began with a character in the game named Strum, a boss in the game that is humanoid but with an airplane engine inside his torso. However, creator Richard Raaphorst claimed that the character bore a strong resemblance to one he created in the 2013 movie Frankenstein’s Army.

The update comes from a modder known as Pumpkinhook, and it removes Scrum’s model and replaced him with a generic standing fan. As for the creators of the game, they have not responded to the allegations, but no lawsuit has been filed at this time.

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