3 Count: Telenovela Drama Ending
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1: 11th Circ Ends Drama Over Venezuelan Network in Telenovela Copyright Case
First off today, Blake Brittain at Reuters reports that the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court decision in favor of Fernando Fraiz, a former president of the Venezuelan network LaTele, in their long-running fight against the Miami-based network Telemundo.
The lawsuit actually began in 2012 when LaTele sued Telemundo over alleged copyright infringement of a telenovela. That underlying case was settled back in 2019 but, as the case dragged on, Fraiz was removed from the company by the Venezuelan government and replaced with an appointed Junta.
This raised questions as to what Fraiz’s personal liability may be in this case, but a Miami court said that he should be removed from the dispute as he is not the head of the company. That was the decision upheld by the 11th Circuit, which may be bringing an end to this case.
2: Pepe the Frog’s Creator Nuked a $4 Million NFT Collection Over Copyright
Next up today, Ekin Genç at Vice reports that Artist Matt Furie, the creator of the Pepe the Frog character, has removed some 7,000 NFTs posted to the site OpenSea that featured the character in various formats.
The move targeted the Sad Frogs District, which consisted of thousands of images featuring Pepe in various kinds of attire. The project had netted some $4 million in trading volume, with an average price of $450 per image. However, a takedown notice filed by Furie has resulted in the entire project being pulled.
Furie has had many copyright battles over Pepe, most famously with various neo-Nazi groups that co-opted the character into a racist meme. Furie is also getting into NFTs for himself, and has recently auctioned off an early cartoon for around $1 million.
3: H.E.R. Settles ‘Focus’ Copyright Infringement Lawsuit
Finally today, Will Lavin at NME reports that the musician H.E.R. has reached a settlement with musician Andre Sims over the 2016 hit song Focus.
Sims filed the lawsuit in June 2020 after Dr. Camper, the coauthor of Focus, went on Instagram live and said that Endless Minds was the inspiration for the melody of the song. This prompted Andre Sims, who wrote the song in 2014, to file a lawsuit against H.E.R., Camper and others involved in the song.
Sims initially sought $3 million in the case, as well as injunctive relief. However, the case is now settled, and both sides appear to be fairly pleased with the outcome.
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