3 Count: Electric Avenue 2

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

1: Judge Rejects Donald Trump Bid to Escape Song Copyright Lawsuit

First off today, Eriq Gardner at The Hollywood Reporter Esquire reports that a judge has declined former President Donald Trump’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by musician Eddy Grant over the song Electric Avenue. 

In 2020, as part of his campaign, then-President Trump used the song as part of an animation that was meant to lampoon his opponent, President Joe Biden. This prompted Grant to sue, claiming that the use of his music was an infringement.

However, President Trump and his team argued that it was a  fair use of the song and, as such, non-infringing. But the judge in the case shot that argument down, saying that the use was not transformative, but rather to have music for a campaign ad, and that Grant met his burden when pleading harm. As such, he denied the motion to dismiss and has set the stage for the case to go to a possible trial.

2: Epic Sports Petitions Fifth Circuit for Rehearing En Banc in Texas A&M ‘12th Man’ Copyright/ Takings Clause Case

Next up today, Steve Brachmann at IP Watchdog reports that author Michael Bynum and publisher Epic Sports has filed a petition for a rehearing en banc to challenge a recent decision by the court.

The issue involves Texas A&M University’s unlicensed publication of portions of a manuscript Bynum wrote detailing the college’s 100-year history of the 12th Man tradition. Bynum sued for copyright infringement, but both the lower court and the Appeals Court ruled that a state agency cannot be sued in a federal court for copyright infringement. Furthermore, the court ruled that copyrights are not covered by the Takings Clause of the constitution, preventing Bynum from receiving any damages.

However, now Bynum is asking the entire court, all nine justices, to hear the case. Specifically, they want the justices to address whether the Takings Clause applies to copyright and if any Takings remedy under the state constitution would be adequate.

3: ROM & Emulation Site Pleasuredome Shuts Down After 15 Years of Gaming

Finally today, Andy Maxwell at Torrentfreak writes that the long-running ROM and emulation site Pleasuredome has shut its doors after more than 15 years online.

Beginning as a site that provided access to FTP servers, Pleasuredome transitioned away to use BitTorrent and later Gazelle to provide faster access to pirated ROM files. However, according to the site’s admins, there wasn’t a great deal of pushback from rightsholders as the site primarily focused on ROMs of games that were not for sale.

However, after more than 15 years, the site has decided to close its doors. But, unlike countless other pirate sites, it’s not due to legal reasons. Instead, the site claimed it was simply time to move on and to “quit while we are ahead.”

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