3 Count: Shape of Legal Costs

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1: Ed Sheeran and Co-writers Awarded £900,000 in Costs Over Copyright Case

First off today, PA Media at The Guardian reports that Ed Sheeran and his co-authors has been warded more than £900,000 ($1,100,000) in court costs and fees over a failed copyright claim that targeted the song Shape of You.

The lawsuit was between Sheeran and a pair of songwriters, Sami Chokri and Ross O’Donoghue. The latter had claimed that Shape of You as an infringement of a 2015 song they wrote, but the court ruled, after an 11-day trial, that no infringement took place and that Sheeran “neither deliberately nor subconsciously” copied anything from the song.

Following the victory, Sheeran asked the court to award court costs to them. The court has ordered an interim payment of £916,200 ($1,124,000). Another hearing is expected in the future to set a final amount.

2: Google Resolves French Copyright Dispute Over Online Content

Next up today, Dominique Vidalon at Reuters reports that Google has reached a resolution in an ongoing copyright dispute in France over Google’s use of local news agencies in Google results.

A recent law passed in the European Union requires search engines, like Google, to work out arrangements with news publishers to display their content in search results. However, Google had been struggling to reach such an agreement in France, with many of the nation’s biggest publishers taking the matter to court.

Now, Google has agreed to start a remuneration program starting within three months. However, if the two sides cannot agree on the amounts, the issue will be decided by a local court. The case has been closely watched by other European countries, many of which have faced similar issues in getting Google to pay for news content.

3: Bungie & Destiny 2 Cheat Creator Agree $13.5m Copyright Damages Judgment

Finally today, Andy Maxwell at Torrentfreak writes that game developers Bungie have reached a settlement with Elite Boss Tech, developers of video game cheating software, that see Elite Boss Tech pay the company some $13.5 million in statutory damages.

The lawsuit began in August 2021 when Bungie filed lawsuits against several makers of cheating software for the game Destiny 2. One of those lawsuits targeted Elite Boss Tech, which alleged that they had violated Bungie’s copyright as well as a slew of other allegations including racketeering, fraud, money laundering and more.

However, it now appears that the case is settled with Elite Boss Tech not only agreeing to the payout, but to a permanent injunction and to acknowledging thousands of violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

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