3 Count: Piracy Increase

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1: The European Commission Decides to Refer 11 Member States to the Court of Justice of the European Union for Failing to Fully Transpose EU Copyright Rules into National Law

First off today, the European Commission has released a press release stating that they have referred some eleven European Union (EU) nations to the Court of Justice of the European Union after they failed to timely implement new EU copyright rules into their national code.

Under EU law, nations have a set period of time to transpose EU law into their national code. The bloc recently passed a set of new copyright directives, which included a copyright directive to create a single digital marketplace and expanding rights related to online transitions.

According to the EC, the deadline for transposition of those new rules passed in June 2021 and nearly a dozen nations have not fully completed the process. Those nations include: Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Poland, and Portugal. The EC hopes that this will compel the nations to follow through with the transposition and allow those laws to take full effect.

2: Jury Holds Walmart Liable for Online Copyright Infringement, Rejects Walmart’s DMCA Defense

Next up today, A press release from Ruttenberg IP Law reports that California-based artist Roxy Russell has emerged victorious in a dispute against Walmart, with a jury ruling that Walmart’s Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) defense was invalid.

Russell sued Walmart after learning that photos he took were being used to sell knock off versions of her lamps. Walmart attempted to both invalidate her copyright registrations and to claim that, since the listing was done by a third-party drop-ship vendor, that they were protected under the DMCA.

However, Russell argued that the listing said it was “sold and shipped by Walmart,” making it their listing. The jury agreed with that, opting to hold Walmart liable for the infringement. The press release does not say what, if any, damages were awarded Russell, but it does say she intends to seek fees and costs related to the case.

3: Global Content Piracy Soared 18% in 2022

Finally today, Tyler Aquilina at Variety reports that, though piracy dipped during the COVID lockdown, it is on the rise again, experiencing an 18% increase in 2022 when compared to 2021.

According to a study from the piracy research firm Muso, TV piracy makes up a plurality of pirate traffic, coming in at over 46%. Publishing piracy was second with over 25%. Film made up nearly 13% of all traffic and software and music constituted the rest.

The study further concludes that nearly two-thirds of all visits to pirate sites were direct visits, with search results accounting for just over one-quarter of the traffic. Social media and advertising played only a small role in driving traffic to pirate sites.

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