3 Count: SportsBay Millions

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1: Judge Approves Final Injunction in Publishers, Internet Archive Copyright Case

First off today, Andrew Albanese at Publishers Weekly reports that the judge in the Internet Archive case has signed off on a consent judgment presented by the parties, though did grant one win to the Internet Archive in doing so.

The Internet Archive was sued by various publishers following the creation of the “National Emergency Library”, which allowed unrestricted and unlicensed access to electronic books the Internet Archive had scanned. The judge previously sided with the publishers, ruling that the library as well as the practice of “controlled digital lending” were infringing.

Originally, this set the stage for a trial on damages and other issues. However, the two sides have agreed on a judgement that will avert a trial and allow the Internet Archive to appeal the earlier decision more quickly. That judgement includes a permanent injunction against the Internet Archive. However, in accepting the judgement. The judge in the case limited that judgement only to books that publishers currently have electronic versions of being distributed, something the publishers say will have only “minimal impact” as most of their books are available.

2: X, Formerly Twitter, Wants Lawsuit From Music Publishers Thrown Out

Next up today, Ethan Millman at Rolling Stone reports that, X, the social media platform that was formerly known as Twitter, has filed a motion to seek the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by music publishers in June.

The lawsuit was filed by publishers in June, who claimed that X was failing to take required actions against piracy on its network, including removing or disabling access to infringing material that they identified. They also claimed that X failed to have and enforce a repeat infringer policy, that disabled accounts of those with multiple infractions.

Now X has responded, saying that its actions did not induce copyright infringement and that, even if there were issues, there was no “obvious and direct” financial benefit to the company in the infringements. As such, they are seeking dismissal of the lawsuit.

3: Court Orders SportsBay to Pay Almost Half a Billion Dollars For Violating DMCA

Finally today, Andy Maxwell at Torrentfreak writes that DISH Network and Sling have emerged victorious in a case against the pirate sports streaming site SportsBay, with a judge holding the site and its two operators liable for $493,850,000 in damages for some alleged 2.5 million violations.

The lawsuit was filed in Texas and targeted both two operators of four sites, all related to pirate sports streaming. However, the defendants, who are based in Argentina, did not respond to the lawsuit, resulting in the court handing down a default judgment in favor of the plaintiff.

Prior to this judgment, the court had already granted the plaintiffs the right to subpoena third parties that help in the operation of the pirate sites. That behavior resulted in the sites being shuttered, even as the case itself moved forward, likely ending with this ruling.

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