3 Count: Fan Art

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1: Kat Von D Testifies at Miles Davis Tattoo Trial: ‘I Consider This Fan Art’

First off today, Nancy Dillon at Rolling Stone reports that Kat Von D took the stand in her copyright infringement trial, likening her use of a reference photo to create a tattoo as “fan art” and saying that the practice is completely normal in the world of tattooing.

Von D is being sued by photographer Jeffrey Sedlik, who accused Von D of copyright infringement for using a photograph of Miles Davis that he owns to create a tattoo for a friend of hers. That tattoo was then shared widely on Von D’s social media, which according to Sedlik, was used to promote her business.

Von D took to the stand in the case and testified that she viewed her creation as “fan art” and said that tattoo artists never ask for or seek permission when using reference photos. When pressed about why magazines and publications had to get permission but she felt she didn’t, she claimed that was did is “different than a corporation taking advantage of an artist.” Testimony is scheduled to continue today, with closing arguments likely Friday.

2: Publishers Hit Back at Anthropic’s Claim That AI Copyright Cases Should be Filed in “Its Silicon Valley Backyard”

Next up today, Chris Cooke at Complete Music Update reports that music publishers have responded to Anthropic’s attempt to have a lawsuit against them tossed on jurisdictional grounds, saying that the company simply wants the case heard in their “backyard.”

The publishers filed the lawsuit alleging that Anthropic violated their copyrights by using song lyrics without permission to train their AI chatbot named Claude. However, in their initial response to the lawsuit, Anthropic didn’t focus on the copyright issues and, instead, tried to get the case tossed on jurisdictional grounds, saying that Tennessee was not the correct venue.

However, the publishers have responded, noting that the company does business in the state, parses information about the state and infringes the content of rightsholders from it as well. If the case is moved to California, it would join a swath of other copyright infringement lawsuits filed against AI companies that have already been filed there.

3: beIN Sports’ Football Piracy Blitz Adds Blocking to Domain Seizures

Finally today, Andy Maxwell at Torrentfreak writes that the live sports platform beIN has secured an order in France to block some 56 pirate sites that are suspected of illegally streaming live sports events.

The move comes as the Africa Cup is underway, with beIN the exclusive legal carrier for it in many regions. However, they’ve been a lengthy campaign against pirate sites that they claim undermine their business.

On that front, this site blocking order is just the latest in that ongoing battle. As for the sites involved, many are down, but others have simply moved to a different domain to keep operating.

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