3 Count: Hockey Fight

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1: American Hockey League Sued for Alleged Copyright Infringement by Sony and Universal-Owned Production Music Firm APM

First off today, Murray Stassen at Music Business Worldwide reports that Associated Production Music (APM) has filed a lawsuit against both the Americal Hockey League (AHL) and nine of the teams in the league for alleged copyright infringement.

Sony Music Publishing and Universal Music Publishing jointly own APM. APM controls a large library of music that it licenses for use in various video projects. According to the lawsuit, the AHL and the teams used music it controls in various social media posts without such a license, constituting an infringement.

The AHL is just the latest organization to face such a license. Last week, the manufacturer Johnson & Johnson was sued on similar grounds. In this case, the AHL claims that APM shared its music unlawfully with over 3.25 million social media followers and engaged in “rampant infringement” of the organization’s recordings.

2: Movie Companies Take DMCA Subpoena ‘Shortcut’ Dispute to Court of Appeals

Next up today, Ernesto Van der Sar at Torrentfreak writes that a group of filmmakers have appealed a Hawaiian court decision to deny them a DMCA subpoena in their attempt to target an alleged film pirate.

Millennium Funding Inc. and Voltage Pictures Inc. filed the case. The companies are well known for heavily targeting suspected BitTorrent file sharers. In recent years, they have relied on DMCA subpoenas, which don’t require a lawsuit to be filed first, to get information about suspected file sharers.

However, Cox Communications pushed back against this process in Hawaii and refused to turn over the information. A local judge ruled that DMCA subpoenas do not apply to “mere conduits” of information, only web hosts. As such, the court ruled that the subpoena was invalid. The plaintiffs are now appealing that decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which could be a significant decision about when and how DMCA subpoenas can be used.

3: Miley Cyrus Sued for Copyright Infringement Over ‘Flowers,’ Accused of Copying Bruno Mars Song

Finally, today, Alex Ocho at Complex reports that Tempo Music is suing Complex Miley Cyrus over allegations that Cyrus’ 2012 hit Flowers infringed on the Bruno Mars song When I Was Your Man.

According to the lawsuit, the two tracks bear strong lyrical similarities. In Mars’ song, the singer laments not buying their former partner flowers and taking them dancing. In Cyrus’ song, she proclaims that she can buy her flowers and dance on her own.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and an injunction barring further distribution or performance of Flowers.

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