3 Count: Baby Blues

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1: Tenth Circuit Gives ‘Reborn Doll’ Company Another Shot at Copyright Suit Against Chinese Amazon Sellers

First off today, Eileen McDermott at IP Watchdog reports that the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a lower court dismissal, giving a dollmaker another chance to collect damages on counterfeit dolls being sold on Amazon.

The case was filed by the company Bountiful Baby, which sued two Chinese companies for selling counterfeit dolls on Amazon. The plaintiffs filed a takedown notice with Amazon, which it complied with, only for the listings to be restored after a counternotice filed by the counterfeiters.

In the counternotice, the counterfeiters agreed to jurisdiction in “any judicial district in which Amazon may be found.” This prompted Bountiful Baby to sue in Utah, but the defendants never responded. However, the judge denied a default judgment, saying that Amazon is based in Delaware. However, the 10th Circuit has overturned that, noting that Amazon has employees and conducts business in the district, making the district fit the definition.

2: German Supreme Court Rules Against Photographer in Landmark Wallpaper Copyright Case

Next, today, Jeremy Gray at PetaPixel reports that the German Supreme Court has ruled in a trio of cases involving copyright-protected wallpapers featured in online photographs.

Photographer Stefan Böhme filed the three cases. He licensed his work to be printed on various wallpapers. However, when homeowners featured the wallpaper in online listings for their houses, he filed a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement.

However, the Supreme Court ruled against Böhme, saying that he granted an implied license for those images to appear in listings by licensing his images for use in wallpapers. The court noted that this was an expected and anticipated use of the work, making it not an infringement.

3: Discord Says Piracy Subpoena Would Violate Users’ First Amendment Rights

Finally, today, Lauren Feiner at The Verge reports that Discord is fighting a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) subpoena that orders it to disclose user information of users accused of copyright infringement.

Video game publisher Nexon filed the subpoena to seek information about Discord users it claims have engaged in piracy. However, Discord says the subpoena is both overly broad and overly burdensome.

As such, DIscord is filing a motion to quash the subpoena. However, Nexon alleges that Discord waited too long to file the motion and that failing to comply with the subpoena harms their ability to protect their work.

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