3 Count: Settling Rumors

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1: Stereophonic Settles Lawsuit For Alleged Copyright Infringement

First, today, A.A. Cristi at BroadwayWorld reports that the producers behind the Tony Award-winning play Stereophonic have settled a lawsuit that accused them of ripping off the idea.

Stereophonic is a play about a fictional band struggling to record a new album. However, in October, Kenneth Caillat and Steven Stiefel filed a lawsuit against the production. Caillat and Stiefel are co-authors of Caillat’s memoir Making Rumors: The Inside Story of the Classic Fleetwood Mac Album.

According to the lawsuit, one of Stereophonic’s playwrights was a fan of the book and based various plot points and other elements on it. The producers denied the allegations and insisted that the play was original. However, the two sides have now settled the dispute. The terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.

2: REA Group Sues Main Rival Domain for Data Scraping and Copyright Infringement

Next up today, Harvey Hancock at Online Marketplaces reports that Australia’s largest real estate database has filed a lawsuit against its largest competitor, claiming copyright infringement of some 181 exclusive listings.

According to the lawsuit filed by REA Group, Domain has used photographs, diagrams and other protectable elements from various listings. However, Domain says that REA doesn’t hold an exclusive license to content provided by homeowners and agents that use REA’s platforms.

Despite that claim, Domain has removed the 181 listings at issue. In Australia, the country uses a vendor-paid model where homeowners pay to market their property. As such, experts believe that REA may be attempting to claim ownership of content they neither purchased nor created.

3: Jadoo TV Piracy Lawsuit Ends in $24.9m Judgment, Customers Exposed

Finally, today, Andy Maxwell at Torrentfreak writes that a long-running lawsuit against Jadoo TV has concluded. As part of it, the set-top box maker will have to pay a $24.9 million judgment, transfer domain names and hand over their customer lists.

DISH Network filed the lawsuit in November 2018. According to DISH, Jadoo sold unlawful set-top boxes and apps that provided access to pirated content owned by DISH. The court granted summary judgment in favor of DISH in June 2023.

Since then, the two sides have settled. That settlement includes the damages award and an agreement to a permanent injunction. It also includes the transfer of all Jadoo customer lists, though it is unclear if DISH plans to target any individual users.

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