3 Count: Hollywood Unity

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1: Hundreds of Actors and Hollywood Insiders Sign Open Letter Urging Government Not to Loosen Copyright Laws for AI

First off, today, Caitlin O’Kane at CBS News reports that more than 420 film industry leaders have signed an open letter urging the government to uphold existing copyright laws concerning artificial intelligence (AI) training.

The move comes after both OpenAI and Google sent a letter to the Office of Science and Technology Policy asking the government to remove all guardrails on training on public information, even if that information is protected by copyright.

This letter encourages the government to ensure that copyright-protected works remain protected. Hundreds of actors and Hollywood insiders signed the letter. Notable names include Abrey Plaza, Paul Simon, Mark Ruffalo and Bette Midler.

2: As Webtoon Piracy Rises, a Recent Arrest Has Publishers Asking the Courts For a Maximum Sentence

Next up today, Hannah Diffey at ScreenRant reports that the alleged operator of the piracy website OKToon is facing trial in South Korea. However, a coalition of webtoon companies is already asking the court to institute the maximum penalties under the law.

The suspect, only identified as “A,” is accused of operating the OKToon site, which offered pirated content from various webtoon providers. Those providers allege the site caused an estimated $37 million in damages. To make matters worse, A also obtained legitimate user accounts to bypass various security measures on provider sites.

The webtoon companies feel that a lighter sentence may encourage future piracy. They note that the site caused significant harm and bypassed various security procedures in doing so. The next hearing is set for March 20. 


3: Cardi B beat theft accusers forgot to register composition with US Copyright Office, says Atlantic

Finally today, Chris Cooke at Complete Music Update reports that Cardi B’s record label is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit against them since the plaintiff did not file a registration with the US Copyright Office.

Joshua Fraustro and Miguel Aguilar, who produce music as Kemika1956, filed the lawsuit in July. They allege that Cardi B’s song Enough (Miami) is an infringement of their song Greasy Frybread. However, when the defendants noted that they had not filed a copyright registration for the song, they amended their claim to remove the copyright infringement. Instead, they focused on a claim under Texas law.

However, copyright law should supersede state law claims according to the defendants. As such, they are asking for the case to be dismissed due to the lack of copyright registration.

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