3 Count: Still Coming…

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1: Trump Shrinks, But Can’t Shake Isaac Hayes Copyright Lawsuit

First off today, Nancy Dillon at Rolling Stone reports that a judge is allowing portions of a lawsuit filed by the estate of musician Isaac Hayes against President Trump and his 2024 campaign to move forward.

The lawsuit accused President Trump of using the Hayes song Hold On, I’m Coming at least 133 times at rallies and on videos uploaded to social media. However, lawyers representing Trump argued that the estate had not alleged any activities that could hold him personally responsible. The estate responded saying that he had personally selected the song for use.

The main copyright infringement claims in the case are moving forward. However, it was still a partial victory for the defendants as the judge did dismiss the estate’s claims related to false endorsement and right of publicity.

2: Paramount Faces New Top Gun: Maverick Copyright Lawsuit

Next up today, Mary Kate Carr at AV Club reports that Paramount is facing yet another lawsuit over the film Top Gun: Maverick, this one from the cousin of one of the film’s co-screenwriters.

Shaun Gray filed the lawsuit. He is the cousin to Eric Warren Singer, who co-authored the film. Gray claims that he worked as Singer’s writing assistant and collaborated on the film. The dispute appears to be more of a family spat than a case directed at Paramount: Gray denies having had any contact with Paramount during his time working on the screenplay.

This is the second lawsuit over the film. The first was filed by heirs to Ehud Yonay, who wrote the original article the first Top Gun film was based upon. That lawsuit was dismissed and Paramount says that this lawsuit is equally meritless.

3: “You Wouldn’t Steal a Car” Anti-Piracy Campaign May Have Used Pirated Fonts

Finally today, Kevin Purdy at Ars Technica reports that the iconic “You Wouldn’t Download a Car” anti-piracy campaign may have used copyright-infringing fonts in their commercials and printed materials.

A recent analysis of the fonts used by the campaign claims that the spray paint font was a clone of a popular paid font FF Confidential. According to the analysis, printed material created for the campaign used the font Xband Rough, which appears to be a duplicate of FF Confidential.

Normally, fonts and typefaces don’t qualify for copyright protection. However, the actual font files do qualify as they are considered software. That said, most believe that the MPA was not aware of the infringement and found the font on a free font website.

The 3 Count Logo was created by Justin Goff and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.