3 Count: Dancing Again

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1: Sam Smith and Normani’s Copyright Lawsuit Win Over “Dancing With a Stranger” Is Overturned

First off today, Winston Cho at The Hollywood Reporter Esquire reports that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned the dismissal of a lawsuit filed against musicians Sam Smith and Normani, ruling that the lower court had prematurely tossed the case.

Sound and Color filed the lawsuit. The company alleges that the Smith song Dancing with a Stranger is an infringement of an earlier track by the same name by Jordan Vincent and SKX. However, a California court dismissed the lawsuit in 2023, saying that the similarities between the works were not protected by copyright law.

Now, the Appeals Court has overturned that decision, ruling that a jury should have decided the dispute. The move remands the case back to the lower court for a potential trial.

2: Ministers to Amend Data Bill Amid Artists’ Concerns Over AI and Copyright

Next up today, Eleni Courea and Dan Milmo at The Guardian report that, in the UK, the government is considering a sweeping new AI bill. However, following complaints from artists and other copyright holders, the government is making concessions ahead of an upcoming vote.

Ministers aim to allow AI companies to utilize copyrighted works to train their AI systems. However, artists have objected, saying that this runs “roughshod” over their copyright protections and livelihoods.

Now the Ministers are making concessions. This will include performing an economic impact assessment of the proposed changes. The changes also require reports on various issues related to AI, including transparency, licensing, and access to data.

3: DRM-Free OnlyFans Downloads See Widevine Project Nuked From GitHub

Finally, today, Andy Maxwell at Torrentfreak writes that GitHub has removed a project that decrypts Widevine-protected videos following a complaint from OnlyFans.

Widevine is a digital rights management (DRM) tool that most streaming service providers use. It is designed to prevent the copying and distribution of copyrighted work that is streamed online. However, multiple tools exist to break that encryption and remove the protection it offers.

However, one such project, CDRM-Project, was removed from GitHub following a complaint by OnlyFans. The complaint alleged that it was violating copyright by enabling the circumvention of DRM, making it a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

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