3 Count: Tentative Opinions

Have any suggestions for the 3 Count? Let me know via Bluesky, Mastodon or LinkedIn.

1: Judge’s First Take Favors Denims—But Will It Survive the Recut?

First off today, Aaron Moss at Copyright Lately reports that a judge has issued a tentative ruling in one of Ethan Klein’s copyright infringement lawsuits, this one handing down a potential win for Denims, the defendant, on fair use grounds.

Klein sued Denims for copyright infringement after Denims hosted a content watch party where she streamed and reacted to a “Content Nuke” video originally posted by Klein. According to the draft ruling, Denims’ use of Klein’s video was a fair use and backed that up with case law, including a former ruling where Klein himself was arguing and won a fair use claim.

To be clear, this is just a draft ruling and both sides have the right to contest it. Also, after the ruling is issued, both sides will have the right to appeal. Still, the draft ruling will likely bolster other “reaction video” creators, unless it is overturned on appeal.

2: Chilean Court Orders Amazon to Pay Actors Copyright Fees

Next up today, Francisca Orellana at United Press International reports that a Chilean court has ordered Amazon to pay approximately $7.3 million to the Chilean Actors and Actresses Corp to pay Chilean Actors their copyright-related royalties.

The ruling comes from the First Civil Court of Santiago. Amazon, for its part, argued that the Chilean court had no jurisdiction over them, however, the court determined that the right to those royalties was an inalienable right and covers works made in the country and and with Chilean actors.

The decision is the first of its kind against a major streaming service.The plaintiffs hope that this decision will empower similar cases against other streaming services. Other countries also have similar laws, including Columbia and, most recently, Peru.

3: Sony Invests in AI Copyright-Protection Firm Midnight Labs

Finally today, Corbin Bolies at Variety reports that Sony, through its Innovation Fund, has invested a seven-figure sum in the AI company Midnight Labs.

Midnight Labs claim that its tools have removed more than 2.8 billion infringing works. Its special focus is in detecting infringement in AI-generated content as well as other, more traditional forms of copyright infringement.

The exact amount of the investment was not disclosed. However, according to Midnight Labs, Sony will be taking on an advisory role with the company.

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