3 Count: Jumping the Baby Shark

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1: Publishers Sue WeLib for Copyright Infringement

First off today, Jim Milliot at Publishers Weekly reports that a group of 13 publishers have filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against WeLib, a pirate website.

The lawsuit involves all five of the major publishers and alleges that WeLib illegally hosts over 43 million books and 98 million articles. The site offers free access to the books and articles, but download speeds are limited. For a fee, users can get faster downloads, with subscriptions starting at $7 per month.

The lawsuit follows on the heels of a similar lawsuit filed against Anna’s Archive. In that case, a judge issued a default judgment ordering the site to cease infringements and gave the publishers the right to order hosts, domain registrars, and others involved with the site to take action. In this case, the publishers accuse WeLib of copying Anna’s Archive code and content. 

2: Court Rules ‘Baby Shark’ Tune Can Be Played Without Consequence

Next up today, Reg Wydeven at the Post-Crescent reports that the South Korean Supreme Court has ruled that the viral “Baby Shark” song is not an infringement of an earlier version because the earlier version lacked enough creativity to be protected by copyright.

The lawsuit was filed by Jonathan Wright, who performs under the name of Johnny Only. He claims to have performed a similar song at a kids’ summer camp in the 1990s. In 2016, Pinkfrog Entertainment released the now-famous (and infamous) Baby Shark song. This prompted Wright to sue, seeking 30 million won ($22,000) in damages. 

However, the South Korean Supreme Court ruled that Wright’s version was simply too similar to preexisting versions of the song to sustain a copyright infringement claim. However, even if the court did find that Wright’s version was a secondary work, that there were “no substantial similarities” between the two versions of the song.

3: Ada County Sheriff Won’t Pursue Effort to Take Down Mugshots From ‘Busted’ Website

Finally today, Nicole Blanchard at the Idaho Statesman reports that the Ada County Sheriff’s Office has said it will not pursue legal action against a website that shares mugshots of people online.

The dispute centers around a website called Boise Busted, which is owned by Explore and Develop, LLC. It hosts mugshots, including those taken by the Ada County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office had previously filed a tort claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, against the company but has opted not to pursue the full case.

In the United States, works created by the federal government are in the public domain. However, state and local governments are not subject to that restriction. Despite that, the office said that it would not be a good use of public resources to pursue the case.

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