3 Count: I’ve Seen It

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1: Olivia dean ‘Art of Loving’ Song Faces Lawsuit Claiming It Was Copied from ‘Just the Two of Us’

First off today, Bill Donahue at Billboard reports that companies connected with Olivia Dean are facing a copyright‑infringement lawsuit over her song “I’ve Seen It” from her album The Art of Loving.

A music publisher who owns Bill Withers’ catalog filed the lawsuit, alleging that Dean’s song infringes Withers’s 1980 song “Just the Two of Us.” Dean herself is not named in the lawsuit; instead, the suit names her record label, publisher and others involved in the song’s production.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs hired a musicologist to analyze the songs and determined that the two songs “contain substantial similarities in protectable musical expression, including repeated copying of the distinctively protectable melody.”

2: Alleged Kemo IPTV Operator Faces Criminal Prosecution in Dubai Following ACE Complaint

Next up today, Ernesto Van der Sar at TorrentFreak writes that the alleged operator of the pirate IPTV services Kemo IPTV and Lemo TV is facing criminal prosecution in Dubai. This move follows a complaint filed by the Association of Creativity and Entertainment (ACE).

The person, Ammar Towir, originally surfaced in a civil matter in a Florida court. DISH Network sued him for copyright infringement and was seeking a default judgment in the case. However, Towir claimed that he was not properly served with the lawsuit, noting that he lives in Dubai, not Malaysia, where the paperwork was sent.

Towir, for his part, argued that he has nothing to do with the IPTV services and is simply a reseller. However, DISH Network is seeking additional information from PayPal and others he has done business with to prove his relationship to the IPTV services. Meanwhile, in Dubai, Towir has been interviewed by the local police and is not allowed to leave the country, pending the outcome of this investigation.

3: Disney and James Cameron Prevail in Copyright Lawsuit Over ‘Avatar’ Sequels

Finally, today, Austin Haughton at Walt Disney World News Today reports that Disney and James Cameron have prevailed in a copyright‑infringement lawsuit filed against them over the Avatar sequels.

The lawsuit was filed by author Eric Ryder, who claimed that the Avatar sequels infringed on his earlier story, KRZ. According to Ryder, he had developed the story between 1996 and 2001 and had pitched it to Cameron’s Lightroom Entertainment in 2000.

However, Cameron has had treatments for Avatar dating back to 1995. Furthermore, the judge felt that the alleged similarities between the two works were overblown. As such, the judge dismissed the case, but Ryder has said that he will appeal the decision rather than amending the lawsuit.

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