3 Count: Jersey Boys

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1: “Jersey Boys” Case: Facts Aren’t Copyrightable—Even if They’re Made Up

First off, today, Aaron Moss at Copyright Lately reports that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that facts are not protectable under copyright, even if the “facts” are made up.

The lawsuit pitted the estate of Tommy DeVito against the team behind the Jersey Boys musical. The estate claimed that the musical copied elements of DeVito’s autobiography, including dialogue that was invented for the book.

In 2016, a jury ruled in favor of the estate, saying that the musical had copied significant portions of DeVito’s book. However, the judge later overturned the jury’s decision, saying that the use was protected under the fair‑use doctrine. This prompted the estate to appeal, but the appeals court did not address the fair‑use question, saying that the copying was factual in nature, even if the information was fictional. This is because the elements were presented as factual, not as fictional, making them not protectable by copyright.

2: German Publishers Call for AI Regulation Over Copyright Concerns

Next up today, DPA International reports that, at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the German Publishers and Booksellers Association called for new AI regulations amid concerns about AI being trained on copyright‑protected material.

According to the statement, AI companies have been training their models on copyrighted material, and have largely been protected by the government. They say that publishers and authors have to search through AI responses to find evidence that their work has been used.

As such, the group is calling for greater transparency and accountability in the AI industry, as well as new licensing models that enforce copyright and ensure that authors and publishers are fairly compensated for their work.

3: Denuvo Asks Court to Unmask Game Cracker ‘voices38’, Reveals Crypto Transactions

Finally today, Ernesto Van der Sar at TorrentFreak writes that the video‑game digital‑rights‑management (DRM) company Denuvo has asked a California court to unmask the identity of the video‑game cracker voices38.

According to Denuvo, the person in question is behind the cracks of at least 26 video games, including Hogwarts Legacy and Black Myth: Wukong. They have filed a “Doe” lawsuit against the person, but are asking the court for help in determining their identity.

Specifically, they are asking for subpoenas to be issued to Valve, the operators of the Steam platform, Reddit and Discord. They are also seeking details related to crypto transactions that may have been used to pay or reward the person in question.

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