The Copykat - Topical Treats From The Basis Of Copyright

'Happy Birthday' case - together with has agreed to pay $14m to  to a course of report of “thousands of people together with entities” who had paid licensing fees to piece of employment the vocal since 1949 together with to cease the lawsuit that challenged its copyright to Happy Birthday To You – maybe the world’s most famous song. Readers volition recollect that dorsum inward September 2015, US district guess George H King ruled that Warner/Chappell did non ain the lyrics to the song, simply some of its musical arrangements. Next month, King must approve the settlement. The village would also grant $4.6 meg inward fees to the lawyers for the plaintiffs, a grouping of independent artists together with filmmakers who filed split suits inward 2013 that were afterwards combined. More on this instance on CMU here.

Ricky Spicer, 1 3rd of The Ponderosa Twins Plus One (Spicer beingness the "One" after he joined upward amongst the singing twins), has filed a constabulary suit seeking course of report activity condition against together with damages from a large cross-section of the digital music landscape that includes Spotify, Apple, Google, SoundCloud, iHeartMedia, Pandora together with Sony Computer Entertainment - over royalties related to pre-1972 recordings. Spicer's activity straight relates to several other ongoing cases, all related to the same complex issues of copyright ownership together with music licensing - including the cases brougt past times Flo together with Eddie from the Turtles against Sirius XM. But interestingly the filing says the diverse defendants may have idea they had licensed his album - but they haven't: In the filing Spicer makes the allegation that a "phantom party... used dorsum channels together with individual under-the-table dealings to transfer licenses that ultimately injure upward inward the hands of Defendants."

Two US publishers are having a spat over who has the correct to position out the constabulary - hither the correct to solely position out the Georgia Administrative Rules together with Regulations. Legal publisher Fastcase wants a federal guess to fend off a cease-and-desist need from competitor Virginia-based Lawriter, which has been designated every bit the exclusive publisher of Georgia's compilation of the rules together with regulations of its nation agencies. Fastcase argue that the Georgia Regulations are world constabulary published nether statutory mandate together with are inward earth domain: "Defendant cannot claim whatever exclusive correct in, to, or inward connecter with, the Georgia Regulations. Thus, Fastcase seeks declaratory judgment that Lawriter has no reason from which to prohibit Fastcase from publishing the Georgia Regulations inward its subscription legal inquiry service." The instance is inward the US District Court inward the Atlanta Division of the Northern Division of Georgia. 

The New York Times has launched a legal activity against  David Shields, the author of War Is Beautiful, a majority that argues the Times systematically glamorises state of war past times the way that it depicts armed conflicts together with their aftermath. Shields licensed several dozen images for his majority  - but he also included thumbnail versions of some images without clearance, together with the Times claims that these reproductions violate its copyrights. One would think that Shields has a skilful instance that the uses flora "fair use" - non to the lowest degree from the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Bill Graham Archives v. Dorling Kindersley, Ltd., 448 F.3d 605 (2d Cir. 2006) which confrimed that the piece of employment of thumbnail images of Grateful Dead posters inward a java tabular array majority nearly the band was indeed faor piece of employment - but nosotros shall see. In all events its rather skilful publicity for Mr Shield's book.

Whilst the copyright condition of the The Diary of Anne Frank remains a theme of debate inward Europe, amongst the Foundation that controls the copyright contention that an edit past times Anne Frank's virile somebody bring upward together with afterwards translations hateful it is withal protected past times copyright law,  the Diary has been withdrawn from Wikisource inward the US because of the longer term of copyright protection inward that jurisdiction. Anne Frank died inward 1945 which way that the majority moved into earth domain inward the Netherlands together with the balance of Europe on Jan 1, 2016, lxx years after her decease - although the Anne Frank Fonds state that this term should run from the decease of Otto Frank inward 1980. But inward the US, Wikisource, a digital library of gratuitous texts maintained past times the Wikimedia Foundation, accept withdrawn the text. Their legal counsel Jacob Rogers, said the removal was the number of an overreach of U.S. copyright constabulary but believes that they accept no other option than to comply saying “Today, inward an unfortunate instance of the overreach of the United States’ electrical current copyright law, the Wikimedia Foundation removed the Dutch-language text of The Diary of a Young Girl” adding  “We took this activity to comply amongst the United States’ Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), every bit nosotros believe the Diary is withal nether US copyright protection nether the constabulary every bit it is currently written”.  Wikimedia's servers autumn nether the U.S. jurisdiction - together with wikimedia had plainly been informed that the publication of the text would violate US copyright laws.  More on TorrentFreak here.

The IPO's PRC IP Newsletter tells us that the State Administration of Press & Publications, Radio, Film & Television (SAPPRFT) together with the Ministry of Industry together with Information Technology (MIIT) accept jointly announced novel regulatory measures governing online content distribution. The Regulations comprehend the direction of Internet platforms together with ask platforms to register inward companionship to position out content online. The platforms should locomote on records of all uploaded industrial plant for lx days together with volition live dependent patch to annual inspections. The Regulations also include a pre-approval machinery for publication of online games. Meanwhile, the State Council Legislative Affairs Office (SCLAO) has launched a split consultation on Regulations on the Administration of Publication of Digital Material. The deadline for comments on the Regulations is March 10. More here together with here (in Chinese).

And live - an article on ArtsTechnica that's good worth a read: "Embattled copyright lawyer uses DMCA to withdraw article nearly himself". Its all nearly attorney Marc Randazza's battles to delete an online article nearly a dispute betwixt his old employer together with himself and who told Wordpress that the unflattering storey "is non fair use."