The Copykat

A U.S. District Court gauge has over again looked at a illustration brought past times 3 publishers against Georgia State University's e-reserve together with ruled that, inwards 41 of 48 cases, no copyright infringement took place. The 220 page ruling applies the four-part fair-use examination that the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal directed Judge Evans to utilization to each on each of the 48 cases - together with inwards item to await at (i) the role together with grapheme of the utilization — which volition favour fair utilization when that role is non-profit together with educational, and (iv) the potential deport on of the utilization on the marketplace for or value of the original. But the illustration is seen past times copyright experts every mo a complicated determination that won't move of much aid to universities inwards determining fair use. Excellent comment past times Kevin Smith JD on the More here (in Chinese).

Also inwards mainland People's Republic of China the UK's always useful IPO mainland People's Republic of China IP newsletter tells us that Deputy Chief Judge of the Supreme People’s Court Tao Kaiyuan has called for the institution of i single, specialist IP appeals courtroom to necessitate heed cases from across the country. Currently appeals are heard inwards provincial-level High People’s Courts. And Shanghai Vice-Mayor Zhao Wen  has over again called for the unification of patents, designs, merchandise marks together with copyright into i Ministry-level department.

DMCA's Notice And Takedown Procedure Is Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 Total Mess, And It's Mainly Because Of Bogus Automated Takedowns. 

Canadian-based Cirque du Soleil is suing American popular superstar Justin Timberlake, alleging that his hitting vocal "Don't Hold the Wall" illegally borrows from i of the troupe's master copy musical compositions. A 10-page electrical load filed inwards New York alleges that Timberlake illegally used parts of the vocal "Steel Dream," taken from Cirque du Soleil's 1997 album "Quidam." More here.

TorrentFreak reports that anti-piracy outfit Rightscorp says that it's working on a novel method to "extract cash settlements from suspected Internet pirates". The companionship says novel applied scientific discipline volition lock users' browsers together with forestall Internet access until they pay a fine. To encourage ISPs to play along, TorrentFreak rather sarcastically points out that Rightscorp says the organization could aid to bound liability for copyright infringement.

Sweden’s supreme Court has held Wikimedia  guilty of violating copyright laws past times providing costless access to its database of photographs of artwork - without the artists’ consent. Wikimedia, role of the not-for-profit foundation which oversees Wikipedia, had a database of royalty-free photographs that could move used past times the public, for educational purposes or the tourism industry. The Visual Copyright Society inwards Sweden (BUS), which represents painters, photographers, illustrators together with designers amid others, likewise legal activity against Wikimedia Sweden for making photographs of their artwork displayed inwards world places available inwards its database, without their consent. The photographs were truly portraits of industrial plant of art. Whilst the courtroom acknowledged that members of the public were permitted to photograph artwork on display inwards world spaces, it was “an solely dissimilar matter” to brand the photographs available inwards a database for costless together with unlimited use: “Such a database tin give the sack move assumed to receive got a commercial value that is non insignificant. The courtroom finds that the artists are entitled to that value” together with said "It is non relevant whether or non Wikimedia has a commercial aim.”  Damages volition move prepare at a afterward date. More on the Local here. Image of 'Poundland Jubilee Flag Maker' (2012) past times Banksy past times Duncan Hull. 

And finally, together with over again from TorrentFreak - an interesting await at the activities of a London companionship called Hatton together with Berkeley - whose website you lot tin give the sack encounter here and which features a motion painting of Robert Croucher (Hatton & Berkeley, described every mo "Managing Director of Hatton & Berkeley, Pro-Copyright advocate, Executive Producer together with Film Financier") with  Patrick Achache, "the talented immature tech entrepreneur who turned his paw to developing software that tackles digital piracy for the cinema together with TV industries". The UK's Intellectual Property Office has straightaway issued guidance on how copyright trolls operate together with how people should handgrip them.  More here.