©opyBites: Copyright Law Blog

MySpace Installs Music Filters

Cnet News.com:

MySpace may be a favorite site for teenagers, but it's acting more and more like a grownup.

The social-networking site, now owned by News Corp., announced Monday that it is cracking down on users who post copyright music without authorization. It will use database technology from Gracenote to analyze uploaded songs and other material. Unauthorized material will be taken down, and users who repeatedly post such material will be blocked form the site.

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French Publishers Sue Google

Cnet News.com:

The French publishers union, Le Syndicat National de l'Edition (SNE), has joined book publisher Le Martinière Groupe in its copyright suit against Google.

The SNE said in a statement that Google Book Search gives access to multiple extracts of works without authorization and, by doing so, holds in contempt the fundamental rules of the right to intellectual property.

The suit, filed in French court on Oct. 24, is similar to the lawsuit Google faces in the U.S. from the Authors Guild.

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Gnarls Barkley Artists Seek To Establish Ownership Of Songs

The Hollywood Reporter, Esq.:

Popular hip-hop duo Gnarls Barkley has filed suit in federal court in Los Angeles against an Atlanta songwriter who claims he co-authored several of their songs, including the blockbuster hit "Crazy."

In a complaint filed Oct. 17, Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton and Thomas "Cee-Lo" Callaway are asking the U.S. District Court to determine they are the sole songwriters for their copyrighted works, including "Crazy," "Necromancer," "Go-Go Gadget Gospel," "Just a Thought" and "Transformer," all of which are featured on their successful album "St. Elsewhere."

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Boy Scouts Create Copyright-Based Activity Patch

Mercury News:

A Boy Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, etc., etc.

If he's in the Los Angeles area, he also respects copyrights.

Tens of thousands of Boy Scouts here will be able to earn an activity patch for learning about the evils of downloading pirated movies and music.

The patch shows a film reel, a music CD and the international copyright symbol, a ``C'' enclosed in a circle.

The movie industry developed the curriculum as a way of emphasizing the ills of piracy to a generation that has grown up finding free music and video clips on the Internet.

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Lessing on YouTube v. Flickr

Lessig Blog:Prof. Larry Lessig notes what he considers to be a critical distinction arising among new web-based sharing services:

So there’s an important distinction developing among “user generated content” sites — the distinction between sites that permit “true sharing” and those that permit only what I’ll call “fake sharing.”
A “true sharing” site doesn’t try to exercise ultimate control over the content it serves. It permits, in other words, content to move as users choose.
A “fake sharing” site, by contrast, gives you tools to make seem as if there’s sharing, but in fact, all the tools drive traffic and control back to a single site.
In this sense, YouTube is a fake sharing site, while Flickr, (parts of) Google, blip.tv, Revver and EyeSpot are true sharing sites.

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Japanese Rights Society Removes Content From YouTube

Chicago Tribune:

The popular video-sharing site YouTube deleted nearly 30,000 files after a Japanese entertainment group complained of copyright infringement.

The Japan Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers, found 29,549 video clips such as television shows, music videos and movies posted on YouTube's site without permission, an official from the group, Fumiyuki Asakura, said Friday.

The San Mateo, Calif.-based company quickly complied with the request to remove the copyright materials, made on behalf of 23 Japanese TV stations and entertainment companies, Asakura said.

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Lawsuits Against Video-Sharing Websites Begins

FT.com:

Universal Music, the world’s largest record company, has launched the established media industry’s first legal action against user-generated internet sites in the wake of its distribution deal last week with YouTube, the most popular video-sharing website.

In separate lawsuits, Universal alleged that Grouper.com – recently acquired by Sony Pictures Entertainment – and Bolt.com had built up traffic by encouraging users to share music videos from its artists without their permission. In one incident, it claimed a video for the Mariah Carey song “Shake it Off” was viewed more than 50,000 times on Grouper without the company’s permission.

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"Wierd Al" On Illegal Music Sharing

Google Video:

From "Weird Al" Yankovic's new album "Straight Outta Lynwood" comes a new video urging consumers to "Not Download This Song." Video directed and animated by Bill Plympton.

Copyright Lawsuit Against Beyonce Dismissed

Star-Telegram.com:

A federal judge has dismissed a copyright infringement lawsuit a Minneapolis singer-songwriter filed against Beyonce, ruling the songs were "substantially dissimilar."

Jennifer Armour sued the R&B star last year, claiming that the 2003 hit song "Baby Boy," from Beyonce Knowles' Grammy-winning album "Dangerously in Love," took lyrics from her own song, "Got a Little Bit of Love For You."

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Software Pirate Convicted

Cadalyst:

At the end of last week, CAD software developer Autodesk announced that Nathan Peterson, owner and operator of iBackups, was sentenced on September 8 to seven years and three months in federal prison, and required to pay $5.4 million in restitution for selling pirated software. Peterson plead guilty to two counts of criminal copyright infringement for illegally copying and selling software developed legitimately by Autodesk, Adobe, Macromedia and Symantec that was worth approximately $7-20 million. Peterson must also forfeit any assets related to the infringement offenses, as well as any assets traceable to proceeds from the offenses. The sentencing occurred in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

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