3 Count: Demonoid Phenomenon

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1: AP and Mannie Garcia, Photographer at Center of Shepard Fairey Case, Drop Claims Against Each Other

First off today, in an act that will likely simplify the Shepard Fairey case, Mannie Garcia and the Associated Press have dropped their claims against each other, leaving only their respective claims against Fairey himself. Fairey famously used an AP photo, taken by Mannie Garcia, as the basis of his “Hope” poster during the 2008 election. However, Garcia and the AP had sued each other, in addition to Fairey disputing ownership of the image. Fairey argues his use of the image was a fair use though recently avoided sanctions for providing false evidence in the case.

2: Welcome to the Dollhouse: Bratz-Barbie Fight Takes Nasty New Turn

Next up today, the MGA/Mattel case over the Bratz doll line has taken a new twist. MGA, the makers of Bratz, were sued by Mattel, which claimed that the original designer for the doll line was working for them when he created them and that the dolls were Mattel’s property. The lower court agreed but the Appeals Court reversed the judgement and now MGA has filed a counter-suit accusing Mattel of corporate espionage, largely by faking credentials to gain access to private showings of MGA future products. According to MGA the reason this is coming about now is due to information gleaned from a deposition related to the Bratz case, potentially opening up a new dispute between the two companies.

3: GGF Plans To Buy and Legalize Demonoid

Finally today, Global Gaming Factory, headed by Hans Pandeya, has announced its intention to buy the bittorrent tracker Demonoid and attempt to legitimize it. Pandeya is best known for his two attempts to buy The Pirate Bay, neither of which went through, but Pandeya has expressed hope that this time it will work and said that now he has the funds in place to make the buyout work. Other torrent sites are being considered but Demonoid is the primary target at this time.

Suggestions

That’s it for the three count today. We will be back tomorrow with three more copyright links. If you have a link that you want to suggest a link for the column or have any proposals to make it better. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. I hope to hear from you.

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