3 Count: ACTAing Out

Jonathan BaileyFebruary 13, 2012

2 minutes read

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1: Acta protests: Thousands take to streets across Europe

First off today, Saturday marked a day of widespread protests across Europe against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The treaty, which was signed by some 22 nations and the European Union, has been the subject of controversy in Europe both for the secret nature in which it was negotiated and due to fear it could bring draconian restrictions to the Web. The treaty is designed to harmonize enforcement of copyright and related intellectual property rights. The treaty has already been signed and implemented in the U.S. as an executive order, meaning it makes no change to U.S. law, something that the British government claims is true for their nation as well.

2: EFF Defends $54,000 Award Against Music Sharer

Next up today, the EFF along with the Internet Archive, the Association of Research Libraries, the Association of College and Research Libraries, the American Library Association, and Public Knowledge have filed a friend of the court brief in the case of Jammie Thomas asking the Appeals Court to uplhold the most recent $54,000 judgment against her. Thomas was sued by the RIAA for allegedly sharing songs via file sharing networks. The labels previously won judgments as high as $1.92 million against her but the judge has reduced those judgments to $54,000 every time, prompting this appeal. The EFF is also asking the court to overturn the record labels’ contention that making a song available on a file sharing network is the same as distribution, seeking lower damages for mere infringement.

3: Entertainment Lawyers Go Wild for ‘Secondary’ Copyright Lawsuits

Finally today, at a charity luncheon for the Entertainment Law Initiative, which was raising money for the Grammy Foundation, there was a thunderous applause from the audience, mostly comprised of attorneys, over a paper regarding Android applications the promote piracy wondering why no lawsuits had been filed against Google for secondary liability. Though most of the other papers admitted only received scattered applause, that one seemed to whip the crowd into a frenzy, indicating the possibility that industry lawyers are considering such a tactic in the near future.

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.