3 Count: Mobile Kardashians

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1: Kardashian Video Game Called a Knockoff

First off today, Elizabeth Warmerdam at Courthouse News Service Entertainment Law Digest reports that video game developers Kung Fu Factory, formerly known as Just Games, has filed a lawsuit against competitor Glu Mobile and Kristen Jenner over the mobile video game Kim Kardashian Hollywood, which Kung Fu Factory claims was ripped off from their work.

According to Kung Fu Factory, they are accomplished mobile game developers and were approached by the Kardashians that they were interested in creating a social or mobile video game project. Kung Fu Factory then claims it drafted a proposal for the game and even developed several 2D art pieces for a presentation it gave on its vision for the project.

However, the relationship fell through and the family went to Glu Mobile, who ended up developing the game instead. However, according to Kung Fu Factory, the game they developed uses copyright protected elements from their proposal and, as such, they are seeking at least $10 million in damages for copyright infringement and breach of implied contract.

2: Three 6 Mafia Stars Settle Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

Next up today, Contact Music reports that rappers Juicy J And Dj Paul have settled a lawsuit filed by Reggie Boyland, the head of Bank Bag Publishing, over the alleged illegal sampling of tracks owned by Boyland.

According to the lawsuit, the rap duo used two tracks recorded by 8Ball & MJG on two separate studio albums they produced. However, though Boyland filed for copyright registration on the tracks in 2014, it was disputed whether or not he owned the rights to the songs.

The defendants had filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on those ownership grounds but now the case has been voluntarily dismissed after it was announced that an undisclosed settlement has been reached.

3: Court Punts Salinger Copyright Case to New Hampshire

Finally today, Andrew Albanese at Publishers Weekly reports that a judge has moved a case over three early J.D. Salinger short stories from Tennessee to New Hampshire, keeping the case alive but still facing serious challenges.

The Devault-Graves Agency filed suit against the Salinger Literary Trust accusing it of “tortiously interfering” with the agency’s attempts to license three early Salinger short stories abroad. The stories are in the public domain in the U.S. and, according to the agency, the Berne Convention allows them to sell the works abroad since the copyright term can not exceed the term of the country of origin.

While the trust admits the stories are in the public domain, it says that there are exceptions and that a recent ruling in Germany on the three stories found that foreign protection is still possible. However, the issue at hand today is jurisdiction with the court ruling that it was not in the interest of fairness to keep the case in Tennessee, instead moving it to New Hampshire, where Salinger’s heir resides.

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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