3 Count: USCO vs. FCC

It's an epic not throw-down of letter writing...

3 Count LogoHave any suggestions for the 3 Count? Let me know via Twitter @plagiarismtoday.

1: U.S. Copyright Office Criticizes FCC’s Plan on Set-Top Boxes

First off today, John D McKinnon at the Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) has criticized a plan by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that would require cable and satellite providers to allow third parties to build and sell set-top boxes for TVs.

The criticism came in the form of a letter sent to key lawmakers yesterday. It specifically said that the plan, as written, would violate the right of content creators to negotiate and secure deals with pay TV providers. The USCO went on to say that the proposal would “violate and degrade existing copyright law.”

The FCC is already in negotiations with pay TV providers about alternative solutions. The plan has seen approval from consumer advocacy groups as well as the Obama administration. However, cable and satellite providers have protested the proposal saying that it would interfere with their existing contracts and deals, lawmakers have also been skeptical.

2: Atlantic Attempting to Force Reddit to Reveal Identity of Twenty One Pilots Leaker

Next up today, Andy Malt at Complete Music Update reports that Atlantic Records has filed a subpoena in a New York court to try and compel Reddit to provide the identity of the suspected leaker of the track Heathens by the band Twenty One Pilots. 

The song, which is part of the Suicide Squad soundtrack, was posted onto Reddit well before the scheduled release. Though Atlantic tried to slow the leak with takedown notices it was unsuccessful and, eventually, decided to release the album a week early, sacrificing planned promotional efforts.

Atlantic says that they believe the leak either came from an Atlantic employee or a friend/relative of an employee. As such, they are trying to determine who may have breached their contract by sharing the track and hope to locate the source of the copyright infringement.

3: Are Piracy Kill Switches in Operating Systems the Key to Stopping Illegal Downloads

Finally today, Matthew Dunn at News.com.au reports that a paper published by Black Market Watch and the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime calls on operating system manufacturers, including Google, Microsoft and Apple, to work in anti-piracy systems to prevent the downloading and playing of illegal content.

According to the report, “producers of operating systems should be encouraged, or regulated… to block downloads of copyright infringing material.” The authors claim that this would have a much greater impact on piracy than efforts online.

The report is similar to a rumor that swirled around the launch of Windows 10 that it would disable counterfeit games. That rumor turned out to be untrue, but many expressed outrage at the idea that an operating system would take any action to block pirated content.

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.

The 3 Count Logo was created by Justin Goff and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

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