3 Count: Forum Shopping

Not that kind of forum!

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1: MPAA Studios Taking on Large-Scale Piracy Ring in New York Court

First off today, Ashley Cullins at The Hollywood Reporter Esquire reports that a February lawsuit filed by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has been unsealed, revealing their successful effort to shutter what they consider to be a large piracy ring.

In the lawsuit, the MPAA targeted the alleged operators of the PubFilm/PidTV piracy ring. According to the MPAA, the sites operated by the groups had more than 8 million visitors per month. They were successful in getting a retraining order against the the sites, which ordered their domain registrars to shutter the sites and prevent transfer of the domain.

The defendants said they had no issue with the lawsuit being unsealed, in large part due to reports in Torrentfreak that they were already advertising a new website to replace PubFilm after its closure.

2: Sony: Sorry Paul, You Can’t Get Back the Beatles Songs You Once Belonged

Next up today, Reuters is reporting that Sony/ATV has hit back at Paul McCartney’s attempt to reclaim copyright in many of The Beatles best-known songs, saying that the McCartney is engaging in “forum shopping” and needs to wait for a similar lawsuit in the UK to unfold.

Copyright reversion is a process through which creators can reclaim the rights to their creations decades after they either licensed or sold the rights. However, McCartney’s original contract was in the UK and the band Duran Duran is fighting a similar battle there over U.S. copyright reversion, with Duran Duran losing the first round.

According to Sony/ATV, McCartney, by filing for copyright reversion in the U.S., McCartney is trying to breach his UK contract. McCartney, on the other hand, is asking the court to rule it would not be a breach of contract. Sony/ATV has responded by asking the court to dismiss the case without prejudice until after the Duran Duran appeal goes through and UK courts determine if the bad can legally file for copyright reversion in the United States.

3: MormonLeaks Goes To Battle With Mormon Church Over Leaked ‘Enemy List’

Finally today, Jennings Brown at Gizmodo Australia reports that the website MormonLeaks has responded to a legal threat from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints saying the the leaked “enemies list” does not qualify for copyright protection and the takedown of it at the hands of the LDS Church was improper.

MormonLeaks had perviously posted the document on a third-party document sharing site. It outlined various influences and items that could sway members away from the faith. This was met with a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice that ordered its removal. It was the first time the LDS Church had responded to any of MormonLeaks activities.

The story is made all the more interesting by the involvement of former copyright troll attorney Marc Randazza, who is representing MormonLeaks. Randazza has recently made a name for himself in first amendment cases. He penned a response to the LDS Church saying that he and his clients feel the document is not protectable under copyright and that they will continue their activities.

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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