The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has released a new study which suggests that piracy is dropping in Europe. While the research is limited to site-based piracy, it has some interesting findings. Countries with a lower average income per person visit pirate sites more often, for example. In addition, the study shows that awareness of legal options doesn’t always decrease piracy.
Source: EU Study Shows Online Piracy is Complex and Not Easy to Grasp – TorrentFreak
The American Law Institute has been working on a restatement of copyright for several years, but controversy around it re-emerged this week with a letter to its director co-signed by five US politicians: senator Thom Tillis and representatives Ben Cline, Martha Roby, Theodore Deutch and Harley Rouda. They claimed that two sections of the proposed restatement were recently approved by the ALI’s council, and if now approved by its membership “will be made publicly available and may then be cited by federal courts”.
Source: Row over ALI ‘Restatement of Copyright’ rumbles on in the US – Music Ally
Ever since the “Blurred Lines” verdict in 2015, artists have been fearful of getting hit with a frivolous infringement suit. In that case, a jury found that Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke had stolen elements of Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up,” and Gaye’s family was awarded more than $5 million in damages.
Source: Bright Lines: Musicologists Police the Boundaries of Copyright Law
Media center app maker Plex officially launched its ad-supported video service Wednesday in more than 200 countries and territories, making it the first ad-supported video service with a nearly global reach. Getting the rights to launch in so many countries was key to bringing ad-supported video to Plex, said CEO Keith Valory in a recent interview with Variety.
Source: Plex Launches Free, Ad-Supported Video Service in 200-Plus Countries, Territories
On Feb. 2, the NFL will showcase Super Bowl LIV in Miami. But those looking for an even more ferocious competition may look past the big game to something that’s coming just a few days later. On Feb. 7, the NFL is set to file a high-stakes petition to the U.S. Supreme Court with major implications for the television industry.
A coalition of international law enforcement agencies, including Europol, has announced its annual round of domain name seizures. Over 30,000 domain names were taken over this year, including some that were dedicated to online piracy. While these figures are impressive, no major pirate sites are missing in action.
Source: Europol Seizes Over 30,000 Copyright Infringing Domains, But Which Ones? – TorrentFreak
The Canadian Artists’ Representation/Le Front des artistes canadiens (CARFAC) and Access Copyright are developing a blockchain system where artists can register their work and protect it from copyright infringement. The blockchain will assist in the tracing and tracking of visual works, but has the potential to do even more — like link to royalty payment services.
Source: Stakeholders consider potential for blockchain ledger as it nears completion – iPolitics
China’s internet courts are stepping up their use of blockchain to protect writers and creative content creators. This has mainly been beneficial to authors who publish their works online and have faced problems in safeguarding their legal rights owing to the difficulty in collecting evidence.
Source: China using blockchain evidence for copyright infringement – Ledger Insights
The country’s largest educational publishers have filed a lawsuit seeking to stop pirate sites from illegally selling their e-books and have won a temporary restraining order. According to the lawsuit filed in the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the pirate sites are selling unlicensed e-books using Google ads which they place in response to searches for the publishers’ legitimate content.
Source: Educational Publishers File Suit to Block Sale of Pirated E-books
A group of major music publishing companies doesn’t want 23 copyright law professors to be heard in a piracy case. The scholars submitted a brief in the ongoing piracy liability lawsuit against ISP Charter, warning that a recent recommendation could harm both ISPs and consumers. However, the music groups suggest that not all profs are completely neutral.
Source: Music Companies Don’t Want Copyright Profs to Be Heard in Piracy Case – TorrentFreak