A lawsuit accusing YouTube of operating a two-tier copyright enforcement system is seen by some as a beacon of hope for smaller artists. YouTube’s failure to have the case dismissed was recently publicized in entertainment media, but few outlets addressed the allegations of fraud that have dogged the case from the start. Google’s latest filing offers a comprehensive reminder.
Source: YouTube Fires Back in Content ID Lawsuit Haunted By Fraud Allegations * TorrentFreak
The lawsuits are piling up for Pandora, which has been accused by comedians, including Lewis Black and Andrew Dice Clay, of streaming their works without the proper license. Now, George Lopez is joining the fray, seeking $5.5 million from the streamer. Lopez filed suit on Tuesday, claiming that Pandora streamed two of his comedy albums, Right Now Right Now and Team Leader, without paying him royalties or obtaining the proper licenses from him.
Source: George Lopez is the latest comedian to sue Pandora for unpaid royalties
Crypto merchant bank Galaxy Digital has studied the current NFT market and concluded that Web3’s promise of digital ownership and property rights “remains far off.” Galaxy Digital reviewed licenses for top NFT collections such as Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and CryptoPunks for its latest report, “A Survey of NFT Licenses: Facts & Fictions.” The report found that the vast majority of top collections convey zero intellectual property ownership of their underlying artwork or media.
Source: Web3’s Promise of NFT Intellectual Property Rights ‘Far Off,’ Says Galaxy
Pandora owner SiriusXM is compelling comedians to waive their ‘rights to all underlying comedy routines’ amid a broader royalties dispute. DMN was forwarded a letter signed by longtime SiriusXM EVP and general counsel Patrick Donnelly; the message is presumably addressed to one of the comedians whose works the company is looking to license without facing composition-related liability down the line.
Source: SiriusXM Pushes Comics to Waive Royalties Amid Legal Battle
While early NFTs had functionality for buying/selling in their token contracts, this was not included in the adopted ERC-721 token standard, the compatibility standard all NFTs are built from today. Because of that, a seller who does not want to pay the royalty fee can simply sell the token on another marketplace that doesn’t participate in royalties, completely defeating the purpose of minting the work as an NFT for the royalty payments.
Under the terms of the partnership, Cosynd will provide A2IM’s community of over 700 record labels and publishers the ability to automate copyright agreements and easily register those copyrights with the U.S. Copyright Office. These protections will benefit all of A2IM’s members’ content assets, such as sound recordings, compositions, lyrics, videos, imagery, literature, and more, at discounted rates.
Source: A2IM Partners with Cosynd to Make Copyright Protection a Priority
The US government backed a finding that an Andy Warhol print used on a magazine cover infringed a photo of Prince, as friend-of-the-court briefs continued to pour into the US Supreme Court on Monday. The brief from the US solicitor general and US Copyright Office criticized the Warhol Foundation’s argument that the print was fair use because the colorized version added new meaning to Lynn Goldsmith’s photo.
Source: Prince Photographer Gets DOJ Backing in Warhol High Court Case
The Rome Court of Appeal has confirmed that American streaming platform Vimeo must pay €8.5 million in copyright infringement damages to Italian broadcast giant Mediaset. The verdict centers around roughly 2,000 infringing videos that were uploaded to the platform. The Court affirms that Vimeo plays an “active role” and can’t hide behind a safe harbor defense.
Source: €8.5m Copyright Infringement Verdict Against Vimeo Stands on Appeal * TorrentFreak
Walmart reached a deal with Paramount Global to include the Paramount+ streaming service as part of the retailing giant’s Walmart+ membership program starting in September. The Paramount+ Essential plan, which includes ads, will be available for no extra cost to Walmart+ members. In the U.S., Paramount+ Essential is regularly $4.99/month.
Source: Paramount+ to Be Bundled With Walmart+ Membership Program
Broadcast Music Inc., which represents the rights of thousands of songwriters, including Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith and Rihanna, is no longer on the market. A sale “is no longer an avenue we are considering,” the company said in a statement Friday, adding “we’ve been clear from the start that as we explored strategic opportunities for BMI, we were going to evaluate all options that would support our affiliates and grow the value of their music.”
Source: Music Rights Giant BMI Cancels Plan for Billion-Dollar Sale