Rights

Copyright trolls can turn to EU rules to demand compensation for infringed works on peer-to-peer networks but only if their requests are proportionate, Europe’s top court said on Thursday. Claims by so-called copyright trolls have been rising as more individuals and companies aggressively pursue compensation for infringement of their rights.

Source: Demands of copyright trolls must be reasonable, EU’s top court rules

Microsoft let streamers know ahead of its big showcase on Sunday that co-streaming is encouraged. It obtained all the re-transmission rights to the music featured in its trailers for up to twelve months, giving streamers ample time to hype the games with their audiences before the VODs need to be removed. Nintendo took the opposite approach, discouraging Twitch streamers from co-streaming the event entirely.

Source: Nintendo Warns Twitch Streamers – ‘Don’t Co-Stream E3 Showcase’

So far, no NFT platforms have ventured into internationally compliant territory for the copyright of art that an NFT sale represents. Doing so would be a tremendous leap for the NFT ecosystem. In addition to minimizing fraud through stronger copyright enforcement, international compliance would allow for tokenized copyright exchange within the blockchain itself.

Source: No, NFTs aren’t copyrights

The three-judge Copyright Royalty Board just recently outlined its decision on webcasting royalty rates. This updated rate – $0.0026 per performance for commercial-webcast subscription services and $0.0021 per performance for non-subscription commercial webcasters – will remain in place from January 1st, 2021, until December 31st, 2025, except for annual cost-of-living adjustments.

Source: Copyright Royalty Board Reveals Increased Webcasting Royalty Rates

To avoid any music streaming snafus during its E3 showcase, Microsoft acquired the re-transmission rights to all songs in its E3 showcase. Many gamers like to hold E3 watch parties on their Twitch channels, re-broadcasting the show for their audience to watch.

Source: Microsoft Secures Streaming Rights to Licensed Music in E3 Showcase

The long-delayed EC guidance, published June 4, is designed to support the 27 EU member countries’ adoption of the copyright directive into national law. The guidance relates to Article 17 of the directive and enshrines the core wins it delivers for the music business. But the document also introduces exceptions that music execs say streaming platforms could use to try and avoid liability for hosting unlicensed content — potentially replacing one safe harbor with another.

Source: European Commission Guidance Muddies the Waters for EU Copyright Directive

Out of the 27 Member States, only The Netherlands, Hungary and very recently Germany have fully adopted the Directive; France has adopted some of the provisions and some additional legislative steps for the remaining ones; Italy has also gone through some legislative steps and a Government Decree is underway; Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Luxembourg and Romania have issued draft laws; and the other fifteen Member States have only made a timid start through for instance a public consultation.

Source: A missed deadline: the state of play of the Copyright Directive | Europeana Pro

Whether it’s filmed under contract or created DIY-style, like a cam show, porn that is altered and shared without the consent of the performers is an affront materially as well as morally. Deepfakes can be difficult to defeat from a defamation angle, so perhaps a more effective remedy would be to take porn seriously as a part of the digital economy and crack down on deepfaking as copyright infringement.

Source: The Double Exploitation of Deepfake Porn | The Walrus

Video gaming platform Roblox has responded to being hit with a $200 million-plus copyright infringement lawsuit from music publishers, noting its “surprise and disappointment,” at being sued. As a platform powered by a community of creators, we are passionate about protecting intellectual property rights – from independent artists and songwriters, to music labels and publishers – and require all Roblox community members to abide by our Community Rules.

Source: Roblox says $200m+ copyright lawsuit is based on a ‘fundamental misunderstanding’. Music publishers disagree.

Games platform Roblox has enjoyed plenty of positive headlines for its push into music in partnership with labels and artists, but now the company is facing a battle with music publishers over licensing. Yesterday, the US National Music Publishers Association sued Roblox on behalf of a group of publishers, seeking at least $200m in damages for “Roblox’s unabashed exploitation of music without proper licences”.

Source: NMPA sues Roblox in $200m copyright infringement lawsuit – Music Ally