Rights

The European Commission is working on a guidance document for member states, clarifying how Article 17 of the new Copyright Directive should be implemented. The proposal has reinvigorated the ‘upload filter’ debate. According to copyright groups, the EU is watering down the earlier agreement by suggesting the “likely legitimate” content should not be immediately removed. At the same time, upload filter opponents are calling for more human reviews.

Source: EU’s Article 17 Consultation Reinvigorates ‘Upload Filter’ Debate * TorrentFreak

Embedding copyright works in a webpage from other websites using inline linking requires permission from the rightsholder, EU Advocate General Szpunar has advised the EU Court of Justice. However, when content is embedded using the framing technique, authorization is not needed, even when that circumvents technological measures imposed by rightsholders.

Source: EU Advocate General: Inline Content Embedding Requires Copyright Holder Permission * TorrentFreak

Facebook has entered a series of new music licensing deals with labels and publishers for its Facebook Gaming platform, letting livestreamers who play video games for the platform’s community of 200 million monthly viewers legally add songs from a vast catalogue of popular music to their videos. The deals give Facebook Gaming an edge over Twitch, which has yet to reach major-label music licensing agreements.

Source: Facebook Strikes Deals With Major Labels to License Music On Its Gaming App

Sony Music has agreed to pay $12.7 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought against it by the estate of 1950s and ’60s pop star Rick Nelson over deductions on foreign streaming royalties, according to a new settlement agreement filed on Sept. 4.

Source: Sony Music Reaches $12.7M Settlement in Challenge to Decades-Old Contracts, Royalty Methods

The latest IP Crime and Enforcement Report, published by the UK Government, signals a wide variety of ongoing and emerging piracy threats. Pirate IPTV services remain a growing problem that could become worse with the rollout of 5G, it reads. There are also concerns about the use of cryptocurrencies and the growth of stream-rippers.

Source: Stream-Rippers, IPTV and Cryptocurrency Flagged as Growing Piracy Threats * TorrentFreak

SmugMug and Pixsy recently announced a strategic partnership to provide their growing community of photographers with all the assistance they need in finding where and how their images are being used online. With this new partnership, SmugMug members will be able to utilize all the different tools Pixsy has to offer to monitor photos, prevent and fight against unlicensed use and copyright infringement.

Source: SmugMug and Pixsy Partner to Protect the Rights of Photographers – IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Patent Law

Google has stated that while it does not object to there being a news media bargaining code, it disagrees with the one that has been proposed. “Just to be clear — Google does not object to the idea of an Australian Code to oversee relationships between news businesses and digital platform,” it said in its latest blog post published on Monday.

Source: Google says it supports Australian media and not to blame for newspaper classifieds decline | ZDNet

With Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, saying that she would be appointing a new Register by the end of summer, and the application period having been closed for almost two months, the appointment of a new Register seems to be imminent.

Source: With Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, saying that she would be appointing a new Register by the end of summer, and the application period having been closed for almost two months, the appointment of a new Register seems to be imminent.

The amount of new material illegally shared on pirate websites has fallen sharply after three alleged members of a group called Sparks were charged with copyright-infringement conspiracy. Sparks is a “release group” that allegedly acquires films, music and other digital material before their official release and puts them online.

Source: ‘Dramatic’ decline in pirated films after arrests

In a filing last week, the parties outlined a litany of issues that will be part of the discovery process, suggesting a potentially sensitive and complex litigation lies ahead. The filing notes that the parties “did not agree to any limitations on the number of interrogatories, requests for production, or requests for admission that may be served.”

Source: Publishers, Internet Archive Propose Yearlong Discovery Plan for Copyright Case