Rights

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton will release his controversial memoir later this week but it’s already circulating on various pirate sites. The leaks appeared shortly after the US failed to have the book banned by the courts. Publisher Simon and Schuster are happy with this decision but now has its hands full sending takedown requests to stop tens of thousands of people from accessing it illegally.

Source: Leak of John Bolton’s Controversial Book Triggers ‘Unstoppable’ Piracy Frenzy * TorrentFreak

ISP Charter Communications is accusing several major record labels of having violated the Colorado Consumer Privacy Act. The music companies allegedly sent copyright infringement notices for tracks they didn’t own the rights to, resulting in false accusations against subscribers. While the record labels don’t deny that mistakes were made, they argue that Charter’s claims don’t hold up in court.

Source: Record Labels Deny That Piracy Notices Were ‘Deceptive and Fraudulent’ Threats * TorrentFreak

The value of the broadcast rights for Germany’s top league, the first major European soccer deal agreed upon since the health crisis, fell amid concerns about the lasting damage to the global economy. The sale, which covers four years, starting with the 2021-22 season, generated less than the record 4.6 billion euros ($5.1 billion) the Bundesliga earned under its current agreements.

Source: Bundesliga TV Rights Deal Suggests a Softening Market

The 93-artist consortium will provide perspective and advisory input, as well as support for the awareness of key issues that face content creators today. Those named include Jason Isbell, Bette Midler, Cassandra Wilson, Duke Fakir, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, T Bone Burnett, Sheryl Crow, Keb’ Mo’, Steve Earle, and Joan Osborne.

Source: Artists create Music Council for Digital Millennium Copyright Act reform | The Music Universe

 If live streaming is temporarily going to replace the $12 billion dollar touring industry, then a great deal of revenue will be lost to music creators if these platforms fail to license properly. And we have only scratched the surface of where these virtual concert platforms can and will go.oadcasts and ensure songwriters are receiving the royalties they deserve.

Source: Boom in Live Streams Brings Questions About Proper Licensing & Payment of Songwriters (Guest Column)

The Internet Archive says it will close its National Emergency Library two weeks early, in part because it is able to serve users in other ways. At the same time, founder Brewster Kahle is calling for several major publishers to withdraw the copyright infringement lawsuit filed against the Internet Archive earlier this month.

Source: Internet Archive Calls For End to Publishers’ Lawsuit, Announces Early Closure of Emergency Library * TorrentFreak

Silicon Valley company Hurricane Electric offers Internet backbone access to many large organizations as well as the US Government. The company sees itself as a neutral network provider but a group of movie studios is accusing the Internet provider of facilitating piracy. To get rid of these “ridiculous” claims, Hurricane Electric is suing the movie outfits, requesting a declaratory judgment of non-infringement from federal courts.

Source: Internet Backbone Provider Hurricane Electric Sues Movie Companies Over ‘Ridiculous’ Piracy Allegations * TorrentFreak

What’s really going on at the Amazon-owned platform has to do with the coronavirus pandemic, the music industry’s history of cracking down on infringing online platforms as they grow to a certain scale and a discussion brewing in Congress about amending copyright law.

Source: Twitch Users Are Getting Takedown Notices En Masse for the First Time: Here’s Why

The MLB’s agreement with the WarnerMedia network will commence in 2022 and pay the league $470 million per year, up from $325 million. Turner Sports didn’t receive any extra content, instead retained its rights to one championship series, the divisional rounds and one national game per week.

Source: Major League Baseball’s new media rights deal with Turner Sports worth over $3 billion

Google has countersued Sonos for patent infringement, following Sonos originally filing a patent lawsuit against Google in January. The lawsuit alleges that Sonos is infringing five Google patents covering mesh networking, echo cancellation, DRM, content notifications, and personalized search.

Source: Google countersues Sonos for patent infringement