GTA V Copyright Infringer Agrees to Settlement<\/strong><\/h3>\nRockstar Games, the developers of popular video game GTA V, has won a consent decree against a cheat code developer for copyright infringement. The cheat \u2018Infamous\u2019, which was developed by Erik Cameron, allowed people to use it in the game to advance ahead, causing losses to the developers. This judgement comes in the wake of various other recent cases against cheat code developers, for actions amounting to copyright infringement and breach of contract. \u00a0Erik Cameron has admitted to the charges and has agreed to pay up the damages, which so far remain undisclosed. He has also agreed to a prohibition on developing or promoting any code that alters software of Take Two (GTA\u2019s parent company). This order marks the end of two US lawsuits related to the \u2018Infamous\u2019 cheat. An Australian case against\u00a0another alleged developer\u00a0of the same software is still ongoing.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nMarc Jacobs Requests Dismissal of Nirvana\u2019s Smiley Face Logo Lawsuit<\/strong><\/h3>\nFashion brand Marc Jacobs has responded to the lawsuit filed by members of the famous American band Nirvana for copyright infringement. The suit was filed by current members of the band along with Nirvana L.L.C. to stop Marc Jacobs\u2019 use of the band\u2019s logo on its latest clothing collection named \u2018Redux Grunge\u2019. The band and its representatives argued that the use of the copyrighted image on their clothing was intended to wrongly associate the likeness of grunge founders Nirvana with the clothing collection, to make their campaign more authentic.
\nMarc Jacobs has retaliated, seeking dismissal of the suit on three grounds. Firstly, it claims that Kurt Cobain was the original creator of this logo and therefore it remains unclear as to how and when he has transferred his rights to Nirvana L.L.C. Their second claim concerns the different dates and aspects of Nirvana\u2019s original copyright claims, resulting in discrepancies that it believes make the claims invalid. Lastly, the lawyers allege that there is no extrinsic similarity in the logo except for the spherical shape used for the face along with the squiggly line showcasing the mouth with the tongue sticking out. Additionally, Marc Jacobs has commented that Ms. Courtney Love and Ms. Frances Bean, Kurt Cobain\u2019s former wife and daughter respectively, have no objection to the said collection and are in full support of it. \u00a0Nirvana L.L.C seeks monetary damages, a prohibition on the sale of any of the allegedly infringing items, as well as the removal of any Nirvana references from Jacobs\u2019 promotional materials.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nVidAngel Liable for Wilful Copyright Infringement <\/strong><\/h3>\nMovie filtering service VidAngel has been ruled to have infringed works of Disney, Warner Bros., 20th<\/sup> Century Fox and LucasFilms. The service, which was started in 2013, spent over USD 2 million in 2015 purchasing DVDs and Blu-Rays of motion pictures. Through this service, users could purchase a copy of the movie from VidAngel and apply filters to rid the film of violence, sex, profanity and other objectionable content to make the movie more \u2018family friendly\u2019. Users would then return the copy of the movie and pay VidAngel a dollar or two for the service. The company was first sued in 2016 by Warner Bros., Disney, Lucas Film and 20th Century Fox for reportedly violating copyrights. The studios have claimed, in part, that VidAngel\u2019s digital copies of the film weren\u2019t authorized, and that VidAngel released the videos even before they became available on licensed streaming services. VidAngel then proceeded to sue the movie houses claiming that its services were lawful although several courts had already ruled against the filtering service. Disney is asking that VidAngel be found liable for wilful infringement in the upcoming jury trial. VidAngel claims that the infringement was committed innocently, under the belief that the laws protected VidAngel.<\/p>\nArtists Temporarily Drop \u2018Fortnite\u2019 Suits after SCOTUS Ruling<\/strong><\/h3>\nThe latest ruling by the US Supreme Court requires artists to register their work with the US Copyright Office before they can initiate any suit for copyright infringement.\u00a0 In lieu of this, several artists have dropped charges against Epic Games\u2019 \u2018Fortnite\u2019 which replicates their dance moves in the video game. The cases that were filed by Alfonso Ribeiro, 2 Milly, the \u2018Orange Shirt Kid,\u2019 and \u2018The Backpack Kid\u2019\u00a0have been temporarily withdrawn in order to have the dance moves registered with the copyright office first. Once the moves are registered, the artists can then proceed to file for copyright infringement, even if the offense has occurred prior to said registration. Earlier this year, Alfonso Ribeiro\u2019s suit against Epic Games and Take-Two Interactive was dismissed by the court because the said dance move did not constitute a \u2018work of choreography\u2019 and therefore could not be protected under the law. Now the challenge that lies ahead for these artists is to provide sufficient proof that their dance choreography is more than just a combination of simple dance moves in order to obtain registration for the same.<\/p>\n