Google wins against Oracle\u2019s Code Theft Claim, Musician sues Rockstar Games for Copyright infringement, COPA sues Craig Wright over Bitcoin Copyright claim, Youtube introduces \u2018Checks\u2019 for Copyright violations, Marshmello wins \u2018Happier\u2019 Copyright case against ARTY and Sky wins Copyright infringement claim against show Pirater.<\/p>\n
The US Supreme Court decided in favor of Google in a case filed by Oracle. The complaint filed by Oracle accused Google of copying their software code used to make apps. The code was written in Java, a software programming language owned by Oracle and used by Google to create the Android Operating System.<\/p>\n
Google contested that such copying was a standard practice in the industry while Oracle accused Google of theft. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Google, holding that Google\u2019s copying fell under \u2018the Fair Use\u2019 exception, which allows copying another\u2019s work without authorization if some conditions are met.<\/p>\n
Rockstar Games, a video game publisher, was sued by Shawn Lee, a musician and Ubiquity Records for copyright infringement of a melody. They alleged that Shawn\u2019s melody was used in two popular games published by Rockstar Games.<\/p>\n
The musician had submitted a song to Rockstar Games for a project, from which they copied the melody and certain riffs to use in two installments of the \u201cGrand Theft Auto\u201d series.
\nThe suit alleges copyright infringement, intentional misrepresentation and negligent misrepresentation on Rockstar Games\u2019 part.<\/p>\n
The Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA) is suing nChain Chief Scientist Craig Wright for his copyright claim over the Bitcoin White Paper. Wright has been claiming ownership over the Bitcoin White Paper and had sent a cease and desist notice to Square to takedown the same from their website, in response to which, COPA sought some clarifications.<\/p>\n
The opposition from COPA, an alliance formed by Square, claims to bring this action on behalf of the entire crypto community to protect the open source spirit of the same, by ensuring that all resources, such as the white paper, remain in the open source realm and not become protected works.<\/p>\n
This case filed before a UK Court High Court is to declare that Craig Wright does not have any copyright ownership over the white paper.<\/p>\n
Youtube has introduced a new service called \u2018Checks\u2019 to scrutinize video and metadata of content before it is uploaded on the platform. This is an upgrade from the previous system, wherein content creators are made of infringing aspects of their content only after it is uploaded on the platform. To decide whether the content has a possible violation, the device uses the company’s Content ID algorithm.<\/p>\n
The entire process takes three minutes and informs the creator if the content violates any copyrights before it is uploaded. The service will still allow the creator to upload flagged content onto the platform as it automatically informs the copyright owner first.<\/p>\n
This service was created to prevent long drawn copyright disputes, which prevent content creators from monetizing their videos. The service doesn\u2019t guarantee that a video won\u2019t be flagged for copyright violations, however, it claims to diminish the possibility of the same.<\/p>\n
The Californian US District court decided in favour of EDM producer Marshmello in an action brought against him by another producer, ARTY for stealing a melody the latter used in the remix of \u2018I lived\u2019 by One Republic. ARTY filed a suit claiming infringement of the beat and other non-composition related elements.<\/p>\n
The judge ruled in favour of Marshmello on the basis of the contract between ARTY and One Republic, which granted no ownership or financial interest in the remix to ARTY.
\nThis ruling may have set precedent to further the argument that remix songs do not create legal rights for the artist working on them.<\/p>\n
Sky UK Ltd., a broadcaster, won a copyright infringement claim against Alex Cherrie, a pirater. He was infringing Sky\u2019s copyright in several shows by granting unauthorized access to people over the internet. He was charging people for access to material owned by Sky and shared it via hyperlinks on Youtube and Reddit. Alex had over in excess of 51,000 users across sub reddits and had 95,000 users on the Youtube Account.<\/p>\n
The Court of Sessions granted an interim interdict against Alex Cherrie, preventing him from further encroaching upon Sky\u2019s rights. This order, as a precedent, could help companies protect their works against copyright infringements involving unauthorized broadcast.<\/p>\n
Authored and compiled by Neharika Vhatkar (Associate, BananaIP Counsels) and Shaantanu Krishnan (Legal Intern)\u00a0<\/strong>
\nThe Copyright Law News Bulletin is brought to you jointly by the Entertainment Law and Consulting\/Strategy Divisions of BananaIP Counsels, a Top IP Firm in India. If you have any questions, or need any clarifications, please write to\u00a0contact@bananaip.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0with the subject:\u00a0 Copyright Law News<\/p>\n