3 Count: Extra Element

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1: GPL Legal Battle: Vizio Told by Judge it Will Have to Answer Breach-of-Contract Claims

First off today, Thomas Claburn at The Register reports that the Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) has won a key victory over Vizio as a judge has ruled that the open source GPL and LGPL licenses are not just copyright licenses, but contain an extra element covered by contract law rather than copyright law.

SFC filed the lawsuit alleging that Vizio had failed to comply with the licenses by not releasing source code they produced based on open-source code. Vizio argued that the matter should be heard by a federal court, which has sole jurisdiction over copyright matters, but the SFC argued it was a contract dispute, which would be heard in the state court.

A California Court sided with Vizio, sending the dispute to a federal district court. However, that court has bounced it back, citing a 2014 ruling that held open-source licenses had an “extra element” that needed to be heard in state court. This may, in the future, make it easier to sue companies that withhold their code when using open source works in creating projects.

2: Kenya’s Sauti Sol Threatens to Sue Raila Odinga Over Copyright

Next up today, Africa News reports that the Kenyan artist Sauti Sol has threatened to sue former Prime Minister and current Presidential candidate Raila Odinga over the use of one of his songs as part of a political event.

According to Sol, Odinga and his Azimio La Umoja Convention allegedly used the song Extravaganza as a soundtrack to a post that announced Odinga’s running mate in the election. This prompted Sol to threaten a lawsuit, though Odinga, through his party, said that the use of the song was a “show of love.”

The song itself was released in 2019 and featured a wide assortment of local artists. But, while Sol claims the use was unlicensed, the Music Copyright Society of Kenya has confirmed receiving KSh562,500.00 ($4,800) for the use of the song as part of the campaign.

3: Childhood Royalty Brand Lisa Frank Continues To Go After Artists as if They Own The Rainbow Palette

Finally today, Alyssa Shotwell at The Mary Sue reports that illustrator and artist Geneva Bowers has expressed frustration over the Lisa Frank brand, claiming that the company is filing takedown notices on works that are wholly original.

According to Bowers, Lisa Frank removed a colorful drawing of a black woman sipping bubble tea. She believes that the image was targeted due to its rainbow nature, something that the Lisa Frank brand is well known for.

However, Bowers is far from alone in complaining about questionable takedowns by Lisa Frank. Other artists came forward to share similar stories of colorful but original works being removed. Overall, the heavy-handed tactics of Lisa Frank are noted to go back more than a decade, with many finding it to be getting worse in recent months and years.

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