3 Count: Bowser’s Last Stand

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1: Embattled copyright lawyer suspended from practice in New York

First off today, Blake Brittain at Reuters reports that controversial copyright lawyer Richard Liebowitz has been suspended from practicing law in New York State following a ruling by an appeals court.

Liebowitz earned a reputation as a “copyright troll” filing thousands of lawsuits, mostly on behalf of photographers who’d had their work used in a commercial manner. However, it wasn’t the volume of cases that landed Liebowitz in trouble, but a series of sanctions for failing to comply with court orders and issuing false statements to the court.

Liebowitz was previously temporarily suspended in November of last year but appealed that ruling in hopes of getting it overturned. However, all five judges on the Appeals Court has denied that request, saying that the previous hearings on the matter were adequate. This also has the impact of making the temporary suspension permanent.

2: Google News to Relaunch in Spain After Mandatory Payments to Newspapers Scrapped

Next up today, James Vincent at The Verge reports that Google News is set to return to Spain after the country has adopted a new EU law that does not necessarily require Google to make payments to Spanish newspapers, but “reach agreements” with them.

In 2014 Spain passed a new law that required Google, and other search engines to pay newspapers for the use of their content in the search engines. In response to this, Google pulled Google News from Spain. However, in 2018, the EU passed new legislation that addressed this area and, while not requiring payments, required search engines to reach deals with local news organizations for the use of headlines, thumbnails and snippets.

Spain has now adopted that new law and Google News is slated to return to the country. Already Google has struck deals with publishers in Germany and France, signaling a more cooperative Google in the face of the new law.

3: Gary Bowser Pleads Guilty To Piracy Charges After Nintendo Pursuit

Finally today, Luke Plunkett at Kotaku reports that Nintendo has notched a major victory in their fight against piracy as Team-Xecuter member Gary Bowser pleads guilty to conspiracy to circumvent technological measures and trafficking in circumvention devices.

Team-Xecuter was a hacking group that specialized in software and hardware that allowed people to bypass copyright protections on Nintendo consoles. Responding to this, Nintendo teamed up with the Department of Justice to pursue members of the group and that eventually led to criminal investigations into three of the 12 men alleged to be a part of the organization.

Bowser, who shares his last name with the iconic Super Mario Brothers villain, was arrested in the Dominican Republic and extradited to the United States. Initially, he claimed he was innocent but has since pled guilty to the charges. Both charges carry a maximum of five years in prison.

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