3 Count: Rockstar vs. Rock Star

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1: Man Files Copyright Lawsuit Against Nickelback Over ‘Rockstar’

First off today, Lauryn Schaffner at Loudwire reports that a musician named Kirk Johnston has filed a lawsuit against Nickelback, Roadrunner records and others involved with the band. The lawsuit alleges that the 2005 Nickelback hit Rockstar is a copyright infringement of his 2001 song Rock Star.

According to the lawsuit, Johnston made 15 copies of a master tape of his recording and sent it to various record labels, including Roadrunner. He claims that this granted Nickelback access to the song and that they copied various elements from it, including tempo, song form, melodic structure and more.

A magistrate judge has already looked at the case and, despite recommending that some defendants be dropped, has said that the lawsuit should move forward as the questions addressed in the case are best resolved by a jury.

2: Movie Studios Sue Grande Communications: Terminate Pirates, Block The Pirate Bay

Next up today, Andy Maxwell at Torrentfreak writes that a group of more than two dozen movie studios have filed a lawsuit against the internet service provider Grande Communications, alleging that Grande is not doing enough to fight piracy on its network.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs sent more than 5,800 copyright infringement notices to Grande Communications, but the ISP failed to terminate any accounts or take any “meaningful action” to stop or slow piracy on its network. This includes a group of 5 customers who were the subject of between 56 and 80 notices without any action.

As a result of this, the plaintiffs are seeking $150,000 in statutory damages for each motion picture and $25,000 for each alleged violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. In addition to the damages, the plaintiffs want the court to compel to terminate repeat infringers and to block certain websites that are heavily engaged in piracy.

3: Saga Over Garment Design Copyright Infringement Ends with Ceremonial Fire

Finally today, Michael S. Lockett at the Juneau Empire reports that Alaskan weaver Clarissa Rizal along with leaders of her clan celebrated the end of a copyright infringement lawsuit with a ceremonial fire that, according to them, resolves the case not only legally but in accordance with Tlingit law.

The lawsuit began in 2019 when Rizal accused Nieman Marcus of “blatant” copyright infringement in their “Ravenstail” coat. The lawsuit was settled in March of this year, bringing the court case to an end.

However, to bring the case to a close according to Tlingit law, the clan held a ceremony that involved the burning of one of the commercial coats to transfer its spirit to Rizal. Both Rizal and her daughter spoke at the ceremony and encouraged other artists to work with Indigenous artists to honor the art form.

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