3 Count: Legal Haze

Have any suggestions for the 3 Count? Let me know via Twitter @plagiarismtoday.

1: Jimi Hendrix Estate Sues Heirs Of His Bandmates Over Copyright Threats

First off today, Bill Donahue at Billboard reports that the Jimi Hendrix estate has filed a lawsuit against the heirs of his former bandmates after those estates allegedly threatened to sue them seeking back royalties.

The lawsuit, which was filed in New York, targets the estates of David Noel Redding and John Graham “Mitch” Mitchell targets a case-and-desist letter that the two estates sent saying that they were owed back royalties for their stake in Hendrix’s music.

However, the lawsuit alleges both of the musicians signed “broad general releases” that included agreements not to sue. The lawsuit is asking the court to uphold those releases with a declaratory judgment in their favor. Sony is also a plaintiff in this lawsuit due to the fact they are the exclusive licensee of the music.

2: Bleacher Report Sued For Using New York Giants Player’s Image Without Photographer Consent

Next up today, Darren Heitner at Above the Law reports that photographer William Kostroun has filed a lawsuit against the sports website Bleacher Report alleging that they used a photograph he took without permission.

The lawsuit centers on a photograph of New York Giants player Evan Engram, which Kostroun says appeared on the Bleacher Report site without permission. However, the photo in question was first published in the New York Post, which was then embedded on the Bleacher Report site with a link to the original article.

The case may well become one of the latest to test the “server rule”, a rule that was established by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2007 that made it so that sites that hyperlink or embed content from other sites cannot be found liable for direct copyright infringement. New York is in the Second Circuit, which has been much more skeptical about this rule.

3: EU’s Digital ‘Wild West’ Video Draws Jibes Over Copyright Issues

Finally today, Jillian Deutsch at Bloomberg reports that a senior European Union official posted a video to his twitter that promoted the bloc’s new laws to combat copyright infringement. However, the video immediately drew questions about whether it was a copyright violation in and of itself.

The cowboy-themed video featured clips from the movie The Good, the Bad and the Ugly as a way of saying “There is a new sheriff in town.” However, shortly after its posting, many found it interesting that Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market chief, made a point about protecting creative works by using a copyright-protected work.

According to Breton, the clip was allowed because it was a parody and noted that the most recent EU laws do make allowances for parody and criticism. He further added that the clip was approved by the EU’s commission’s office that handles copyright issues.

The 3 Count Logo was created by Justin Goff and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.