3 Count: Courtroom Performance

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1: Cox Moves to Overturn $1 Billion Music Suit

First off today, Mike Farrell at Multichannel News reports that oral arguments are beginning today as Cox attempts to overturn a $1 billion judgment against them.

Back in 2019, a jury verdict found that Cox was not doing enough on its network to deter piracy and, as such, awarded a group of some 53 music publishers a $1 billion judgment for some 10,000 instances of copyright infringement by Cox customers. Cox immediately appealed the verdict, but it was then upheld by a separate court.

Now the issue is before the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, where it is claiming that the decision was both legally wrong and could be devastating to the broadband industry if it is allowed to stand. The plaintiffs, however, argue that Cox failed to complete its obligations under the law and created a safe haven for pirates on their service.

2: Pirate IPTV ‘Nitro TV’ Fails to Pay Own Lawyer, ACE & MPA Move In For The Kill

Next up today, Andy Maxwell at Torrentfreak writes that the Nitro TV pirate IPTV network is facing two massive lawsuits. However, now that their attorney has withdrawn due to a lack of payment, the plaintiffs are moving in to end the cases.

The case involves two separate lawsuits, one filed by the Alliance for Creativity in April 2020 and a second filed by DISH Network and others in August 2021. The plaintiffs quickly won an injunction, which shuttered Nitro TV and, of the defendants named, only Alejandro Galindo opted to defend himself.

However, his council has now withdrawn from the case, citing both lack of payment and a lack of communication. Meanwhile, the plaintiffs are waiting for the court to issue findings on their motion for sanctions before moving for a default judgment against the defendants.

3: Ed Sheeran sings Nina Simone during Shape of You copyright case

Finally today, Mark Savage at BBC News reports that Ed Sheeran is currently on the stand in his trial over his 2017 hit song Shape of You. As part of his testimony, he sang for jurors and performed portions of Nina Simone’s Feeling Good and Blackstreet’s No Diggity to illustrate how common a melody is in popular music.

The lawsuit was filed by musician Sami Chokri, who claims that Shape of You is an infringement of his 2015 song Oh Why. Specifically, he claims that the song’s hook was repurposed by Sheeran for his song.

The case is continuing, with both sides delving into the history of Shape of You and the writing sessions that produced it. That has included playing various voice memos and early versions of the song.

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