3 Count: Countdown

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1: Judge’s Ruling Due in Ed Sheeran and Sami Switch Copyright Row Over Shape Of You

First off today, Kent Online reports that the judge in the Ed Sheeran case has announced that he will be handing down his ruling in the closely-watched case tomorrow.

The case was filed by artist Sami Chokri, who accuses Sheeran of copying his hit song Shape of You from his earlier track Oh Why. Specifically, they accuse the musician of copying a key hook from their song, which made the two works, in their mind, substantially similar under the law.

The trial in the case concluded last week and the judge took leave to issue his verdict. At the time, it was unclear when that verdict would be handed down but we now have a time, which is tomorrow in the UK.

2: Judge Drops Antitrust Claims From YouTube Piracy Lawsuit

Next up today, Ernesto Van der Sar at Torrentfreak writes that a federal judge has dismissed anti-trust claims from a copyright infringement lawsuit against YouTube, leaving the video service to face allegations that enabled and tolerated piracy.

Filed by movie tycoon Carlos Vasallo, the case alleges that YouTube would only allow him to join the Content ID system if he agreed to a revenue share deal and waive all previous copyright claims. He filed a lawsuit alleging both copyright infringement by YouTube and “illegal tying”, a breach of anti-trust laws.

However, the court has dismissed the anti-trust claims saying that there was no evidence that YouTube tried to coerce Vasallo into signing up for Content ID. However, the judge did allow the copyright-related claims to move forward but limited the claims to ones that took place within the three years before the case was filed.

3: ‘A Hero’ Plagiarism Ruling Not Final, Suggests Asghar Farhadi Lawyer

Finally today, Nancy Tartaglione at Deadline reports that Oscar winning director Asghar Farhadi has been found guilty by an Iranian court of plagiarizing his recent movie A Hero from one of his former film students.

The case was filed by Azadeh Masihzadeh, who accused Farhadi of stealing the idea for A Hero from a documentary she created in his class. Farhadi filed counterclaims against Masihzadeh, claiming that she was defaming him. Both sides faced potential prison time and Masihzadeh faced possible corporate punishment if the court were to rule against them.

The court had previously dismissed Farhadi’s claims against Masihzadeh but has now found in favor of her claims against him. However, Farhadi’s lawyer took to Instagram to see that the ruling will not be the final word on the matter, signaling a likely appeal.

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