3 Count: Cardi Be Victorious

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1: Cardi B Wins California Jury Trial in Art Copyright Infringement Case

First off today, the Associated Press reports that Cardi B has emerged victorious in her lawsuit against artist Kevin Michael Brophy over allegations she infringed both his likeness and his copyright by using an image of his back tattoos on the cover of a mixtape she produced.

Brophy filed the lawsuit alleging that Cardi B’s designer used an image of his back tattoos on the cover of her mixtape. He claimed that the designer simply searched for an image of back tattoos, found his image, and superimposed the pattern on another person. Brophy claimed that this was both an infringement of his copyrights and his likeness.

However, the jury disagreed. Noting that the person in the photograph clearly was not him and that they only used a small part of the tattoos. Further, they argued that he has not suffered any harm, professionally or otherwise, due to the image. The jury agreed with those arguments and found in favor of Cardi B.

2: EC Declines to “End Live Piracy Now” But Offers ‘Toolbox’ to Fight Illegal Streams

Next up today, Andy Maxwell at Torrentfreak writes that, in the European Union, the European Commission has declined to draft a new law protecting live events from piracy, but instead plans to offer a “toolbox” to fight such streams.

Part of the European Commission’s work program for 2023, a group of rightsholders and other stakeholders demanded a new law that would enable them to shut down illegal streams within minutes of detecting them. However, the commission decided that now is not the time for such a law and instead has only committed to “offering a toolbox” to fight illegal streaming.

Rightsholders are disappointed by the announcement, saying that nothing short of legislative action has the potential to help. The details of how those rightsholders wanted the system to work are unclear, as are details about what might be in this “toolbox.”

3: In Japan, Music Schools Don’t Need to Pay Copyright Fees for Students to Learn Music, the Supreme Court Rules

Finally today, Clément Vérité at Newsendip reports that the Supreme Court of Japan has ruled that music schools do not need to pay copyright fees for music played by students as part of their education process.

The case came after the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors (JASRAC) announced in February 2017 that music classes would be charged for the use of the music they perform, similar to how bars and restaurants already are.

This prompted a lawsuit from schools that didn’t want to pay, and now the nation’s Supreme Court has ruled that music schools do not owe royalties. According to the court, student performances are simply a “means to an end” and that students are not really users of the creative work.

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