3 Count: Royalty Redirection

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

1: Songwriters take the win with this Copyright Office ruling

First off today, Bobby Owsinski at Hypebot reports that the U.S. Copyright Office has handed down a ruling that may help songwriters that have reclaimed the rights to their songs receive their royalties directly.

The issue deals with copyright termination, a process through which creators, including songwriters, can reclaim the rights to their creation after a period of time. However, publishing companies had been continuing to collect royalties on behalf of songwriters even after the rights were reclaimed due to the law saying that publishers can continue licensing any existing derivative works.

The U.S. Copyright Office has now clarified that, saying that the provision was intended to ensure samples and movies that used the original work didn’t suddenly lose their license to use the song. It was not intended to prevent the songwriter from gaining the rights in their original works, and that the copyright owner of the work is the one entitled to the royalties from the song itself.

2: Kanye West hit with copyright lawsuit over ‘Life of the Party’

Next up today, Blake Brittain at Reuters reports that Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, is facing a copyright infringement lawsuit over his song Life of the Party and allegations it copies from an earlier song named South Bronx by the group Boogie Down Productions.

According to the lawsuit, Life of the Party was released last November and includes horn hits, drums and a melody from the Boogie Down song. They further claim that Ye reached out to them for a licensing agreement, though no deal was ever struck.

The lawsuit also Kano Computing Ltd., the developers of a handheld music device named the Stem Player, which the track was featured on. They further claim that the song was also featured in advertisements for the device, furthering the alleged infringement.

3: Filmmakers Win $4.2m Piracy Damages from Defunct VPN Hosting Company

Finally today, Ernesto Van der Sar at Torrentfreak writes that a group of filmmakers have won a $4.2 million default judgment against a now-defunct VPN hosting service, possibly setting the stage for future legal action against VPN providers.

The case was filed by a group of independent movie companies and targeted the company Micfo. The company did not offer VPN services directly, but instead sold resources to other VPN companies, including NordVPN and Proton. However, the plaintiffs said that Micfo ignored notices of piracy and failed to take action to reduce infringement on its network.

Micfo is already defunct, and the CEO of the company previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges. When the company failed to defend itself in this case, the judge ruled it to be in default and awarded the plaintiffs $4.2 million in damages, awarding the maximum statutory damages of $150,000 on 28 different works. The rightsholders may be able to get at least some of that money from assets seized by the government as part of the ongoing criminal case.

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