3 Count: International Incidents

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1:  Instagram Is Getting NFTs But What the Hell Does That Mean?

First off today, Matt Novak at Gizmodo reports that, in a talk at South by Southwest, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that NFTs were coming to Instagram and that users “would be able to mint things within that environment.”

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, have seen both big sales and big business in the past year. They are essentially a receipt that is placed on the blockchain that allows a purchaser to claim “ownership” over that particular NFT. It’s an attempt to add scarcity to digital goods.

However, NFTs have earned something of a bad reputation as marketplaces have become havens for stolen images and questions over the usefulness of NFTs have gone largely unanswered. It is unclear just how NFTs will be integrated into Instagram as Zuckerberg did not offer any details. However, he did say that they were working on it for the “near term.”

2:  Court Overturns ‘Pirate’ IPTV Prison Sentences Due to Unenforceable Copyrights

Next up today, Ernesto Van der Sar at Torrentfreak writes that, in Sweden, the Patent and Market Court of Appeals has overturned both the prison sentences and damages of two men tied to an IPTV operation. The reason: The copyrights at issue were “unenforceable” due to the lack of a treaty.

The case was initiated by the Qatari company beIN and targeted the Advanced TV Network (ATN). ATN was founded in 2008 and eventually grew to over 70,000 customers. However, it was raided in 2016 and two men, the owner and his son, were arrested.

The two men were given prison sentences for copyright infringement and ordered to pay 209 million Swedish kroner ($21 million) in damages. However, the appeals court has thrown that out, saying that Qatar was not party to the Rome Convention at the time the raid took place. As such, the court claims these copyrights are not enforceable and has vacated the judgment.

3: Russian Judge Rolls Back Peppa Pig Copyright in Retaliation Against Western Sanctions

Finally today, Louis Goss at City A.M. reports that a Russian lawsuit over the character Peppa the Pig has taken an unexpected turn as a judge dismissed the case, citing sanctions placed on the country by the United States and others.

The lawsuit was filed by entertainment one and targeted a Russian entrepreneur, Ivan Kozhevnikov. The case was seeking just 40,000 roubles ($370) in damages for an allegedly infringing version of the character created by Kozhevnikov.

However, the court has decided simply to dismiss the case, saying that Russians are free to use the character in response to the sanctions against the country. This may open the door for other intellectual property violations, including of both copyright and trademark.

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