3 Count: Ford’s Tough

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

1: Copyright Royalty Board Officially Accepts New Rates that Will See Songwriters Paid More in the US Over the Next Five Years

First off today, Tim Ingham at Music Business Worldwide reports that the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has accepted a settlement between organizations representing songwriters and publishers and those representing digital streaming services on a new royalty rate for the next five years.

The settlement is known as “Phonorecords IV” or “CRB IV” was negotiated by various industry bodies including the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) and the Digital Media Association (DiMA). The goal was to determine what royalties songwriters and publishers should receeive when their compositions are streamed on digital services.

The new deal covers the years of 2023 through 2027. The new rate will start at 15.1% and rise to 15.35% by the end of the term. In addition to those royalties, the agreement also allows publishers to be paid via a “total content costs” calculation, which pays songwriters based on each service pays for recorded music on the whole.

2: Twitter Hit With $228.9m Copyright Infringement / Repeat Infringer Lawsuit

Next up today, Andy Maxwell at Torrentfreak writes that the celebrity photo agency Backgrid has filed a $228.9 million lawsuit against Twitter alleging that Twitter has failed to complete its obligations under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and protect its material from infringement.

According to the lawsuit, Backgrid sent more than 6,700 DMCA notices to Twitter over various infringements of their content. However, they allege that Twitter both failed to take down a single one and that they failed to terminate the accounts of repeat infringers. The notices in question span a time period between September 2021 and November 2022.

As such, Backgrid is arguing that Twitter is liable for infringements related to “at least” 1,526 of their images, and they are seeking the maximum statutory damages of $150,000 per image as they believe the infringement is both willful and egregious. That amount totals $228.9 million in potential damages.

3: Judge Rules in Favor of Ford on AirPro Contract, Copyright, Trademark violations

Finally today, Lurah Lowery at Repairer Driven News reports that car manufacturer Ford has won a summary judgment against the diagnostic company AirPro over alleged contract, copyright and trademark violations.

According to the lawsuit, AirPro violated the terms of Ford’s license agreement for their diagnostic software by transferring long-term licenses between different scanning tools. Ford alleged that these infractions amounted to both breach of contract and copyright violations. They further alleged trademark dilution over the use of the Ford logo to promote their services.

Both sides had sought summary judgment in the case, but the judge sided completely with Ford, granting them summary judgment in all seven counts. According to AirPro, they had stopped the practice in September 2019 following a letter from Ford. They said they do not believe they were in violation, but altered their approach to maintain a good relationship with the company.

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