3 Count: Spotless Lyrics

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1: Spotify Hit With Copyright-Violation Claims by Music Publishers; Streaming Giant Calls Allegations ‘False and Misleading’

First off today, Jem Aswad at Variety reports that the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Spotify over the latter’s alleged use of lyrics and music videos without a proper license.

Spotify recently offered a new premium subscription plan combines music streaming with audiobooks. The move would result in a lower mechanical royalty rate for songwriters, though Spotify claims the difference will be made up in increased volume.

However, according to the NMPA, Spotify did not negotiate new mechanical and public performing licenses with music publishers. As such, they accuse Spotify of direct copyright infringement for hosting and distributing copyright-infringing lyrics and videos. Spotify says their usage is covered in a 2022 deal they signed with music publishers.

2: Sanal Kumar Removes ‘Vazhakku’ from Online After Copyright Complaint…

Next up today, Onmanorama reports that, in India, director Sanal Kuma Sasidharan has removed a link to his film Vazhakku, which he had shared for free online.

Sasidharan has been at odds with his producers over the film. Despite its success on the festival circuit, he blames the producers for the movie’s lack of a commercial release. In response, Sasidharan opted to share a free version of the film on his social media.

However, that link was removed following a backlash from the film’s producers and others who worked on it. Sasidharan, in a separate post, hit back at the producers, saying that the removal prooves that they don’t want the film ever to be released, commercially or otherwise.

3: ISP Must Unmask Alleged Pirates But Rightsholders Can’t ‘Harass’ Them

Finally today, Ernesto Van der Sar at Torrentfreak writes that internet service provider Frontier Communications has been ordered to give details of several users suspected of piracy but has placed limits on how many the plaintiffs in the case can contact.

The ISP is facing two lawsuits, one filed by prominent music companies and another by movie companies. The lawsuits allege that Frontier did not do enough to prevent piracy on its network, notably failing to terminate the accounts of alleged repeat infringers.

Those cases have moved into the discovery phase, and plaintiffs request the personal information of subscribers they suspect of pirating content. However, Frontier provided a redacted version of the data, which made it impossible for plaintiffs to identify the alleged infringers. The court has now ruled that it is inadequate and ordered Frontier to turn over unredacted information. However, it also told plaintiffs they could not contact more than 50 alleged infringers without an additional court order.

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