3 Count: Plagiarism Again

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1: Sen. Josh Hawley’s Move to Strip Disney’s Copyrights Called ‘Blatantly Unconstitutional’

First off today, Gene Maddaus at Variety reports that Senator Josh Hawley has introduced a bill that aims to drastically rewrite copyright law in the United States, rolling back the term of copyright to just 28 years with the option for renewal for another 28.

According to Sen. Hawley, the bill is targeted at Disney and comes after Disney’s opposition to the “Dont Say Gay” bill in Florida. He claims that it aims to revoke Disney’s “special” copyright protections though the law would rewrite copyright law for all creators. However, an element of the bill would make it retroactive for all companies with a market cap of $150 billion, an amount Disney exceeds.

This would put all of Disney’s work from roughly 1995 (or 1967) forward into the public domain. However, the bill itself has very limited chance to succeed, as the bill has been widely panned as unconstitutional and a violation of various copyright treaties the United States is a signatory to.

2: Riot Games sues Mobile Legends: Bang Bang for Plagiarism—Again

Next up today, Eva Martinello at Dot Esports reports that Riot Games has filed a lawsuit against Shanghai-based Moonton Games alleging that Moonton has copied assets from them when making the game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.

According to the lawsuit, which was filed in California, Moonton copied elements of its mobile game, Wild Rift, which is the mobile version of League of Legends. To support their claims, Riot included images of similar characters and elements between the two games, making the argument that Moonton crossed the line into copyright infringement.

This is actually the second lawsuit between the two, as Riot sued Moonton over similar allegations in 2017. That case was dismissed by the same court and resulted Riot’s parent company, Tencent, filed a separate lawsuit in China alleging violations of a non-compete agreement. That lawsuit resulted in a $2.9 million settlement in 2018.

3: Wrongfully Accused ‘Pirate’ Recoups $108k From ‘Copyright Troll’

Finally today, Ernesto Van der Sar at Torrentfreak writes that a wrongfully accused defendant has finally collected some $108,000 in fees and costs from Malibu Media after hiring a collection agency to retrieve the amount.

The lawsuit was filed by Malibu Media in 2018 against a defendant identified as Mr. Mullins. He was accused of downloading some 11 pirated videos. However, he fought back and, when Malibu Media refused to show their evidence to the court, the court ruled in Mullins favor and ordered Malibu Media to pay roughly $50,000 in costs.

However, recouping the money proved elusive, and those fees ballooned to over $108 thousand due to continued court costs. That money has now been reclaimed through the use of a collection attorney, bringing an end to the process. However, Malibu Media’s boss, Colette Pelissier, was not happy about the transfer, saying that it was part of Mullins’ attempt to extort the company.

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