Copyright Violations

We reported a little while back on an American author's claims that Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed franchise was a breach of copyright related to a science-fiction novel titled "Link", he released in 2003. Since then, author John L. Beiswenger has "without prejudice" dropped the suit (meaning he can revisit his claim at any time in the future). His legal representative claims that this "in no way diminishes [Beiswenger'] stalwart conviction in...  

Toronto interior designer Laura Abanil is accusing a Toronto cemetery of copying the tombstone pattern she says she conceived to honour her mom. But lawyers for the Catholic Cemeteries Archdiocese of Toronto counter the work was created under contract by ...  

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit [official website] on Thursday overturned [opinion, PDF] an order dismissing a $1 billion copyright infringement suit against Google, by Viacom [corporate websites], for Google's YouTube [media website; JURIST news archive] service. The lower court initially dismissed [JURIST report] Viacom's suit in June 2010 finding that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) [text, PDF] protected...  

Dish Networks, the satellite TV provider, is being sued by Fox over its "AutoHop" feature, which automatically skips commercials. Fox alleges copyright infringement, which is a repeat of the claims over ReplayTV, which was bankrupted in similar lawsuits in the last decade. The networks claimed then that the whole program, including the commercials, were a [...]  

Bogus Copyright Infringement Claims Could Add Up to Fewer Choices, Higher PricesNew York - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is urging a federal judge not to let television networks squash an innovative streaming service with a bogus copyright infringement lawsuit. In an amicus brief filed today, EFF and Public Knowledge asked the court to block a preliminary injunction that could prevent Aereo Inc. from establishing a customer base in...  

A ringleader of a syndicate distributing pirated computer programs and films in the 1990s was jailed for six years on Thursday.Related StoriesNon-oil domestic exports rebounds with 8.3% year-on-year increaseCDC, WDA team up to develop iPad program for job seekersMRT breakdown COI: More emergency drills plannedWhat's on: Thursday's top picks from ST Life!MRT breakdown COI: More emergency drills planned  

TYLER - The author of a copyrighted poem has filed a federal lawsuit alleging several companies are selling unauthorized versions of her work on quilts and pillows.Renee Baker filed suit against K Interiors Inc., Stein Mart Inc., Debra McMurray, doing business as Creative Quilts, and Carol Strawn, doing business as Full Life Photography, on April 5 in the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division.According to the suit, Baker created and...  

A Finnish court has ruled that merely operating an open WiFi access point does not make you liable for copyright infringements committed on your network. From the defense attorney's press release: This alleged copyright infringement had taken place in a specific 12-minute period in July 14 2010, a date when a summer theater play with [...]  

Tumblr is being sued by by a porn company over copyright infringement related to some of its images. Industry watchers consider this is a potentially important case with implications for the whole photo-sharing industry. Sharing photographs online has become a huge part of the Internet. Sites such as Pinterest, Tumblr, and Flickr, social networks such [...] Related posts: Magazine-sharing website accused of copyright infringement- big surprise...  

Adult entertainment company Perfect 10 has sued Tumblr for allegedly infringing copyright by allowing users to post images owned by Perfect 10. Tumblr is "willfully ignoring the widespread and uncontrolled copyright infringement pervading its website," Perfect 10 alleges in its complaint, filed Friday in the Southern District of New York. has been sued for copyright infringement.  

Adam 'MCA' Yauch, Adam 'Ad-Rock' Horovitz and Michael 'Mike D' Diamond are accused of sampling Trouble Funk's works without consent. Beastie Boys land in hot water. All members of the band are named in a lawsuit filed by a HipHop/R label, Tuf America ...  

Rappers hit with lawsuit a day before the death of Adam YauchBeastie Boys are once again being sued over their alleged use of unlicensed samples. The rappers used parts of two songs by the US go-go band Trouble Funk without permission, according to papers filed just one day before the death of Adam Yauch.Yauch, his Beastie bandmates, and their labels are all named in a lawsuit by Tuf America, the company that represents Trouble Funk. The suit...  

Each month, Google removes more than 1 million links to content that infringes on copyright, including music, movies, and software. That's just one of the surprises from the data Google released on Thursday, which details the copyright notices it receives ...  

New Delhi, April 13 (IANS) Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar is amused by the copyright infringement case filed against him for 2008 film “Fashion”. “Now someone has gone to court for the copyright infringement of my film ‘Fashion’ after 4 years and demanding Rs.2.5 crores…,” Bhandarkar tweeted. Actress-turned-author Seema Seth has filed a complaint against [...]  

To one Aussie artist, Madonna's new Truth or Dare perfume carries the sour stench of copyright infringement. As Australia's Sunday Telegraph reports, renowned Sydney painter RJ Williams is taking legal action against the pop superstar, alleging ...