Photographer Loses Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Mapmaker That Used His Photo With His Explicit Permission | Techdirt

Plaintiff repeatedly voices consternation in his pleadings about defendant’s distribution of the publication that displayed his work on its cover for profit, but of the many licenses available to choose from, plaintiff selected the one that specifically authorized commercial use. So the only issue before the Court in Count I is whether defendant – which gave plaintiff full credit for the work it displayed on the cover of its publication – complied with the technical terms of the license under which plaintiff published the work. The Court finds that it did.

Source: Photographer Loses Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Mapmaker That Used His Photo With His Explicit Permission | Techdirt

Spanish Police Park In Handicapped Spot, Fine Person Who Caught Them For ‘Impugning Their Honor’ | Techdirt

A Spanish woman has been fined €800 (£570) under the country’s controversial new gagging law for posting a photograph of a police car parked illegally in a disabled bay.

The unnamed woman, a resident of Petrer in Alicante, south-east Spain, posted the photo on her Facebook page with the comment “Park where you bloody well please and you won’t even be fined”.

The police tracked her down within 48 hours and fined her.

Source: Spanish Police Park In Handicapped Spot, Fine Person Who Caught Them For ‘Impugning Their Honor’ | Techdirt

Police Arrest Men For Spreading Popcorn Time Information – TorrentFreak

Police in Denmark have arrested the alleged operators of two Popcorn Time guide websites. The domains of both operations have also been seized by the authorities. The case is controversial in that both sites were Popcorn Time information resources and neither linked to copyright-infringing material.

Source: Police Arrest Men For Spreading Popcorn Time Information – TorrentFreak

U.S. Government Grabbed Dotcom’s Millions “As a Last Resort” – TorrentFreak

The U.S. Government has informed the Court of Appeals that the civil forfeiture case against Megaupload and Kim Dotcom was launched as a last resort. The authorities feared that Dotcom and his colleagues would regain possession of the millions in seized assets and argue that they are properly labeled as “fugitives.”

Source: U.S. Government Grabbed Dotcom’s Millions “As a Last Resort” – TorrentFreak

ARDC suddenly remembers that there is “D” in its acronym, starts disciplinary proceeds against John Steele | Fight Copyright Trolls

Today Jerome Larkin, Administrator of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois, via Counsel Wendy J. Muchman and Marita C. Sullivan, filed a seven-count, 14,000-word complaint against Prenda’s John Steele alleging massive professional misconduct and fraud on the Court (the word “fraud” is used 17 times throughout the document).

Source: ARDC suddenly remembers that there is “D” in its acronym, starts disciplinary proceeds against John Steele | Fight Copyright Trolls

Airport Security Seizes Three-Year-Old’s Fart Gun – Lowering the Bar

For once I’m not going to be criticizing the TSA, but that’s only because the TSA wasn’t involved here in any way. Although it wouldn’t surprise me if they have been meeting with their Irish counterparts supposedly to exchange nonsensical “security tips” but really to get free trips to Ireland at taxpayer expense because the $60 billion they’ve already filched from us doesn’t seem like enough, and in the process some of their bad judgment rubbed off on the people at Dublin Airport.

Well, I guess that was kind of critical of the TSA, actually. I tried.

Source: Airport Security Seizes Three-Year-Old’s Fart Gun – Lowering the Bar

Appeals court: Prenda lawyer who drained cash from his law firm must pay up | Ars Technica

“Piercing the corporate veil” of Paul Hansmeier’s law firm was justified.

Source: Appeals court: Prenda lawyer who drained cash from his law firm must pay up | Ars Technica

Germany Says Taking Photos Of Food Infringes The Chef’s Copyright | Techdirt

In individual cases, shared pictures may be illegal. At worst, a copyright warning notice might come fluttering to the social media user. For carefully-arranged food in a famous restaurant, the cook is regarded as the creator of a work. Before it can be made public on Facebook & Co., permission must first be asked of the master chef.

Source: Germany Says Taking Photos Of Food Infringes The Chef’s Copyright | Techdirt

Universal Music and Kim Dotcom Prepared a Deal to Tax Google – TorrentFreak

A recording of Kim Dotcom and several Universal Music executives captured two days before the Megaupload raids has revealed the label planning to do a deal with the entrepreneur. Amid discussion of ‘taxing’ Google by diverting its ad revenue to the label, the execs offered to downgrade Dotcom from “evil” to “neutral” in return for dropping legal action over the “Mega Song”.

Source: Universal Music and Kim Dotcom Prepared a Deal to Tax Google – TorrentFreak

Deep Dive: Why We Need Venue Reform to Restore Fairness to Patent Litigation | Electronic Frontier Foundation

Back in 2011, This American Life toured an office building in Marshall, Texas, and found eerie hallways of empty offices that serve as the ‘headquarters’ of patent trolls. For many, that was the first introduction to the strange world of the Eastern District of Texas, its outsized role in patent litigation and especially its effective support of the patent troll business model.

Source: Deep Dive: Why We Need Venue Reform to Restore Fairness to Patent Litigation | Electronic Frontier Foundation