The U.S. District Court for Western Washington on Tuesday granted Dish Network's request for a default judgment against data center operator Virtual Systems (docket 2:24-cv-01683). Dish sued Virtual Systems in 2024, alleging that it supported multiple video pirate streaming sites (see 2507010001).

Dish Network is asking a federal court for a default decision against a data center operator that allegedly supports multiple video pirate streaming sites. Dish told the U.S. District Court for Western Washington on Monday (docket 2:24-cv-01683) that Virtual Systems has failed to plead or otherwise defend itself in litigation filed in October (see 2410180030).

The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it would hear Cox Communications' challenge of a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision regarding willful contributor copyright infringement. Cox filed a cert petition in August (docket 24-171) over the 4th Circuit upholding a lower court's copyright infringement finding against Cox for the piracy of some of its internet subscribers (see 2408160034). Cox argued there was now a circuit court split over willfulness standards in secondary-infringement cases. The cert petition had been challenged by music label plaintiffs in the original litigation (see 2410160045).

Midjourney's generative AI service is "a virtual vending machine, generating endless unauthorized copies of Disney’s and Universal’s copyrighted works," the studios told a federal court Wednesday in a complaint alleging direct and secondary copyright infringement. The suit, filed with the U.S. District Court for Central California (docket 2:25-cv-05275), called Midjourney "the quintessential copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism." The plaintiffs said they have asked Midjourney to adopt the same technological measures that other AI services have to prevent generation of infringing material. Instead, they said, Midjourney's forthcoming commercial AI video service apparently "will generate, publicly display, and distribute videos featuring Disney’s and Universal’s copyrighted characters." The suit asks for unspecified damages and an injunction stopping Midjourney from copyright infringement or offering its image or video services "without appropriate copyright protection measures to prevent such infringement." Midjourney didn't comment.

The U.S. siding with Cox Communications in the ISP's cert petition before the U.S. Supreme Court (see 2505280001) "is bewildering," music label respondents said in a supplemental brief Tuesday (docket 24-171). They said the government's brief makes it sound as if the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that an ISP can be "contributorily liable" for copyright violations by having a less-than-foolproof policy of policing subscribers' infringement. Cox was found liable for taking no meaningful steps at all, the music labels noted. The government is urging the court to back an ISP that could have avoided liability "but instead chose to look the other way." They said vicarious liability is the only area where there's a circuit court split, and SCOTUS shouldn't grant cert "just to second-guess" the 4th Circuit on contributory liability.

Frontier Communications settled with music label plaintiffs that sued over Frontier's role in music piracy by its subscribers (see 2108110011). The notice of settlement (docket 1:21-cv-5050), filed Wednesday with the U.S. District Court for Southern New York, didn't give details but said the parties agreed that the 2021 suit was to be dismissed with prejudice, with each side paying its own fees and costs.

The federal government is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to take up Cox Communications' cert petition challenging an appellate court affirmation of a jury's finding of willful contributory copyright infringement by the ISP (see 2408160034). In an amicus brief Tuesday (docket 24-171), the U.S. solicitor general said there's an appellate court split over the issue of whether an ISP materially contributes to copyright infringement by continuing to provide internet access to subscribers after receiving notice that they're infringing copyright. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision holding Cox liable departs from SCOTUS' contributory-infringement precedents, the brief said. It also urged the high court to grant review of Cox's petition questioning when a contributory infringer can be held liable for enhanced statutory damages based on a finding of “willful” infringement. The jury in the Cox case was mistakenly told it could find Cox's violations willful even if Cox reasonably believed that not opting to cut off infringing subscribers' internet access was consistent with the Copyright Act, the solicitor general said. In docket 24-181, however, the brief called for SCOTUS to deny review of the vicarious liability question in the plaintiff/respondent music labels' petition. The solicitor general said the 4th Circuit correctly held that a plaintiff's vicarious infringement allegation must show the defendant profited from the infringement.

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania granted a default judgment Thursday (docket 1:25-cv-00388) against the parties behind several alleged pirate video streaming services. Theatrical and streaming studio plaintiffs urged the court Wednesday to enter the default judgment, saying the defendants behind such streaming services as Shrugs, Zing, BTV and Viking Media have ignored litigation filed against them in March.

Public Knowledge said President Donald Trump’s firing of the register of copyrights was illegal, and his termination of the librarian of Congress was motivated by prejudice. Register Shira Perlmutter was reportedly fired by email Saturday, and Librarian Carla Hayden was removed from office last week. “The president has as much legal power to fire the Register of Copyrights as I do, which is to say: none,” said Public Knowledge Senior Policy Counsel Meredith Rose in a release. “The Register of Copyrights is hireable and fireable only by the Librarian of Congress, and does not report to the president or the executive branch in any capacity.” Hayden’s termination was likely within Trump’s authority but came after the website Libs of the Library of Congress condemned her, Public Knowledge said. Hayden was the first Black librarian of Congress, and the first woman. “Anyone who thinks these things are unconnected lives in a state of ignorance,” Rose said. “Carla Hayden was fired because she is Black, and Shira Perlmutter remains the Register of Copyrights -- no matter what anyone says.” The White House didn’t comment.

Grande Communications' certiorari petition asks the U.S. Supreme Court to settle a question "utterly divorced from reality" and offers "nothing certworthy," record label UMG Records and others said Friday (docket 24-967) in an opposition brief. Grande Communications is challenging an October ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld a lower court finding that Grande was liable for contributory copyright infringement for not terminating the service of internet users accused of piracy.