Altice is asking a U.S. District Court in Texas to reconsider a U.S. Magistrate Judge's decision not to move litigation against Altice to a federal court in New York. In a docket 2:23-cv-00576 objection last week, Altice told the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas that the Magistrate Judge erred in finding that the balance of factors weigh against transferring the 2023 suit from record labels and music publishers alleging contributory copyright infringement (see 2312080050). The Magistrate Judge should have ended the court's analysis by recognizing that the bulk of relevant witnesses are in New York, and that moving proceedings to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York would be most convenient to them, Altice said.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' affirmation of a jury's finding of willful contributory copyright infringement by Cox Communications (see 2402210027) "imperils the future of the internet," ISP providers told the U.S. Supreme Court in an amicus brief Tuesday (docket 24-171). ISPs Altice, Frontier, Lumen and Verizon -- supporting Cox's cert petition filed last month (see 2408160034) -- said the 4th Circuit decision exposes ISPs "to massive liability if they do not carry out mass internet evictions." They said such overly broad terminations based on allegations of copyright infringement "can be dangerous," as they can affect the subscriber's family, business or community. The automated processes copyright holders use to flag copyright infringement on peer-to-peer networks are well known to be flawed, they said. The ISPs said copyright owners can use evidence of online infringement to serve subpoenas that get them the identity of the ISP customer whose internet access was used for infringement, and then they can pursue direct actions against those pirates. Music labels Sony Music and others, the respondents in the Cox cert petition, filed their own cert petition in August asking SCOTUS to settle the circuit court split over how a defendant must benefit from direct infringement in order to be vicariously liable. The 4th has held that liability happens when the defendant expects commercial gain from the act of infringement itself, while the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 7th and 9th circuits have held that liability comes when the defendant expects commercial gain from the enterprise in which the infringement occurs, the labels said (docket 24-181). Lower courts have long understood that the Copyright Act allows copyright owners to pursue claims for vicarious liability where the defendant expects to profit from the broader operation in which infringement occurs, they said. But while a jury found that Cox had vicariously infringed, the 4th Circuit reversed the vicarious-liability finding, ruling that the profit requirement demands proof that the defendant profits directly from the acts of infringement for which it is being held accountable, they said.

The legal fight between an array of high-profile comedians and Pandora over its streaming their comedy routines illustrates how emerging technologies and distribution methods are testing the traditional boundaries of copyright law, Sheppard Mullins entertainment lawyers Alexis Robinson and Samuel Cohen blogged Monday. The case hinges on whether licenses for sound records of comedy routines also cover the underlying content -- the jokes themselves, they said. The outcome could be precedent-setting for how streaming platforms license nonmusical content, "potentially leading to broader industry-wide changes." A victory for the comics might mean streaming platforms start negotiating more comprehensive licensing agreements for an array of spoken-word content like podcasts and audiobooks, they said. The lawsuit, Yellow Rose Productions v. Pandora Media, includes George Lopez and Robin Williams' estate, said the blog.

The anti-piracy coalition Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) and the Hanoi, Vietnam, police took down the world's largest pirate streaming operation, which included popular site Fmovies as well as others, ACE said. Fmovies' takedown "is a stunning victory for casts, crews, writers, directors, studios, and the creative community across the globe,” ACE Chairman and Motion Picture Association CEO Charles Rivkin said. The pirating operation, ACE said, launched in 2016 and included associate sites bflixz, flixtorz, movies7, myflixer and aniwave. Combined, the pirate sites saw more than 6.7 billion visits between January 2023 and June 2024. ACE said Vidsrc.to, a video-hosting provider the suspects operated, was also taken down, affecting hundreds of additional piracy sites. ACE members include Amazon, Netflix, Paramount Global, Sony Pictures, Disney Studios and Warner Bros. Discovery.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision about a broadband provider's liability for digital piracy that its subscribers commit is "the most draconian secondary liability regime" in the nation, according to Cox Communications. The decision defies U.S. Supreme Court precedent and departs from three other circuit courts, Cox noted in a cert petition Thursday. The company is seeking review of the appellate court's February decision upholding a district court jury’s finding of willful contributory copyright infringement against Cox Communications for the piracy of some of its 6 million internet customers (see 2402210027). Cox said the 4th Circuit created a three-way circuit split on the proper threshold for material-contribution liability, with the 2nd and 10th circuits requiring culpable conduct and the 9th demanding only that service providers take reasonable measures to prevent infringement. "Only the Fourth diverges entirely," it said. Sony Music Entertainment -- the lead plaintiff of the music labels that sued Cox and received a $1 billion jury verdict in 2019 (see 1912300025) -- didn't comment Friday.

The U.S. should be “really careful” about setting rules that impose onerous disclosure requirements for AI developers seeking patents, former Patent and Trademark Director David Kappos said Tuesday during a George Mason University event. The Obama-era appointee and former IBM engineer urged policymakers to allow AI to “grow as fast as possible,” given the economic advantages it could bring. Now at Cravath, Kappos said enforcers should go as “light” as possible when requiring AI disclosure in the patent-granting process. “We ought to be careful about creating rules that are going to cause innovators to say, ‘You know what? I’m just going to stay away from the patent system,'” he said.

Online streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Spotify are now required to contribute 5% of their Canadian revenue to fund Canadian content production, Canada’s broadcast regulator said Tuesday. The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission announced the requirement under the Online Streaming Act, a new law aimed at modernizing Canadian broadcasting and ensuring “meaningful contributions to Canadian and Indigenous content.” The requirement begins in the 2024-25 broadcast year. Estimates are that it will generate $200 million per year in funding. The money will be “directed to areas of immediate need in the Canadian broadcasting system, such as local news on radio and television, French-language content, Indigenous content, and content created by and for equity-deserving communities,” CRTC said. Canada’s decision contradicts its digital trade commitments and could result in higher prices for consumers, the Computer & Communications Industry Association said Tuesday. U.S. companies already fulfill the goals of this law through “significant investment” and content distribution that exposes the public to Canadian artists and creators, CCIA Vice President of Digital Trade Jonathan McHale said. “Punishing suppliers of online content with hefty additional funding obligations, 5% of Canadian revenues, is both onerous and unnecessary, given the vitality of the Canadian content market.”

The Senate should confirm President Joe Biden’s nominee as intellectual property enforcement coordinator (IPEC), House Judiciary Committee Democrats said Tuesday. Biden first nominated Deborah Robinson in May 2023 and again in January. Her legal background includes stints at Paramount Global, the Recording Industry Association of America and ViacomCBS. House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said during a House Intellectual Subcommittee hearing Tuesday that he hopes the Senate will confirm Robinson soon. IPEC is essential for ensuring IP laws are properly enforced, he said. IPEC was created in 2008 to advise the White House and agencies on IP policy and strategy. House IP Subcommittee ranking member Hank Johnson, D-Ga., said Robinson needs to be confirmed “as soon as possible.”

The Copyright Office will publish a report this spring with policy recommendations on AI-related replication of an artist’s voice, physical appearance and likeness, it said Tuesday. In August the CO launched an examination of generative AI’s impact on copyright law and policy (see 2308300008). The CO plans an additional report this summer addressing the “copyrightability of works incorporating AI-generated material.” Other inquiry installments will address AI training models, licensing and liability issues.

Nokia signed a patent cross-license agreement with China’s Honor “covering both parties’ fundamental inventions in 5G and other cellular technologies,” the company said Thursday. The terms weren’t announced. Nokia said it has spent more than $150 billion on R&D since 2000 and owns “around 20,000 patent families, including over 6,000 patent families declared essential to 5G.” Honor, which sells consumer electronics and software products, is state owned and was spun off by Huawei in 2020.