ReDigi has confirmed that it plans to take its long running copyright infringement case to the US Supreme Court, but it has asked for a little more time to prepare its formal submission to American’s most senior judges. The ReDigi company operated a marketplace where people could sell their "second-hand" MP3s. No one is the slightest bit interested in reselling MP3s online any more, of course, but they were in 2012 when EMI first sued the company. At the heart of this case is the question of whether or not the so called ‘first sale doctrine’ – the principle under US copyright law that says you can resell a CD without the copyright owner’s permission – should also apply to digital content. The courts sided with the record industry in 2013 and then again on appeal last year with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals holding that the unapproved resale of MP3s online constituted copyright infringement. Meanwhile ReDigi suspended its operations and sought chapter eleven bankruptcy protection. 
A children’s book called “Oh, the Places You’ll Boldly Go!” based on the famous Dr. Seuss story “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” isn’t infringing on the famous tale’s copyright, or the rights in Star Trek, a federal court has ruled. Judge Sammartino in California said in a summary judgment that "although Defendants certainly borrowed from Go!, at times liberally, the elements borrowed were always adapted or transformed. The Court therefore concludes, as it did previously that Defendants’ work, while commercial, is highly transformative,”
MEPs have been urged to adopt the EU’s somewhat controversial Copyright Directive when it comes up for final its vote in plenary at the end of this month. The plea comes in a letter from 227 organisations representing authors, composers, writers, journalists, performers and others working in all artistic fields, news agencies, book, press and music publishers, audiovisual and independent music producers. A spokesman for the informal alliance, #Yes2copyright, said, “This is a historical opportunity. We need an internet that is fair and sustainable for all. This is why we urge EU policymakers to adopt the directive quickly, as agreed in trilogue negotiations.” The Directive has already been agreed by all three EU political institutions, but must pass a final vote by a full meeting of the European Parliament at the end of this month before member states will have two years to create national legislation to match.
Following on from our last CopyKat, Take-Two Interactive has reached a settlement with a Grand Theft Auto V cheat developer who it sued for copyright infringement last summer. TorrentFreak reports that defendant Erik Cameron has admitted to copyright infringement, breach of the game's End User License Agreement, and profiting off his violations of the law, and will pay Take-Two an undisclosed sum. Cameron will also be permanently prohibited from developing, promoting, or using any software program that alters Take-Two's owned software in any way, creating derivative works, or otherwise encouraging others to follow in his footsteps.
Japan has shelved a bill with stricter copyright controls and increased penalties for infringement, after academics, manga artists and fans all aired concerned over the proposals. With piracy on the increase, the Japanese government had sought to broaden the criminalization of downloads of copyrighted materials from videos and music to cover all types of content. But academics, manga artist groups and others have said the envisioned expansion to also cover materials including manga, computer games and literary pieces could affect freedom of expression by fans and hinder legitimate activities, such as research. “We have yet to eliminate the worries of both copyright holders and (internet) users,” said House of Councilors member Masaaki Akaike, who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party culture panel, adding “We should work on it anew.”
