Friday’s Endnotes – 01/15/16

On Piracy and Promotion — David Newhoff unpacks the numerous fallacies and inconsistencies contained in the argument that piracy is good promotion for creative works.

Piracy apologists’ convenient lie (of omission) that Hollywood profits means piracy doesn’t matter — On that same topic, Vox Indie’s Ellen Seidler looks at the canard that a rise in box office revenues proves that piracy doesn’t matter. For example, says Seidler, one of the effects of piracy is that fewer films are being made. “The Hollywood films that are being made are those that are sure bets to overcome digital theft and still make money. In 2015, the top 5 films made 20% of the revenue.”

Judge Allows Graffiti Artist’s Lawsuit Over Katy Perry’s Met Gala Dress — Over in the courts, a California judge denied a motion to dismiss a claim against the designer of a dress worn by Katy Perry that allegedly copied a design from street artist Rime. Among the claims that survived is one for copyright infringement and one for removal of copyright management information.

Twitter sued for copyright infringement & for ignoring DMCA takedown requests — A photographer has sued Twitter after the service failed to remove 50 of the 56 allegedly infringing works identified in DMCA takedown notices that were sent.