Month: March 2020

Westworld S3, episode 2: Back in the game, breaking parks again

In “The Winter Line” we say hello to old friends and confirm a season 2 finale question.

You better watch out, because she's back in the game.

Enlarge / You better watch out, because she's back in the game. (credit: HBO)

This piece contains heavy spoilers for Westworld season three, episodes one and two. You probably won't want to read it unless you're caught up.

Every premiere episode of Westworld has had to introduce (and re-introduce) viewers to the rules of the world, and last week's episode was no exception—the show had to cram a lot of information into an hour of runtime to make sure we all start the season on the same page. This week's episode, by contrast, spends a lot of time in old familiar places—and with old familiar faces, too.

More than anything else, this is a workmanlike episode—it doesn't wash us down with a firehose of revelations, but it covers its ground efficiently. There are symbolism and neat visuals to dissect here, too, but that stuff needs to wait a couple more weeks—we need a few more reveals to happen first. (As a brief aside, discussing single episodes of a foreshadowing-heavy show like Westworld when I've already seen half the season is a hell of a lot harder than I thought it would be. I've got a new respect for folks who do this kind of writing on the regular, since it involves a hell of a lot of compartmentalization!)

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Mixtape Service Sues RIAA for Sending False Takedown Notices

Popular hip-hop mixtape site and app Spinrilla has sued the RIAA for sending false takedown notices. The company believes that the music group relies on text searches, without properly checking if the content is infringing. The mixtape site informs the court that these faulty notices harm its goodwill and reputation, so is requesting damages in return.

Drom: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, torrent sites and more. We also have an annual VPN review.

Operating a mixtape site is not without risk. By definition, mixes include multiple sound recordings which are all protected by copyright.

Popular hip-hop mixtape site and app Spinrilla, which has millions of users, is well aware of these risks. To stay on the safe side, it has implemented various anti-piracy measures.

For example, users of the service have to be vetted before they can upload anything. All their uploads are also scanned for possible infringements using Audible Magic’s content recognition service. On top of that, repeat infringers have their accounts terminated after two strikes.

These resource-intensive precautions are not unwarranted. The mixtape site was previously sued by several major records labels – a case that remains ongoing – and it’s not looking for further problems.

This means that the site is processing numerous takedown notices from music companies, many of which are represented by the RIAA. While Spinrilla doesn’t object to legitimate takedowns, it recently noticed that not all of the RIAA’s notices are accurate.

Spinrilla

Spinrilla believes that the RIAA is sending takedown requests based on text searches, which results in inaccurate takedown notices. To stop this from happening, the site has filed a lawsuit at a federal court in Georgia, accusing the RIAA of sending false DMCA takedowns.

“Defendant is sending DMCA takedown notices some of which materially misrepresent that audio files uploaded by certain Spinrilla’s users infringe sound recordings owned by RIAA’s members,” Spinrilla writes.

These inaccurate takedown requests harm the goodwill and reputation of the mixtape site, Spinrilla notes. It’s a waste of resources and can also result in user accounts being terminated without good cause.

“False takedown notices needlessly waste Spinrilla’s time, disrupts its personnel’s work and puts at risk for terminating a user as a ‘repeat infringer’ when in fact the user uploaded non-infringing content,” Spinrilla writes.

The mixtape site argues that text-based searching can’t distinguish legal from unauthorized content. Uploaders can, for example, use titles of tracks or artists that are not necessarily used in the mixes. After looking into the matter, Spinrilla notices that some of the audio that was flagged by the RIAA was not infringing.

To stop these errors from taking place the site asked the RIAA not to rely solely on text searches. The RIAA replied that this was already the case, mentioning that “human ears” reviewed the content, but the false notices apparently didn’t stop.

“Despite Spinrilla’s informing Defendant of the false Notices, Defendant has continued to send Notices which include allegations of infringement as to audio files that Defendant knows do not infringe any copyrights and/or constitute fair use,” Spinrilla writes.

As an example, the mixtape mentions that the RIAA asked it to take down this mix, as it would infringe the copyrights for the Big Sean & Jhené Aiko track ‘2 Minute Warning.’ According to Spinrilla, this is not the case.

“That accused audio file does not infringe the copyright in the sound file 2 Minute Warning. In fact, that audio file is a mostly empty track (approximately 6 minutes) with the last 5 seconds or so jumbled audio that is not from the copyrighted 2 Minute Warning,” Spinrilla notes.

The RIAA is well aware that its practices are resulting in false positives, Spinrilla argues. As such, it is knowingly misrepresenting that the audio files are copyright infringing, which is in violation of the DMCA.

Through the lawsuit, the mixtape site hopes to obtain an injunction preventing the RIAA from “knowingly” sending false takedown notices. In addition, it asks to be compensated for the damage it has suffered thus far.

“Defendant’s wrongful acts have caused, and are causing, damage to Spinrilla, which damage cannot be accurately computed, and therefore, unless this Court restrains Defendant from further making knowingly material misrepresentations, Spinrilla will suffer irreparable damage for which there is no adequate remedy at law,” Spinrilla writes.

The RIAA has yet to file an answer to the complaint.

—

A copy of the complaint filed last month by Spinrilla at a U.S. District Court in Atlanta, Georgia, is available here (pdf).

Drom: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, torrent sites and more. We also have an annual VPN review.

Review: Kingdom is better (and more relevant) than ever in S2

Between this and Parasite, South Korea is at the forefront of global film and TV.

  • A dwindling army of survivors must battle zombies and human fallibility in the second season of Kingdom.

Part historical political drama, part supernatural zombie horror, the South Korean series Kingdom proved to be a smart, heady, addictive delight when it debuted last year, easily earning a spot on our year's best list for 2019. It boasted stunning visuals, memorable characters, and a juggernaut of a plot, with the occasional moments of comic relief. If anything, S2 is even better. Honestly, between this outstanding series and the Oscar-winning Parasite alone, South Korea has firmly established itself at the forefront of global film and television.

(Spoilers for S1; some spoilers for S2 below the gallery.)

The series is based on a popular South Korean webcomic Kingdom of the Gods by Kim Eun-hee, who also adapted it for television. Set in Korea's Joseon period, ), Kingdom begins as the current king has succumbed to smallpox. His conniving young wife, Queen Cho (Kim Hye-jun), and her family have kept him artificially alive—via a "resurrection plant" that turns the king into a flesh-eating zombie—until her son is born. Her son would inherit the throne over the current Crown Prince, Lee Chang (Ju Ji-hoon), who was born to a concubine.

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40+ freebies for while you’re stuck at home

An unprecedented number of people around the globe are being told to stay at home as a public health measure in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus and COVID-19. But just because you’re stuck at home doesn’t mean you have to be bore…

An unprecedented number of people around the globe are being told to stay at home as a public health measure in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus and COVID-19. But just because you’re stuck at home doesn’t mean you have to be bored. Here’s a roundup of just some of the many digital […]

The only little movie screen in the capital of Texas

COVID-19 cancelled SXSW and left filmmakers out to dry—until a small drive-in stepped in.

  • It may not look like much, but here is a small slice of cinematic and social normalcy in these crazy times: the Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive-in. [credit: Nathan Mattise ]

AUSTIN, Texas—For a brief period of time on Tuesday evening, the debates in one particular part of East Austin could be blissfully trivial again: sit inside or outside? Want Milk Duds or Buncha Crunch?

And which one was best—the one about the pregnancy or the one involving waffles?

The rapidly evolving situation surrounding COVID-19, aka the coronavirus, has impacted seemingly everyone and everything by this point in time. But among those impacted by this virus, the film fraternity in Central Texas stood as one of the first US communities hit hard in the public spotlight. On March 6, Austin Mayor Steve Adler walked to the podium and declared the state of emergency that effectively canceled South by Southwest for the first time in the festival's 34-year history. And within days, health officials rapidly shrank recommended gathering sizes from 2,500 to 250 to 50 to no more than 10. Fans, filmmakers, and everyone in the broader industry both here and afar suddenly not only lost one of their annual linchpins for business and pleasure, they lost virtually all cinematic experiences.

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