President Signs Marrakesh Treaty Into Law. On Wednesday, President Trump signed into law the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act. The signing took place five years after the international copyright community adopted the treaty, which will facilitate access to published works for persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print disabled, according to a Library of Congress blog. Following passage of the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act by the House of Representatives last week, the Association of Research Libraries posted a blog celebrating the treaty’s advancement. It quoted Mary Ann Mavrinac, president of ARL and vice provost and dean of the University of Rochester Libraries, who stated, “The Marrakesh Treaty provides concrete benefits, particularly by allowing cross-border exchange of accessible formats for the benefit of people with print disabilities.”

EU Censorship Plan Carries Big Stick. As the EU copyright directive advances, Electronic Frontier Foundation Special Advisor Cory Doctorow warned it will “censor the whole world’s internet.” In the wake of last month’s European Parliament vote on the controversial content filtering bill, Doctorow wrote a blog, complete with character examples, depicting how the EU plan will censor the internet far beyond the 28 member-states. “With Article 13, the EU would create a system where copyright complainants get a huge stick to beat the internet with, where people who abuse this power face no penalties, and where platforms that err on the side of free speech will get that stick right in the face,” Doctorow wrote as a harsh warning.

Busting The Rhyme Claim In Copyright Case Against Gwen Stefani And Pharrell. According to a Billboard report, Gwen Stefani and Pharrell were sued in 2017 by Stefani’s hairdresser Richard Morrill, who claimed they had copied his song “Who’s Got My Lightah” for their collaboration “Spark the Fire.” Morrill claimed he had shown Stefani the track and that both songs rhyme “lighter” with “fire” and pronounce fire as “fi-ya.” On October 2, Judge Dolly M. Gee ruled in favor of Stefani and Pharrell and found that pronouncing the words the same does not “demonstrate similarity” and also that “rhyming the words ‘light-ah’ and ‘fi-ah’ on beat four of both songs cannot be protected because the last word in the line of a song often rhymes.”

Making It As A Professional Cosplayer. Stella Chuu was profiled by CNBC at this year’s New York Comic Con as a professional cosplayer who earns a six-figure income from paid appearances and through online platforms like Patreon, Twitch and Caffeine. Chuu added that she spends about half of her earnings on the clothing, wigs and other materials needed to create costumes from popular video games and Japanese manga comics. “I was really inspired by YouTubers and artists out there on the internet who made their own job, and it really motivated me to try it; and it’s been amazing,” she said.