(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Blackbeard’s Ship Comes to the US Supreme Court
The pirate known as Blackbeard terrorized the Atlantic coast of North America in the early 1700s. In a few months, the United States Supreme Court will hear a case related to Blackbeard's ship. The case involves a filmmaker who claims the rights to images of the ship belong to him, not the state of North Carolina.
Here is what happened. Back in 1718, Blackbeard was sailing a ship named the Queen Anne's Revenge, after a former queen of England. One day the Queen Anne's Revenge and a smaller ship went into a harbor now known as Beaufort Inlet, in North Carolina. The water was not very deep, and the ships ran into the sand. (Blackbeard may have grounded the ships on purpose, but that is another story.)
Blackbeard abandoned the Queen Anne's Revenge, along with a number of its crew members. He and a few of his favorite pirates escaped with valuable treasure.
A few months later, Blackbeard was killed by British forces. And, in time, the Queen Anne's Revenge disappeared under the water. In U.S. law, the sunken ship and everything on it belongs to the state of North Carolina.
The legal battle
Jump to the year 1996. A private company found the remains of the Queen Anne's Revenge. The company used divers and archeologists to explore the wreckage and bring the artifacts to the surface.
A media company, Nautilus Productions, took pictures and videos of the recovery effort. The co-owner of the media company, Frederick Allen, received federal copyright protection over the images. In other words, U.S. national law says no one can use the images without getting the company's permission and paying Nautilus.
Yet North Carolina state officials used some of the images on YouTube and a state agency website without permission – some would claim the officials "pirated" them. The state government also passed a law to make some of the images into public records, free for anyone to use.
In answer, Nautilus co-owner Frederick Allen brought legal action against the state of North Carolina.
At issue is whether states must pay damages for copyright violations. Historically, the U.S. Constitution and some earlier court cases have protected states against lawsuits. But in 1990, the U.S. Congress passed a law allowing states to be sued for illegal copying.
A lower court said the 1990 law is not constitutional. Congress did not have the power to make such a law, the lower court said. As a result, a judge dismissed Allen's case.
So now, Allen is taking his argument to the U.S. Supreme Court. He says states are breaking federal law and then refusing to pay damages for their violations. He also says people who create original work need a way to object when states ignore copyright laws.
The Supreme Court has agreed only to hear the case. The justices will likely make a ruling on it next year.
I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.
重点解析
1.be related to 与...有关
Light industry is closely related to agriculture.
轻工业和农业密切相关。
2.copyright laws 版权法
Copyright laws give artists, writers, and musicians control over how their work is used and reproduced.
版权法赋予艺术家、作家和音乐家支配自己作品的使用权和复制权。
3.lower court 地方法院
The high court upheld the lower court's verdict.
高级法庭维持了下级法庭的判决。
4.in answer to 作为回应
He shook his head in answer to my question.
他以摇头来答复我的问题。
5.Blackbeard abandoned the Queen Anne's Revenge, along with a number of its crew members.
a number of 一些
The research begs a number of questions.
研究绕过了一些问题。
We have lived here quite a number of years.
我们在这儿住了好些年了。
6.The justices will likely make a ruling on it next year.
make a ruling 作出裁决
The court will make a ruling this week.
法院本周将作出判决。
If the negotiation fails, the court shall make a ruling based on the facts.
协商不成的，由法院根据实际情况作出判决。
参考译文
安妮女王复仇号版权案上诉最高法院
18世纪初，海盗“黑胡子”曾称霸北美大西洋沿岸。几个月后，美国最高法院将审理与黑胡子海盗船有关的案件。该案件涉及一名电影制片人，他表示，海盗船的图片版权为他所有，而不是北卡罗莱纳州。
事件回顾。 1718年，海盗黑胡子驾驶着一艘以前英格兰女王之名命名的“安妮女王复仇号”海盗船。有一天，“安妮女王复仇号”和一艘较小的船只驶入北卡罗莱纳州如今的波福特湾。这里的水很浅，船只陷进了泥沙。（黑胡子可能是故意搁浅的，不过那另当别论了。）
黑胡子和一些船员丢弃了“安妮女王复仇号”，他与一些亲信海盗带着贵重的财宝逃跑了。
数月后，黑胡子死于英军之手。随着时间的推移，“安妮女王复仇号”也葬身海底。根据美国法律，沉船及其船上所有物品皆归北卡罗莱纳州所有。
法律纠纷
1996年，一家私人企业发现了“安妮女王复仇号”的沉船残骸。该公司雇佣潜水员和考古学家探索船只残骸并将文物打捞出水。
一家名为Nautilus Productions的媒体公司拍下了打捞作业的照片和视频。这家媒体公司的合伙人弗雷德里克·艾伦（Frederick Allen）获得了这些图像的联邦版权。换句话说，美国法律规定，未经该公司许可以及支付费用，任何人不得擅用图片。
然而，北卡罗来纳州官员在未经授权的情况下，在YouTube和一家该州的机构网站上使用了其中部分图片，有人称官员盗用了图片。州政府还通过了一项法律，将其中一些图片制作成公共档案，任何人都可以免费使用。
作为回应，Nautilus公司的合伙人艾伦起诉了北卡罗来纳州。
问题在于各州是否应为侵犯版权行为支付赔偿金。从历史上看，美国宪法和一些早期的法庭案件保护了各州免受诉讼。但在1990年，美国国会通过了一项法律，允许起诉非法盗用的各州。
一家地方法院称，这项1990年通过的法律违宪。这家下级法院称，国会无权制定这样的法律。因此，法官驳回了艾伦的诉讼。
现在，艾伦向最高法院提起了诉讼。他说，各州正在违法联邦法律并且拒绝为违法行为支付赔偿金。他还表示，当各州无视版权法时，原创者需要途径来反对这种行为。
最高法院仅同意受理该案件。法官们可能会在明年做出裁决。
凯莉·吉恩·凯莉为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
