Fox sues YouTube over TV leak
p2pnet.net News:- Rupert Murdoch’s Twentieth Century Fox is suing Google’s YouTube in a frenzied bid to ferret out the name of the person who uploaded episodes of “24″ and “The Simpsons”.
“On or about January 8, 2007, Fox became aware that a subscriber (”the Subscriber”) of YouTube Inc.s’ Internet-based service uploaded pirated copies of the works onto YouTube, making it available for illegal viewing over the Internet to anyone who wishes to watch it,” says part of the subpoena, quoted in GoogleWatch.
“Fox has not authorized this distribution or display of the works. The subpoena request YouTube, Inc. to disclose information sufficient to identify the Subscriber so that Fox can stop this infringing activity.”
LiveDigital has also been subpoenaed.
Both TV episodes were featured on GooTube before their official releases, says a Reuters/Hollywood Reporter story, going on, “the subpoena identifies the YouTube subscriber by the username ‘ECOtotal’. A search under that username on the YouTube site unearths a user by that name with a banner across the top of the subscriber’s page that reads, “This user account has been suspended”.
“Still, identifying ‘ECOtotal’ won’t necessarily explain how unaired episodes of ‘24′ made it onto the Internet. Prior to January 8, there were reports that the same episodes had popped up on illegal filesharing sites, which may have transmitted them even before they appeared on YouTube.”
Also See:
GoogleWatch – Fox’s Piracy Czar Subpoenas YouTube over Pirated “24″ and “Simpsons” Episode, January 24, 2007
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter – Fox subpoenas YouTube after “24″ clips posted, January 25, 2007
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January 26th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
We could have easily solved this problem by placing AdSense-like ads next to all copyrighted videos. The filter that Google is rumored to be working on could instead be used to identify content and associate it with AdSence ads that support that respective copyright holder. That way, copyright holders are supported but distributive control is still given to the users, as they will not be barred from uploading copyrighted content. This idea could even be expanded to include amateur videos as well, but for now it’s more important to try and soothe the savage beast that is the TV network industry.
January 26th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
>”…it’s more important to try and soothe the savage beast that is the TV network industry.”
Um… How about we shoot it and then burn the carcass instead.
January 27th, 2007 at 1:20 am
So, what’s the damage to Fox for this alleged leak? Advertisers pulling out from 24 left and right? Retailers yanking 24 DVDs from their shelves? Panic on Wall Street? Capitalism falls and communism reigns supreme?
Fat chance.
Fox’s real beef here is a simple one. Google/YouTube is a major competitor to Murdock’s MySpace service. And never mind that Internet-hosted content is a big fat competitor to television broadcasting in general.
So this isn’t about righting wrongs. It isn’t about restoring lost profits. It’s about hassling the competition, and spooking their customers. There should be a word for this. How about SLACC–Strategic Lawsuit Against Competing Concerns?
So that’s the real problem.
The solution: Many American states have enacted anti-SLAPP laws to reduce the potential to abuse the courts to stifle free speech. SLAPP plaintiffs must prove at an early stage in the proceedings that their suits have merit.
Prove? Merit? Perish the thought! What good copyright plaintiff would ever want to have to do that?!
Anti-SLACC laws, modeled after current anti-SLAPP legislation, will help prevent abuse of the courts to stifle fair competition, new business models, and technological innovation, by forcing plaintiffs to come to court with an actual case.
January 28th, 2007 at 12:08 am
Why does Fox care, video’s from youtube are poor quality and can’t be copyed
January 28th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
“can’t be copyed”?
Sure they can. With just a short 2-step process, I can have an .mpg of anything on that site… but the quality’s so shitty, it isn’t worth the effort.
January 29th, 2007 at 3:05 am
keepvid.com displays the link to download the videos and VLC plays flv files quite nicely.
But if Foc really wanted to nail someone they shouldgo after the first person that uploaded the torrent of all the episodes on the torrent networks. Wasnt that hard to see who it was. 1 seed and 300 peers. Not hard to figure out who the seed was. Unless he is like most of the uploaders and use proxies.
February 18th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
agreed!!!