China Net site sues MPAA for libel
p2pnet news | MPAA News:- In an interesting twist, the MPAA, the ‘other’ entertainment cartel enforcer, has joined the RIAA on the wrong end of a defamation lawsuit.
Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG’s RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) is being taken on in the US courts by Tanya Andersen, an Oregon mother falsely accused of being a massive online distributor of copyrighted music.
Among numerous other charges, she’s claiming the RIAA, “publicly libeled her with demeaning and repulsive accusations”.
Now Hollywood’s MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) is being sued for libel by a Chinese movie download site.
Walt Disney Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures said they’d “reached a settlement” with Chinese Net firm Beijing Jeboo Interactive Science & Technology, having accused it of providing cybercafes with illegal copies of their movies, said p2pnet.
Jeboo has, “filed a suit against five major US movie companies as well as the Motion Picture Association of America,” says the Shanghai Daily, going on:
“Jeboo.com said the defendants’ announcement on March 6 breached its honor and claimed a total of one million yuan (US$141,751) compensation at Beijing No.2 Intermediate People’s Court. The court will hear the case in the near future, according to China News Service.
Walt Disney, et al, “sued Jeboo.com twice over piracy for allegedly airing US movies online without authorization, but settled out of court,” says the story, adding >>>
Jeboo.com reportedly paid for the so-called unauthorized movies found in two Internet cafes in Shanghai, even though the videos in dispute were later confirmed not to have come from Jeboo.com. Jeboo.com paid to show its sincerity and to end the dispute as quickly as possible, the report said.
However, the five US movie giants and the MPAA issued statements on MPAA’s official Web site, saying Jeboo.com had stopped its infringement and had apologized for its illegal activities.
The statements quoted Frank Rittman, Vice President and Asia-Pacific Regional Counsel for MPAA, as saying: ‘Services like Jeboo have profited from copyright infringement and undermined the development of legitimate online services.’
Jeboo.com said the statements severely harmed its honor and its image as China’s biggest authorized online media provider.
Net cafes pay Jeboo a monthly fee for the installation of a Lan-based film distribution system, says vnunet, adding:
“Jeboo updates the content every day and provides customer service support.
“Visitors to the cafe can either watch or download the movies. According to the MPAA, users generally cannot access the Jeboo Bar from their own computers.”
Stay tuned.
Also See:
falsely accused – The RIAA vs Tanya Andersen story, March 17, 2008
p2pnet – Hollywood settles Beijing Jeboo pirate case, March 6, 2008
Shanghai Daily – Hollywood targeted in film web site court case, March 25, 2008
vnunet – Jeboo sues Hollywood over ‘piracy’ claim, March 25, 2008
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March 28th, 2008 at 3:57 am
This is setting the right example, and we should support these people. “Massive online distributor” indeed. As if anyone is. Just because she had some music in a shared folder maybe, doesn’t even prove a thing. Intent is not even sufficient. It’s highly likely that none of it was ever uploaded even once.
That’s in a hypothetical situation, not hers necessarily. I hope she gets massive payout, and others will follow her example. Many lawyers will work to accept payment on condition of winning if there’s a good chance.