Privacy groups wade in on Viacom v Google case
p2pnet view P2P:- “Expansive” copyright claims made in lawsuits lodged against YouTube should be dropped, say nine privacy groups.
“Viacom and a variety of class action plaintiffs are suing YouTube, claiming that the online video service is liable for copyright infringements committed by its users”, says the EFF, one of the organisations which’ve submitted a friend of court brief in the case.
The others are: American Library Association, Association of College and Research Libraries, Association of Research Libraries, Center for Democracy and Technology, Computer and Communications Industry Association, Home Recording Rights Coalition, Internet Archive and Public Knowledge
YouTube argues its activities are shielded by the “safe harbor” provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), “which give legal protections to online service providers that host content on behalf of users” says the EFF, going on, “Despite the DMCA, the plaintiffs have claimed that YouTube should be held responsible for infringements that occurred before May 2008, when the site voluntarily implemented content filtering technologies.
“In effect, the plaintiffs have urged the court to make content filtering mandatory for all online service providers that host content on behalf of users.”
But, “This case is not just about YouTube,” states EFF lawyer Fred von Lohmann. “Nearly every online service that fosters free expression and commerce online … depends on the very same DMCA safe harbors that YouTube is relying on here.
“Viacom is trying to undo the law that Congress designed to provide a modicum of legal certainty for those who build these innovative online services.”
The cases against YouTube are pending in federal court in the Southern District of New York, says the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation), adding additional briefs will be filed by the parties on April 30 and June 4. A hearing and decision will follow.
..… and identi.ca
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
EFF – Viacom’s Legal Attack on YouTube Threatens Online Speech and Innovation, April 13, 2010
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April 13th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Viacom responds:
“Consistent with their unsuccessful defense of Grokster and other businesses built on unlawful conduct, the EFF has once again taken an extremist public position in support of copyright theft. They simply rehash Google’s claims and broadly misrepresent Viacom’s position. The EFF brief offers no new insight or perspective, and does nothing to change the evidence that YouTube was clearly and intentionally built on the theft of copyrighted content, in stark violation of the law. ”