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It's easy for the author to say that "dumb robots, programmed to kill any broadcast containing copyrighted material, had destroyed the only live broadcast of th
by hcarvalhoalves 14y ago
It's easy for the author to say that "dumb robots, programmed to kill any broadcast containing copyrighted material, had destroyed the only live broadcast of the Hugo Awards".
What he ignores, though, is how easy it is for them to get sued about copyright infringement.
That's what copyright law creates: fear, uncertainty and overly complex, confusing DRM systems.
- eurleif 14y agoI don't know of any law which would require Ustream to actively monitor broadcasts for copyright violation. Do you?
- rmc 14y agoNo law explicit, no. But there is loads of laws they may break and loads of ways many rich companies could sue them if they didn't use bots like this.
- icebraining 14y agoI don't see any. As long as they comply with DMCA takedown requests, they should be under safe harbor status.
- mikeash 14y agoUntil a *AA gets tired of them "taking advantage" of the law and sues them into oblivion... won't even matter that they were on the right side of the law.
- icebraining 14y agoIt's not that clearcut: https://torrentfreak.com/rapidshare-not-guilty-of-copyright-infringement-us-court-rules-100520/ https://torrentfreak.com/rapidshare-not-guilty-of-copyright-...
- A1kmm 14y agoThat is not how the laws are being enforced, however. MegaUpload also apparently complied with takedown requests, and yet they have been down for 9 months as a result of enforcement action, with directors being held in remand for a period of time. Even if they win in court, this will undoubtedly have seriously damaged the momentum of their business. It is understandable that businesses will self-censor beyond the requirements of the letter of the law to avoid legal action against them, even if those legal challenges are likely to fail.
- hcarvalhoalves 14y agoI know the paranoia copyright laws create on companies.
- rabidsnail 14y agoIt doesn't matter whether you broke the law if you go broke defending yourself. And good luck raising money with a lawsuit hanging over your head.