[x-pubpol] NYT on O'Dwyer case

[Joly MacFie]

seems like they gave it the front page on the print edition.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/technology/us-pursues-richard-odwyer-as-intermediary-in-online-piracy.html?pagewanted=all<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/technology/us-pursues-richard-odwyer-as-intermediary-in-online-piracy.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1342180805-MMzqtYZ8bDgBBYIWIuTjZw&pagewanted=all>

<snip>

At the heart of the O’Dwyer case is a question of what to do about Web
sites that help users find unlicensed content.

According to British court documents examined by The New York Times, the
Justice Department argues that Mr. O’Dwyer enabled Internet users to easily
avail themselves of copyrighted material by providing links to third-party
sites that contained thousands of pirated films and television programs.

Prosecutors say that on one day in 2010, his Web site contained links to
seven films, described as the “most popular movies today,” that were still
playing in theaters and had not been authorized for distribution on the
Internet.

Mr. O’Dwyer, prosecutors suggest, was aware the material was copyrighted.
They cite an announcement on TVShack that urged users to be patient with
download times because they were “saving quite a lot of money (especially
when putting several visits to the theater or seasons together).”

Ted Shapiro, the Motion Picture Association of America’s general counsel
for Europe, said the fact that Mr. O’Dwyer had not stored illegal material
on TVShack itself signaled that he knew how to evade the law.

“The fact that the U.S. government is willing to step up and protect
content from the film industry and the copyright sector is an amazingly
important thing,” Mr. Shapiro said. “We are talking about protecting things
Americans are good at.”

Mr. O’Dwyer’s backers say his site was effectively a search engine. To
prosecute him, they argue, would set a dangerous precedent — tantamount to
holding one person accountable for the acts of another.

“Something that lets you find illegal content can also help you find legal
content,” said Mitch Stoltz, a lawyer with the Electronic Frontier
Foundation. “When you go after intermediaries, you’re going to shut down
legal and legitimate speech and commerce and innovation to get at what they
perceive as illegal copyright violation.”

Peter Decherney, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who wrote
the book “Hollywood’s Copyright Wars: From Edison to the Internet,” said
the O’Dwyer case showed how difficult Hollywood has made it for people in
other countries to consume American entertainment online.

Sites like Netflix, Hulu and iTunes have limited offerings overseas, if
any. The demand for American entertainment drives a lucrative underground
economy of pirated movies and television shows.

“In many other countries, unauthorized distribution is the only form of
online distribution,” said Mr. Decherney, “and consumers will continue to
make Robin Hoods out of anyone who can help them get to media online.”

-- 
---------------------------------------------------------------
Joly MacFie  218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast
WWWhatsup NYC - http://wwwhatsup.com
 http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com
 VP (Admin) - ISOC-NY - http://isoc-ny.org
--------------------------------------------------------------
-
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.isoc-ny.org/pipermail/x-pubpol-isoc-ny.org/attachments/20120713/2a2cf69a/attachment-0001.htm>