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User-Generated Websites Being Held More Liable
By Tim Gross - Internet Business Blog | July 7, 2008
The Viacom v.s. YouTube lawsuit indicates that online companies are starting to have more responsibility for their users’ copyright violations. Here’s the quote:
The legal tide may be turning against many of the most popular companies on the Web. Numerous Internet companies, from YouTube and Flickr (YHOO) to eBay (EBAY) and MySpace (NWS), have built their success on the participation of their users. In the past, the courts have been quite clear that if those users violate laws — by posting copyrighted video of Viacom’s Comedy Central shows on YouTube, for example — the Web company is not liable. Increasingly, however, the courts are siding with rights owners and ruling that Web sites are responsible for illegal submissions.
Taken to the extreme, the original Napster model was nothing but a method for users to share copyrighted files illegally. Now they’re trying to iron out the “shades of gray”.
Anyone relying on user-generated content should pay close attention to this case.
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