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1: Google Throws Down Gauntlet: No More Book Settlement Changes
First off today, Google has made a series of filings in the Google Book Search lawsuit defending the current settlement and saying that it will not revise it any further. The new settlement, which gives Google the right to scan, display and sell copies of in-copyright but out of print books, was adjusted previously after the Department of Justice filed objections over the proposed settlement. Google is now defending the agreement vigorously and seems to be digging in for a fight.
2: Dumb Labels, Laws (Not Google) To Blame for Music Blog Deletions
Next up today, we have several updates on “Musicblogocide 2010″, which saw Google shuttering several music blogs on its service due to repeat copyright complaints. Previously bloggers had said they could not file counter-notices because Google provided inadequate information for them to do so. But Google has issued a statement that it always provides a URL and that several bloggers have admitted that they simply didn’t respond for various reasons. It’s also come to light, as was expected, that the takedowns were the product of a bot that tracks MP3s on the Web.
3: Video Site Backed by Time Warner Inc., Eisner to File For Chapter 7
Finally today, we have to say goodbye to an old friend, Veoh. Today Veoh filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy and is ceasing operations. Veoh famously won its case against Universal Music Group, which had sued it for copyright infringement, claiming safe harbor did not protect the site. The ruling in that case is likely to have a bearing on the YouTube/Viacom case that is ongoing. This distraction, however, was cited as one of the reasons the company is going under. Goodbye Veoh!
Programming Note
On a persona note today, Fat Tuesday is this coming Tuesday and, as a New Orleanian, I probably won’t be in the office much Monday or Tuesday of next week. So please understand if there is no 3 Count for a couple of days. I will be back on Wednesday to record a new edition of the Copyright 2.0 Show and resume normal posting!
Suggestions
That’s it for the three count today. We will be back tomorrow with three more copyright links. If you have a link that you want to suggest a link for the column or have any proposals to make it better. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. I hope to hear from you.
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Tune in every Saturday morning for the live recording of the Copyright 2.0 Show or wait and get the edited version Monday morning right here on Plagiarism Today.
Chilling Effects has the letters posted that caused the deletion of these music blogs. I don’t doubt that a few sites were punished for no reason. This is regrettable, and I should hope that in the future more care would be taken to make sure that the sites being charged are indeed infringing upon someone’s rights.
By the same token, I should hope that when sites receive a DMCA notice that they would react and respond accordingly rather than ignore the notice. This happens too frequently, causing matters to escalate beyond reason.
However, what seems to be lost in the discussion, is the fact that most of the blogs that were hit by this latest Musicblogocide, as it is being called, deserve to have been deleted. They were infringing upon intellectual property rights, and they were doing so repeatedly.
Google does need to clean up the mess it has helped to propagate. Google hosts a large number of blogs that infringe upon others’ intellectual property rights, and too often, Google is slow to respond to addressing this issue.
Further, if you poke around Google Web Search for even a short period of time, you are bound to run across massive networks of file-sharing sites. Google SUGGESTS these sites by adding the word “torrent” or “rapidshare” or “megaupload” to your search queries.
Because these sites have high traffic and because they are so large, they also rank very highly in the search results.
I don’t believe for a minute that Google is unaware that there are blogger blogs or sites in its search results that host the latest albums by Lady Gaga and Beyonce. I also don’t believe for a minute that they thought those blogs and sites had the right to post those albums. Google pushes the boundaries of safe harbor as far as they possibly can.
It’s nice to see them actually deal with something for a change, but it seems that whenever they do, they make sure that there’s a lot of negative publicity for the filers of the DMCA action. Therefore, it is imperative that those trying to protect their rights take precautions to make sure they have it right.
My personal thought on this, and I may elaborate more tomorrow, is that there is enough blame to go around. The record labels sent stupid notices, Google handled them poorly and uneducated bloggers didn’t bother reading them adequately or studying the law enough to respond effectively. It’s a perfect storm.
I have no doubt that there were many blogs that deserved deletion in the mix and would be fascinated if someone could perform a study on the validity of all the takedowns and find out just how many, or few, legitimate blogs were removed.
All in all I agree, though it is clear that Google has a lot of work to do on the customer relations side of the DMCA issue, it is nice to see them making an effort to clean up their service, which does have an unfortunate reputation in this area.
I agree.
Chilling Effects has the letters posted that caused the deletion of these music blogs. I don't doubt that a few sites were punished for no reason. This is regrettable, and I should hope that in the future more care would be taken to make sure that the sites being charged are indeed infringing upon someone's rights.
By the same token, I should hope that when sites receive a DMCA notice that they would react and respond accordingly rather than ignore the notice. This happens too frequently, causing matters to escalate beyond reason.
However, what seems to be lost in the discussion, is the fact that most of the blogs that were hit by this latest Musicblogocide, as it is being called, deserve to have been deleted. They were infringing upon intellectual property rights, and they were doing so repeatedly.
Google does need to clean up the mess it has helped to propagate. Google hosts a large number of blogs that infringe upon others' intellectual property rights, and too often, Google is slow to respond to addressing this issue.
Further, if you poke around Google Web Search for even a short period of time, you are bound to run across massive networks of file-sharing sites. Google SUGGESTS these sites by adding the word "torrent" or "rapidshare" or "megaupload" to your search queries.
Because these sites have high traffic and because they are so large, they also rank very highly in the search results.
I don't believe for a minute that Google is unaware that there are blogger blogs or sites in its search results that host the latest albums by Lady Gaga and Beyonce. I also don't believe for a minute that they thought those blogs and sites had the right to post those albums. Google pushes the boundaries of safe harbor as far as they possibly can.
It's nice to see them actually deal with something for a change, but it seems that whenever they do, they make sure that there's a lot of negative publicity for the filers of the DMCA action. Therefore, it is imperative that those trying to protect their rights take precautions to make sure they have it right.
My personal thought on this, and I may elaborate more tomorrow, is that there is enough blame to go around. The record labels sent stupid notices, Google handled them poorly and uneducated bloggers didn't bother reading them adequately or studying the law enough to respond effectively. It's a perfect storm.
I have no doubt that there were many blogs that deserved deletion in the mix and would be fascinated if someone could perform a study on the validity of all the takedowns and find out just how many, or few, legitimate blogs were removed.
All in all I agree, though it is clear that Google has a lot of work to do on the customer relations side of the DMCA issue, it is nice to see them making an effort to clean up their service, which does have an unfortunate reputation in this area.
I agree.