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1: IsoHunt Told to Pull .torrent Files Offline, Likely to Close
First off today, the Bittorrent search engine ISOHunt may be forced to close as its legal battles against the MPAA have come to a head. The site has been ordered by a judge to remove all infringing torrent files from the service. ISOHunt had argued it was just another search engine, much like Google, but plaintiff attorneys showed evidence that the site had targeted infringing material for indexing. Since it would be almost impossible for ISOHunt to remove all infringing torrents from its index, it seems unlikely that the site will be able to comply with the injunction without closing its doors.
2: France: More Publishers Sue Google
Next up today, according to the New York Times, more publishers in France are preparing to sue Google over its book scanning project. This follows a similar suit by the publishing group La Martinière, which won in the lower court though the case is on appeal. According to the publishers, Google has continued scanning their books even after being asked to stop, paving the way for legal action.
3: Opposition Mounts to UK’s Digital Economy Bill
Finally today, opposition is mounting to the Digital Economy Bill in the UK even as the bill seems to be heading for a quick passage in Parliament. The controversial bill, which is due for its second reading in the House of Commons shortly, has had many of its most divisive elements removed, including an amendment that would have given ministers the right to alter copyright law without Parliament’s oversight, but others, including a provision to disconnect repeat file sharers, remains in the bill.
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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That isn't actually 100% true. I've been talking with a lot of attorneys about these international cases lately for a lot of reasons, both having to do with copyright and libel, and it can work very easily actually.If the MPAA can show that the U.S. court was the proper jurisdiction, which it has already done to the satisfaction of the U.S. courts, and that ISOHunt received a fair trial, which it was represented at this case, then it can file a motion in Canada to compel the court to enforce any injunction.This came up in repeated conversations regarding the Evony case where a UK man was sued in Australia for having allegedly libeled a U.S. company with alleged Chinese ties. Though there is much debate if Australia was the proper jurisdiction, if he had lost (which he didn't) they could have compelled a UK judge to enforce the judgement and injunction.This can work, it's just an extra step and an expensive one. But if anyone has the patience and deep pockets to pull it off, it's the MPAA.Hope that helps!
Just so you're aware, isoHunt is hosted in Canada, and a court ruling in the USA can't force it to "close it's doors" period. The most a USA court can do is request that it blocks USA traffic, nothing more.Next time a bit more research before publishing would be nice :S