Google Should Have Defended The Legality Of The Pirate Bay.

[Kludge]

I hadn't thought of this prior to reading this article, but the author makes a solid argument. TPB is essentially just a search engine. You look for the file you want and TPB connects you with the people hosting that file (whether directly through their tracker or indirectly by pointing to an external tracker).

Google faces very similar legal challenges as it also directly connects people to servers which may host law-infringing content. Beyond that, Google actually keeps a cache of all websites it crawls, so Google may actually be hosting law-infringing content. Google has seen its own execs imprisoned on the same legal principles as TPB's execs are.

Good article - well worth the read if you're interested in IP law: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101128/16524712023/as-pirate-bay-guys-lose-their-appeal-when-does-google-regret-not-coming-to-their-defense.shtml

[dannno]

Ya I made the comment last week when they shut down all those websites about how youtube is still up.. Youtube is FULL of copyright infringing material..

[jmdrake]

Ya I made the comment last week when they shut down all those websites about how youtube is still up.. Youtube is FULL of copyright infringing material..

Yes. But YouTube has a system where if a copyright owner contacts them they will take down the infringing material. That's why now you'll see YouTubes that are missing the music. (Some copyright owner complains). It doesn't matter that there is copyright material on YouTube as long as they take reasonable steps to remove it when notified.

[low preference guy]

not surprising from google.

[dannno]

Yes. But YouTube has a system where if a copyright owner contacts them they will take down the infringing material. That's why now you'll see YouTubes that are missing the music. (Some copyright owner complains). It doesn't matter that there is copyright material on YouTube as long as they take reasonable steps to remove it when notified.

But they are HOSTING the content.. huge difference.. and there is still a ridiculous amount of copyrighted material on youtube that has been up for years.

[jmdrake]

But they are HOSTING the content.. huge difference..

Not from a legal point of view.


and there is still a ridiculous amount of copyrighted material on youtube that has been up for years.

And copyright owners have the right to request YouTube to take down whatever they find. However some are now starting to see YouTube as "free advertising". The dividing line in copyright law is what is your business model. If your business model is "I want to help people illegally share files" then you are going to get hammered. If your business model is "I'm a general search engine" or "I'm a user generated content site" you're more likely to survive even if your servers end up hosting illegal content.

[ChaosControl]

I like TPB.
I don't like Google, would love to see it destroyed.