AfterDawn: News

French court says Google responsible for keeping pirated works from re-appearing

A new precedent has been set in France that may have a chilling effect on viral video sites like YouTube. The High Court of the First Instance of Paris found Google liable for copyright infringement after Zadig Productions, a Parisian film company, took them to court over content posted on Google Video.

The decision is notable not because Google was found responsible, but rather for the court's reasoning. According to the high court, when a service like Google's receives a notice from a copyright holder they're obligated not just to remove it, but to ensure it doesn't get uploaded again. "The crux of the decision is that once hosting providers have been notified of illegal content, they are obliged to make sure that it does not reappear on their site," says French lawyer Brad Spitz, in a blog post on the decision.



According to court documents, Zadig notified Google about the illegally posted video last April, and although it was quickly removed it re-appeared just as quickly, forcing Zadig to repeatedly complain to Google in order to have it repeatedly removed. "The court said that Google had not proven that it implemented all measures necessary to prevent people from re-posting," Spitz told The Register. "It's a bit harsh on hosting providers."

"We have launched Video Identification on YouTube only, but we expect to implement the technology on Google Video in the future," Google spokesman Gabriel Stricker said. "Google Video has an entirely different infrastructure, so it is not a simple plug-and-play to extend this technology."

Source: Reuters

Written by: Rich Fiscus @ 16 Dec 2007 15:42

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• 10 comments

• Hrdrk20

  One way to prevent repeat uploading would be to have users sign in with a credit card so you can't abuse the process of using multiple Yahoo ID's when your's is finally canned for illegal uploading ;)

  17.12.2007 09:36 #1

• maryjayne

  The next time I go to the doctor due to the flu, I am going to let him know that he is responsible for making sure I never get the flu again.
  
  Just like spam still makes it way through the spam filters, illegal video is still going to be posted again and again. There is no stopping people from renaming the video title or changing the codec or using other techniques to get past the filtration software used by video hosting websites.
  
  And I thought only US judges were blind...

  17.12.2007 09:48 #2

• maryjayne

  If a website asks me for a credit card to access it, then I simply do not go to that website. The only time I use my credit card online is for making purchases. People are not going to be willing to just give out their credit card information to a website just to view some FREE video.

  17.12.2007 09:50 #3

• navi1199

  Quote:One way to prevent repeat uploading would be to have users sign in with a credit card so you can't abuse the process of using multiple Yahoo ID's when your's is finally canned for illegal uploading ;)
  why not just log ips? its way easier and safer than using credit cards =/ heck I bet you thats what their gonna do.
  
  
  Quote:If a website asks me for a credit card to access it, then I simply do not go to that website. The only time I use my credit card online is for making purchases. People are not going to be willing to just give out their credit card information to a website just to view some FREE video.
  100% agreed, who would just easily share their credit card info just to watch a few crappy home made videos -_-

  17.12.2007 11:18 #4

• morguex

  I wonder if google will track down the people who uploaded the video and sue them.
  
  This is beyond stupid, google did their job by removing the video the first time they were asked to, I don't think they should be responsble for people uploading it again.
  
  Give me the middle finger salute google and tell what they can do with their videos.
  Probaly not even worth watching in the first place.

  17.12.2007 16:36 #5

• Tashammer

  Originally posted by maryjayne: ...There is no stopping people from renaming the video title or changing the codec or using other techniques to get past the filtration software used by video hosting websites.
  
  And I thought only US judges were blind...
  No maryjane, other folks in other countries have the same sort of problems. Anyway it's Justice that is blind - no wonder, it's because She had Her eyes poked out with a stick by folks who wish to make money, profit, gain power over others. You know, just the good old human animal up to it's crazy tricks again.
  
  How about we tattoo P on the foreheads of the above mentioned and then have a 1 week or so hunting season on them?

  17.12.2007 16:42 #6

• Mez

  How can you responcibly go after the user? Probably a minor did the posting. Only the Media Maffia goes after the parents of the offenders. The soleless bastards hope by sueing the parents the student will magically aquire money so the can purchase their music. Instead, the internet was probably stoped at the house hold and the students will hold a grudge against the music industry for the rest of their lives.
  
  I can see both sides. Google needs to be more dillagent but their task may be impossible. I suspect they did not really try to prevent the problem from reoccuring. Hopefully, the judge not slap them with a huge settlement. Some sites use IP addresses and an email address to lock you in. You can't just log in and post stuff from any IP address. You can log in to read from anywhere but not to post. This is a pretty simple solution. It is not a perfect solution, but switching providers is not as easy as switching email accounts.
  
  PLEASE remember this did happen in France. They want to be respected like a first world country but behave like a second or third world country. Still, the ruling is 'out there'.

  21.12.2007 08:33 #7

• Shegax

  We are entering a new era. look copyrights, trademarks, and the like are going to be left behind and ignored more and more as technology gets more impressive. Coprights and the like is old hat to the world now. Also I feel they hinder creativity....capitalism can't last for ever.

  21.12.2007 19:44 #8

• borhan9

  The fact is Google maybe in the wrong however it will be very hard fpr Google to police all the videos that get uploaded and linked too. They need to put something in place that if a video is once removed due to notification reasons it should not be able to be uploaded again.

  24.12.2007 17:32 #9

• Mez

  borhan9, I agree but that may be near impossible if the video is in a different package. The only realistic thing they can do other than insure the file it not posted again is black list users if they continue to post copyrighted videos.

  27.12.2007 19:25 #10