How The DMCA Affects Search Engines 147
An anonymous reader writes "Here is an interesting article regarding the application of the DMCA safe harbor provisions to search engines. This is what causes Google to remove links from its search results and to put a disclaimer at the bottom of the page stating "In response to a complaint we received under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we have removed [x] result(s) from this page." The article is published in the Virginia Journal of Law and Technology, and there is a direct link to a pdf version of the article."
DMCA Counter-Takedown letters... (Score:5, Informative)
Of course, in a majority of the times, the copyright holder is correct and this actually prevents a needless cause from going into the overworked court systems. The makers of Kazaa Lite could send Google a counter-notification to get back into the system, and then Shawman Networks would be in the uncomfortable situation of having to file a US-based lawsuit, despite trying to otherwise stay out of US jurisdiction.
Re:Backwards? (Score:5, Informative)
Since the DMCA. It's now illegal to link to illegal material. Read the article or see the past cases [dmoz.org] for more information.
What i love even more is (Score:5, Informative)
Chilling Effects Clearinghouse A joint project of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, University of San Francisco, and University of Maine law school clinics. Do you know your online rights? Have you received a letter asking you to remove information from a Web site or to stop engaging in an activity? Are you concerned about liability for information that someone else posted to your online forum? If so, this site is for you. Chilling Effects aims to help you understand the protections that the First Amendment and intellectual property laws give to your online activities. We are excited about the new opportunities the Internet offers individuals to express their views, parody politicians, celebrate their favorite movie stars, or criticize businesses. But we've noticed that not everyone feels the same way. Anecdotal evidence suggests that some individuals and corporations are using intellectual property and other laws to silence other online users. Chilling Effects encourages respect for intellectual property law, while frowning on its misuse to "chill" legitimate activity.
Nothing like educating the public about the dangers of the DMCA/etal by linking them to EFF and the like :).
Re:Genuine question (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Backwards? (Score:2, Informative)
Idea to Protect from the DMCA (Score:1, Informative)
idea: the government is now trying people under newer, harsher, more unreasonable "terrorist" laws. Example: trying drug dealers as "manufacturing chemical weapons" instead of the less frightening and less severe "drug trafficing". So if a criminal is caught and is going to be pounded by the "MAN" what he should do is to quickly hire someone to charge him of the same crime but under a less severe law and then he will quickly plead quilty before he is taken to trial for the more severe charges. Then because of U.S.A. 'double jepardy' laws the Gov. will not be allowed to procede with their case. Now IANAL, but I do recall a case where a murderer was found 'not guilty' and then evidence was later found prooving UNQUESTIONABLY that he did do the murder and he then admited that he did, but they could only then charge him for PURGERY (because he said he did not do it) and WOULD NOT/COULD NOT re-try him for the murder, so he spent (a maximum of) 7 years in jail because for purgery instead of 20+ for the murder. So the next time some company or organization cough*RIAA*cough sues one of us under the DMCA we just need one of our friends to sue us under existing copywright laws (when it applies), hand the pittance over to whoever is suing us and then tell them to shove the DMCA up their RJ45 plug.
Re:Genuine question (Score:1, Informative)
Basically it means:
If you do something illegal, "they" can't take any civil or legal action against you unless they tell you you're doing something illegal and you don't stop first.
If you comply with their notice, they can't sue you.
http://tinyurl.com/32sme is a pretty good link
Re:Yeah right, (Score:3, Informative)
Nice troll. The USA is not the only country with freedom of the press and elected government. In fact, it's not even that democratic if you consider there are only two parties that can really compete for power, both of which depend heavily on corporate funding for their campaigns. With the press under control of large corporations, and the political parties dependant on them, it's not hard to see how the country could fall under corporate control. That would also explain why you have laws like the DMCA, and patents on software.
In comparison, where I live the government is composed of multiple parties in proportion to how many votes they got. Assuming that the distributor has taken care of legalities, we can freely download anything on offer on the Internet. Google is not in any way being ``shut down'' here. We have the _right_ to reverse engineer software to achieve interoperability. Same-sex couples have the same legal status as heteros. Our country respects international law and human rights. Health care is for everyone, and unemployed get enough money to live on.
I realize I provide an incomplete picture of reality here. There are many more things to mention about the US and about my country, both good and bad. I just hope I have illustrated that your apparent denial of there being freedom outside the USA is utterly unfounded.
Re:Yeah right, (Score:1, Informative)
Re:The DMCA is a BAD law. (Score:3, Informative)
In the physical world, we don't have to secure our houses with bulletproof glass or 2 ton safe doors, we can put up a lock and rest safe knowing that even if the lock is defeatable, the act of breaking into the house is illegal.
The real problem is not with the DMCA making the defeat of such security illegal, but in content producers placing locks where they have no business being, or producing locks that don't have "keys" for alternate OS's (like Linux). The DMCAs most controvertial point is that it also outlaws "gray" material that has both legitimate uses (such as DVD playback on Linux) and illegitimate uses (ripping or copying rented DVDs).
Re:what i love though... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:what i love though... (Score:3, Informative)