RealNetworks Sues Dutch Webmaster Over Hyperlink To Freeware 297
An anonymous reader writes "In the ever lasting contest for the most idiotic lawsuit, RealNetworks has sued a Dutch man for posting a link to a competing freeware program that allegedly infringes on RealNetworks' intellectual property. The company also secretly obtained a court order that resulted in confiscation of all computers belonging to the man and his family. The 26-year-old has already incurred over €66,000 in legal fees and if he loses the case, he's facing €210,000 in fines. Where are the Anonymous when you need them?"
looses (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:"competing freeware program" (Score:4, Insightful)
"Blame US laws, not RealNetworks." -> Since this took place in The Netherlands, I'd rather blame Dutch laws.
Re:"competing freeware program" (Score:3, Insightful)
Please do not interrupt our ongoing "F* the US" circle-jerk.
Re:"competing freeware program" (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Biggest shock in this story ... (Score:5, Insightful)
Yup. The "real" funny part is that Real killed themselves by turning their product into a PC-suffocating piece of bloatware. Real Alternative was a direct response to that exact bloat. I'd be laughing if it weren't so sad for the defendant.
It's sad how failed companies refuse to go down quietly, instead they go legal supernova.
Re:"competing freeware program" (Score:5, Insightful)
Putting aside for the moment that it would be Dutch law in question here, NO. Just because Real's actions are not explicitly illegal, that doesn't get them off the ethical hook. They are dirty bastards and their attack lawyers need a public flogging.
Re:"competing freeware program" (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:"competing freeware program" (Score:5, Insightful)
If justice is so obviously corrupted, it is no longer justice. And people will go back to doing what they were doing before there was a functioning justice system in place.
It wasn't that bad (Score:5, Insightful)
It worked on my 386 back in the day. It was the first live audio stream I ever heard on my computer.
They went downhill from there. Their nice tidy player got rewritten and then the whole thing went spammy.
Re:Sometimes linking should be illegal ... (Score:5, Insightful)
So, by your own logic, when you mention to your friend to "take care" around that drug den down the road, you should be put in jail for aiding and abetting the drug trade. We see links to goatse here all the time. The image itself is morally wrong, but the links are not. *IF* Real Alternative is in fact breaking the law then Real Alternative should be held accountable - Not some poor schmuck who simply says "look at this" via a link.
What you are advocating is akin to thought crime. If you don't conform and think the way "we" tell you too, you should be punished. The problem is just who gets to decide what is "right". In every single instance or situation. What happens when this so called "right" does not align with your own personal views? Do you bend over and let them spank you until you see the light? Sorry, but I'm sure glad I don't live in your world and can make up my own mind what links I'll visit, what software I'll install, or even what I'll have for lunch today.
Re:Sometimes linking should be illegal ... (Score:5, Insightful)
But said software isn't illegal in Europe, Real Networks are suing a European over alleged patent rights, those patents aren't valid in Europe.
Re:"competing freeware program" (Score:2, Insightful)
You can even say "fuck" like a child if you wish.
Really?!
fuuuuck. fucky fucky fuck fuck poop.
Re:"competing freeware program" (Score:4, Insightful)
My gut feeling is Real will loose this (and they should), and in the Netherlands this means REAL will most likely have to cough up the the legal fees for this bloke.
Re:"competing freeware program" (Score:5, Insightful)
They may well have thought that, but there is a duty to perform basic fact checking AND attempt an amicable resolution before taking anything to court. If they had done that, they could have saved a great deal of embarrassment and avoided creating a lot of difficulty for Edskes. They clearly decided to sue first and ask questions later. In doing that, they demonstrated a callous disregard for everyone but themselves.
They should be forced to pay a lot more than just the legal fees in compensation since the man's computers have all been seized without just cause. I don't know what Dutch law does about that.
Re:Streisand effect? (Score:4, Insightful)
Not only that, apparently they'd have the power to confiscate all the desktop and laptop computers of Slashdot editors' families as well if interpret this precedent correctly. To me, this is the most disturbing part of the entire thing. There is no way all of their computers are connected in any meaningful way to the site that this guy ran. Also, it's apparently enough to be related to an alleged copyright infringer in order for them to come and take your stuff away.
Re:Sometimes linking should be illegal ... (Score:5, Insightful)
If you link to a web page that contains illegal content, you are abetting in a crime.
This is a fair suggestion, but in this case nothing has been proven to be illegal about this content. RealNetworks claim patent infringement, but has this been proven in a court of law? Until it has, how is anyone supposed to know if it's illegal or not? If I lay claim to patents on iPods, does that mean the entire internet has to sit up, take notice, and stop linking to Apple's website?
Besides that, it is unreasonable to demand that every website owner to be fully acquainted to the legal status of the software they may link to. If it appears to be genuine freeware, how are they supposed to know?
Lastly, and this really should be taken into consideration; RealNetworks were giving their software away for free, with an entirely reasonable business model financed in other ways. All they had to do was ensure their end-users liked it and found it useful. But instead they turned it into a sucky, monstrously bloated, intrusive piece of crap that people (and their computers) hated. They only have themselves to blame if users sought out an alternative.