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Fair Use Must Be Considered In DMCA Notices
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "US District Judge Jeremy Fogel has ruled that an 'allegation that a copyright owner acted in bad faith by issuing a takedown notice without proper consideration of the fair use doctrine thus is sufficient to state a misrepresentation claim,' which paves the way for a lawsuit against Universal Music over a ridiculous DMCA Takedown notice they filed. One can only hope that this ruling will some day be used against those who file misguided copyright complaints against computer printers. Those lawyers who rely upon buggy infringement detection programs to do their thinking for them — programs which are incapable of making subjective considerations like fair use — might want to think again before rubber stamping computer-generated DMCA Takedown notices."
Maybe it isn't so much reliance on a mindless infringement detection program as groups like the MPAA and RIAA seem to absolutely loathe the concept of fair use. Maybe the lawyers are actually looking for a scapegoat.
I am beginning to think that maybe Darl McBride was attacked viciously by a penguin as a child.
To date, has anyone anywhere gone on trial for perjuring themselves in a false DMCA notice? If not, why not?
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
If "subjective bad faith" as the cause of Universal's behavior is eliminated, they're left with only "stupidity" or "ignorance of the law" as their excuses. Since neither of those is likely to make their lawyers look good, I'm guessing they'll go with with some variation on the general theme of "ignorance".
Sample: "Sadly, your honor, in spite of the many requirements we placed in their contract, we were not informed by a third-party subcontractor of a computer or software error for which they were entirely to blame."
I am fully prepared to begin holding up my end of the bargain on the copyright equation.
As soon as you are willing to hold up yours.
This includes, but is not limited to:
Copyright is a two-way street, and failure to maintain your responsibilities means a complete forfeiture of any right to try and enforce compliance with my responsibilities. Continued attempts to pass laws in order to shirk your responsibilities will be responded to with unchecked, tube-clogging mass downloading.
'a';DROP TABLE users; SELECT * FROM DATA WHERE name LIKE '%'... if you're reading this, it didn't work.
If an entity sues for copyright infringement on some work they claim copyright to and loses with prejudice, they are stripped of any copyright to the work they sued for.
Simple. In litigation, there needs to a concept of jeopardy. Both sides can lose. Not just the case, but something substantial. The defendant here is being sued for monetary compensation. In criminal cases the prosecution jeopardizes their ability to prosecute in the future using better evidence. We clearly need the same principle to apply to copyright litigation.
If you don't want to take away the copyright, at least make the plaintiff pay the amount they were asking for in damages to the defendant. Jeopardy would restore balance to the system.
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