Slashdot Mirror
French Record Labels Go After Limewire, SourceForge
An anonymous reader notes that TorrentFreak is reporting: "French record labels have received the green light to sue four US-based companies that develop P2P applications, including the BitTorrent client Vuze, Limewire, and Morpheus. Shareaza is the fourth application, for which the labels are going after the open source development platform SourceForge. ... Putting aside the discussion on the responsibilities of application developers for their users activities, the decision to go after SourceForge for hosting a application that can potentially infringe, is stretching credibility beyond all bounds." SourceForge is Slashdot's corporate parent.
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I just hope there are no French people who have contributed code to Shareza. I wouldn't put it past them to go looking for someone with any sort of connection to the project at all to hold accountable for the entire thing...
Then again, maybe French law is different in that regard, but these crazy litigants all seem to be the same about doing that sort of thing, no matter what country they're suing from.
The French courts ruled that the French record labels have the legal right to make stupid lawsuits. Duh.
It does not mean that the French court system agrees that SourceForge should be tried, it does not mean that SourceForge will be found guilty, and it does not mean that even if they ARE found guilty that it would actually mean anything. (Good luck trying to enforce a ruling made in France, over a company not there.)
My guess is that the French courts are rolling their eyes over the thought of having to hear these cases out. They basically said "yes yes, technically you're right, we have to hear these cases too, however stupid they may be. "
So the french MafRIAA think they are merely suing a software download host?
What they are doing is prodding the FOSS community in the ribs with a stick, which is likely to make it angry. This is not a good idea.
After logging in slashdot still does not take you back to the page you were on. It's been that way for 20 years.
So now it's up to the French to DOS http://www.sppf.com/ and raise their voice!
I think you're wrong about one point: AFAIK US courts, according to US law, DO have jurisdiction over foreign nationals for acts committed on foreign ground, as soon as US citizens or companies are affected (as alleged victims).
There was even some dismay in the news media here in Europe when the US adapted a law allowing US Marshals to arrest (read "kidnap") foreign nationals abroad to drag them before US courts. I don't remember what period that was exactly, but it's at least 10 years ago.
Hello,
Actually the HADOPI proposed law, which I think is the one you are referring to, has only gone through French Senate for a first reading, but this only means the deputies' Assembly can now vote on it, which is scheduled for early 2009. Then assuming it goes through it must go back to the senate, then to the constitutional council and finally be published for it to become law.
HADOPI is a broad permission and obligation for ISPs to cut off internet access for a set time if users are caught sharing "illegally".
Already there are problems with this proposed law as it is contrary to European rights, in particular rights to access to communications. According to European principles, people cannot have their internet access cut off without a proper trial.
In addition I think technically it will not work as expected, and the results will be unmitigated disasters for all parties involved. I can't wait until deputies and senators have their internet access cut off by some automated script.
So, it is "USA - the most advanced country in the world, the country of freedom and laws making everyone feel safe...unless is does not suit somebody"?
And instead of "In Europe, nobody is sentenced without a due process", it should be actually "In Europe, nobody is sentenced without a due process unless it does not suit the Americans?"
Exactly, because we're currently a superpower and we can get away with it. And when we're not, when someone else takes the top dog position (maybe China, who knows) then they'll get to behave the same way. And believe me ... they will. Just ask the Soviets how they treated people from other countries when they were a superpower. It's just human nature and all that.
Some of you seem to think that international politics is some kind of a popularity contest, where the nicest country wins. In reality, it's exactly the opposite.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
Didn't Yahoo go before the 9th circuit of appeals about 10 years ago and get a ruling that a US company need not know or comply with all the laws of other countries if they are operating a business out of the US and designed for a US audience?
"The problem with socialism is eventually you run out of other people's money" - Thatcher.