Pirate Site Blockades Violate Free Speech, Mexico's Supreme Court Rules (torrentfreak.com)

New submitter happyfeet2000 quotes a report from TorrentFreak: Broad pirate sites blockades are disproportional, Mexico's Supreme Court of Justice has ruled. The government can't order ISPs to block websites that link to copyright-infringing material because that would also restrict access to legitimate content and violate the public's freedom of expression. The ruling is a win for local ISP Alestra, which successfully protested the government's blocking efforts. Alestra was ordered to block access to the website mymusiic.com by the government's Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI). The website targeted a Mexican audience and offered music downloads, some of which were shared without permission. "The ISP was not pleased with the order and appealed it in court," reports TorrentFreak. "Among other things, the defense argued that the order was too broad, as it also restricted access to music that might not be infringing." The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation heard the case and ruled that the government's order is indeed disproportional.

Comments

Justice

[amiga3D]

Who knew that logic and common sense could win out? Congratulations to the brave ISP that defended it's rights.

Re:Justice

[ls671]

Looking at the big picture, some could see a relation with a wall some have been talking about.

Re:Justice

[aussie_a]

It's a sad day when Mexico becomes a bastion of free speech.

Re:Justice

[fyngyrz]

Yes, exactly what I was thinking: "blocking pirate sites violates free speech" may be an archaic form of Spanish meaning "fuck your wall, you tangerine-faced moron."

I confess it's been a while since I refreshed my fluency in Spanish. But still. :)

Re: Justice

[ArmoredDragon]

No, what happened here is that the drug cartels didn't care one way or another how this rolling went, so normal judicial processes were followed for once.

Re:Justice

[Anonymous Coward]

Just at the time that Trump is threatening to abrogate NAFTA, the Mexicans decide to take a stand against US interests in protecting the revenue streams from certain kinds of intellectual property. Funny how that works.

Re:Justice

[kamapuaa]

It's sad that people conflate free speech with pirated episodes of "The Flash, Season 3, Episode 19."

Free Speech is important because it allows the distribution of Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" or the Federalist Papers. Saying that obviously Free Speech means you don't have to pay content creators cheapens the value of Free Speech into something people don't consider a right.

Re:Justice

[Anonymous Coward]

It's sad when people make up phony words like pirating, when the real word for what is actually happening, sharing, is still a perfectly good word.

My grandfather, who used to distribute copies of other people's classical music back in the 1930s and 40s as far as he could to share his pleasure, would be disgusted by you. He was Greatest Generation, indeed.

You? You're a language thief.

Re:Justice

[Anonymous Coward]

No, that's not accurate either. Sharing is good, normal human behavior. Very few people have the amount of money the copyright holders in their darkest dreams want to squeeze from us.

Make the law fair again, and copyright will deserve respect. But since the U.S. and its laws are bought and paid for, copyright no longer has any legitimacy. To me, and millions like me, the word no longer means anything. Infringement doesn't exist, because copyright is imaginary.

Greed, versus sharing? I'll take sharing any day.

Sometimes, the law is an ass. This is one of those times.

Re:Justice

[davesays]

Really - So without regard to political party - you maintain that anyone from any other country in the world has a right to live in the U.S., but U.S. citizens have no right to live in any other country? That is the current actual standard...

Re: Justice

[Anonymous Coward]

You don't know what you are talking about. The Mexican judicial process is far from perfect, but as a lawyer for an international IP firm, in my experience the Mexican legal system works better that most people would think.

Mexican legislation has a long standing tradition of correctly and justly balancing the rights of property holders and public access to culture. That's why in Mexico it's legal to download or copy any copyrighted work as long as you don't intend to profit from it. My sister could afford med school in part because in the National University of Mexico they provide you with free copies of textbooks. It has been like this since the 60s and reinforced with the copyright reform of 96. The Mexican RIAA "Amprofon" has lost countless court and legislative battles.

On one hand the copyright holder has 100 year protection, on the other hand the law makes an exception for copies made for personal non-profit use. This is quite balanced and the proof of it is the good financial results of the recording and film industry in Mexico.

It is also noteworthy that software patents were ruled illegal in Mexico, as software is just mathematical functions. There is good protection of trade secrets as a trade off with the lack of software patents. At the same time companies around the world value the strong protection afforded to their industrial property, I know this because that's my field and tons of companies are moving their research centers and factories to Mexico not only because of the low labor costs, but because if anyone steals your IP and makes money of it, the government will shut the offender down in days and make him pay for damages.

While Mexico does many things wrong, it surely does one of the best jobs in the world in IP legislation. Clients and colleagues in first world jurisdictions often are surprised that the system works so well.

Re:Justice

[thegarbz]

It's sad that people conflate free speech with pirated episodes of "The Flash, Season 3, Episode 19."

If that's what you understood as the reason for this ruling then your reading comprehension skill is incredibly lacking.

As in: "Yes" means "No" kind of lacking.

Re: Justice

[Anonymous Coward]

You mean like US English?

So Mexican Free Speech

[Anonymous Coward]

So Mexican Free Speech.
Since there is no Universal Free Speech Law.

Great timing :-) Happy birthday to me!

[gwolf]

Several activities were carried out this week to celebrate "Intellectual Property day", April 26. I usually complain that it falls just a day before my birthday.
This time, our never-beloved-nor-believed judicial system granted me a very welcome birthday present. Thanks!

Que?

[fyngyrz]

you maintain that anyone from any other country in the world has a right to live in the U.S., but U.S. citizens have no right to live in any other country?

No. However, I maintain that Trump's wall is one of his stupidest ideas.

That's English for "Trump's wall is one of his stupidest ideas", BTW.

Which is not to say that most of his other ideas aren't stupid, because they really, really are. But the wall is special. Like Trump. Short-bus special. Profoundly without merit while at the same time comprising a financial boondoggle of titanic proportions, at the very same time when the country's actual useful infrastructure (not in any way to be confused with border "walls") needs money and effort.

So without regard to political party

Oh, yes. Completely without regard to political party. Just in regard to Trump and any bewildered sycophant who thinks building that wall is anything but a complete waste of time, effort and money.

Also, I like vegetables. So I'm rather appreciative of the workers who pick them. No matter where they come from. I like tacos, too. I would not be in the least bit offended by a taco truck on every corner. Especially if they offered a nice selection of vegetables, but, you know, either way, really.

U.S. citizens have no right to live in any other country

Hmmm. That's a very... interesting... postulate. Let me guess: you live in one of the states that has legalized pot, and you just got back from a test run of every heavy-hitting variety offered, is that it? Did you know that at some taco stands, I've been able to buy Fritos? FRITOS! Lovely, crispy corn chips! And Soda! MMMMMM! Don't Bogart that joint, my friend. Pass it over to Juan.