YouTube Can Be Liable For Copyright Infringing Videos, Court Rules (torrentfreak.com)

An anonymous reader shares a report: YouTube is known to be a breeding ground for creators. At the same time, however, it's also regularly used to share copyrighted material without permission. While copyright holders can issue takedown notices to remove infringing content, a preliminary ruling by the Commercial Court in Vienna has decided this is not sufficient. The ruling follows a complaint from local television channel Puls 4. After a thorough review of YouTube's functionalities, the Court concluded that YouTube has an obligation to prevent third parties from uploading infringing content. In its defense, YouTube argued that it's a neutral hosting provider under the provisions of the E-Commerce Act. As such, it should be shielded from direct liability for the actions of users. However, the Commercial Court disagreed, noting that YouTube takes several motivated actions to organize and optimize how videos are displayed. By doing so, it becomes more than a neutral hosting provider.

Comments

This is not for US-ians

[Anonymous Coward]

Venice Austria this time, not California

Re: This is not for US-ians

[Nidi62]

I went to Austria during the winter almost 10 years ago. I don't know how the kangaroos can handle that cold year after year

Re:This is not for US-ians

[hcs_$reboot]

Maybe it's Vienna Austria in Virginia.

Re: This is not for US-ians

[dcw3]

But don't those whooshes flow in the opposite direction below the equator?

Re: *Premliminary* is the key word, here

[phantomfive]

It's practically impossible to prevent copyrighted things from being uploaded illegally. So if it comes to that, Google may decide to shut down youtube in the EU because there is no other option. What a shame that would be.