why doesn't anyone go after scribd?

[mhensley]

Apparently a lot of the recent anti-pirate actions happened after wotc saw their stuff on scribd.com. It is still full of copyrighted gaming stuff. Why doesn't someone sue them?

 

[TheYeti1775]

Because they have clauses that state they aren't responsible for the items that are being passed through them.

The equilivant to suing the post office for carrying a cd of illegal pdf's through the mail. It won't happen, same reason limewire is still around. There is enough legal content that goes through them that shutting it down is more a backlash than anything.

 

[TheYeti1775]

eeek double post

 

[Caerin]

Apparently a lot of the recent anti-pirate actions happened after wotc saw their stuff on scribd.com. It is still full of copyrighted gaming stuff. Why doesn't someone sue them?

Because like any other Online Service Provider (including ISPs, universities, libraries, Web sites), scribd has a safe harbor in the DMCA. Provided that they meet certain criteria, including DMCA contact registered with the Copyright Office and following the notice-and-takedown procedure, OSPs are not liable for the actions of their users.

 

[tmatk]

Because like any other Online Service Provider (including ISPs, universities, libraries, Web sites), scribd has a safe harbor in the DMCA. Provided that they meet certain criteria, including DMCA contact registered with the Copyright Office and following the notice-and-takedown procedure, OSPs are not liable for the actions of their users.

In theory yes, but they could still be sued. I think Viacom is still suing Google/Youtube for similar reasons.

 

[webrunner]

In theory yes, but they could still be sued. I think Viacom is still suing Google/Youtube for similar reasons.

Well, yes. But anyone can sue anyone for anything. I could sue you for spelling "could" with a c, but it would be immediately thrown out. in case like scribd if they're covering their asses properly they wouldn't lose.

 

[Bleoberis De Ganis]

Piratebay have just been done. 4 of them have a year senyence and a big fine.

That is Sweden (I think) though.

 

[luide]

Considering that the judge in the Pirate Bay case seems to have been heavily biased, you cannot really read too much into that ruling:
"The judge in one of Sweden’s most high profile case ever is also a member of an interest organisation for one side and associates with the prosecution trial lawyers in his free time?"
Pirate Bay judge is member of Copyright Association | ZDNet Government | ZDNet.com

Pirate Bay judge and pro-copyright lobbyist accused of bias • The Register

Also in Sweden, just as in Finland, the opinions of low level courts are not actually given too much value, as they're very often overturned in higher courts.

So we have to wait few years more until the case is actually decided, one way or another.

 

[Umbran]

"The judge in one of Sweden’s most high profile case ever is also a member of an interest organisation for one side and associates with the prosecution trial lawyers in his free time?"

Yes, but he probably also associates with a lot of other lawyers in his free time, including defense lawyers. Folks tend to associate with people they meet on the job, and Sweden's lawyer pool is probably a bit smaller than ours.

 

[roguerouge]

Umbran, it's a bit more serious than that:

"Additionally, the judge sits on the board of the Swedish Association for the Protection of Industrial Property (Svenska föreningen för industriellt rättsskydd), which is lobbying for tougher copyright laws."

"In the autumn I received information that a lay judge could have similar connections. I sent these to the court and the judge was excluded in order to prevent a conflict of interest. It would have been reasonable to then review this situation as well."

This is like a judge in an anti-smoking case sitting on the board of United Tobacco. It's a clear conflict of interest.