Prince Takes on eBay and YouTube
Prince is taking the biggest problem facing the music industry today and attacking it head on.
He is taking e Bay and YouTube et al to court !
It is claimed he is not doing this just for his own benefit but for all recording artists.
The claim against ebay will be for failing to deal with all the counterfeit merchandise that is sold on the site.
Whilst the claim against YouTube will be for copyright infringement.
Has he got a case ? - How will he do ?
eBay
This could be tough. It is difficult for the internet auction site to actually police auctions.
There are issues of practicality and sheer volume of auctions.
Secondly you cannot always tell by looking at an auction that the product is fake.
A specialist company acting on behalf of Prince have already had over 300 auctions closed down on the site in a very short period of time - no doubt they will argue that this demonstrates it can be done.
My verdict - not clear cut
YouTube
This one is easier I think. There clearly is copyright infringement here. You are not allowed to broadcast copyrighted material without permission or payment if required.
YouTube have been clearly outside the law since they started accepting commercial footage on the site.
Nobody did much about it as the owners had no money - the along comes Google with … wait for it …
$1.65 Billion
I remember thinking when it happened ‘now it’ll all start’
At last you have an owner with money so it’s worth a lawsuit
Secondly, and here’s the clincher, Google are actively making money from other people’s copyrighted material.
Those acting for Prince have had 2,000 clips removed from the site and claim that because the site filters pornography with relative success the can do the same for copyright material
The onus should be on the site owners and not the artist.
My verdict - bang to rights !
This could be a watershed case on how the entertainment industry moves on in this digital world
Can the music industry even survive and if so in what form ?
Craig said,
September 14, 2007 @ 11:37 pm
He is also taking on PirateBay, who have previously been contacted by Web Sheriff on behalf of other copyright holders - http://thepiratebay.org/legal
Can he win against YouTube - yes and his point about them filtering other content is spot on. However does he have a legal claim on bootleg video footage of him in concert?
Can he win against eBay - probably not. eBay will however use it as an excuse to force sellers of pop memorabilia to use Paypal, as they have done with L’Oreal and beauty products.
Will it stem the tide of copyrighted material being uploaded/downloaded - not a chance.
Rod said,
September 15, 2007 @ 10:41 am
Craig
I think you’re right, YouTube is the on ehe’s most likely to have success with.
At the ned of the day they are making money off the back of copyright protected material.
Ebay will probably get away with showing ‘they do what they can’
Also that they resond to all VERO requests.
I think this is all a prelude to a huge catalyst within the industry.
I have a feeling YouTube and the like will end up on a revenue sharing scheme with the copyright holders.
It’s the only way - as you point out it’s not going to stop and you cannot uninvent the technology
Enjoy the Weekend
Rod