Distribution
'Fair use' loses again
Last Updated on Sunday, 29 March 2009 10:36 Written by Forum Editor Saturday, 14 March 2009 21:17
Warner Brothers recently sent DCMA takedown notices to YouTube requesting the removal of two videos over claims that the music contained on these videos infringes their copyright. The two videos in question were of young children behaving humorously in reaction to tracks own by Warners.
DCMA takedown notices are used by rightsholders to inform publishers (in this case, YouTube) of infringing material and to give them the opportunity to remove it to forestall legal action.
The system has been widely criticised, with claims of rightsholders abusing the system. Knowing that most individuals cannot afford the cost of defence, they simply comply with the notice irrespective of its legal merits.
This article from the Electronic Frontier Foundation also makes it clear that this abuse is on the rise:
0 CommentsAccording to statistics kept by YouTomb, there were twice as many videos removed from YouTube in January 2009 as in the entire previous year combined. The numbers are all more appalling because, thanks to Warner's reliance on YouTube’s automated, censorship-friendly Content I.D. tool, there is no reason to think that Warner even bothered to watch these videos to decide whether it actually objects them before blocking them.
Roku adds Amazon On Demand
Written by Kelsey Brookes Wednesday, 04 March 2009 01:28
Roku's digital video player can now access the more than 40,000 titles on offer via Amazon's Video On Demand service.
Roku rose to prominence as the hardware behind Netflix' on-demand video streaming service. Previously only available directly via a computer, the Roku player allows users to connect their TV to Netflix' vast online library of titles. The addition of Amazon's video on demand service should provide a welcome boost of titles.
Of course, Roku faces major competition in the form of AppleTV. The combination of iTunes massive library of both TV and film titles, in addition to the sexier looks and permanent access to purchased titles seems like a more attractive proposition.
0 CommentsHulu dropped from Boxee
Last Updated on Thursday, 19 February 2009 04:21 Written by Kelsey Brookes Thursday, 19 February 2009 04:17
In what can only be seen as a shot across the bow aimed squarely at media-centre developers, Hulu has requested that it's offering be dropped from Boxee.
While several media players and media centre applications have included Boxee, this is the first time that pressure from content providers has forced the service to be removed from an application or device. Boxee is a fork of the wildly successful open source XBMC project and can be installed on AppleTV, Intel Macs and Linux machines.
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