Another Smart Copyright Ruling In Spain: Google Not Liable For User Upload

from the recognizing-liability dept

Just a few weeks after a German court ruled that YouTube was somehow responsible for copyright infringement done by users, a Spanish court has ruled in the exact opposite manner. Basically, the court properly recognized that Google is the tool that is used, and that it should not be responsible for the infringing behavior of its users. The court also properly notes that YouTube makes it easy (I'd argue, perhaps too easy) to remove content that a copyright holder believes is infringing. This is, of course, similar to the Viacom ruling here in the US.

It's also no surprise that a Spanish court has ruled this way. Spanish courts have ruled over and over and over and over again that liability should be applied towards the actual infringer, rather than the third party tool provider. This is basic common sense, but it's resulted in a misleading media campaign by the entertainment industry falsely claiming that Spain is somehow weak on copyright.

Properly applying liability to the party actually responsible is not being "weak," it's being accurate and fair. It's nice to see Spain recognize this. Hopefully, Germany figures this out at some point as well.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: liability, spain, videos
Companies: google, youtube


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. icon
    Richard (profile), 23 Sep 2010 @ 2:44pm

    Leading the way

    Good to see that Spain getting this correct, just wish the rest of the governments would see the blatantly obvious.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. icon
    :Lobo Santo (profile), 23 Sep 2010 @ 2:59pm

    Re: Leading the way

    Sadly, most things are only blatantly obvious in retrospect. Especially if one's field of view is limited to the interior of one's posterior.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Dustin, 23 Sep 2010 @ 3:13pm

    Well it makes sense

    To me, it makes sense for big corporations to go after 3rd parties instead of the individual. The money just isn't there when going after the small guys.

    I know here in the US they sued a couple of people over downloading music illegally and won. The person now owes something like $4 million for downloading music. Yah, they are never going to see that money.

    It's not "weak", it's smart on there part. And when they stop chasing money, the world will finally change (Yeah, probably never).

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. icon
    Hulser (profile), 23 Sep 2010 @ 3:17pm

    Re: Re: Leading the way

    "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."
    - Arthur Schopenhauer

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. icon
    Mike Masnick (profile), 23 Sep 2010 @ 4:53pm

    Re: Well it makes sense

    To me, it makes sense for big corporations to go after 3rd parties instead of the individual. The money just isn't there when going after the small guys.

    So, they should go after the money, even if those with the money didn't actually *do* anything wrong?

    Please explain.

    I know here in the US they sued a couple of people over downloading music illegally and won. The person now owes something like $4 million for downloading music. Yah, they are never going to see that money.

    Same question as above.

    It's not "weak", it's smart on there part. And when they stop chasing money, the world will finally change (Yeah, probably never).

    Same question as above.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. icon
    Chargone (profile), 23 Sep 2010 @ 6:22pm

    Re: Re: Well it makes sense

    i can see the corporate logic... taking profit into account as the only factor, they should go after the third parties if they can possibly win. they'll get more money out of it.

    doesn't make it Right, of course.

    hopefully Spain can continue to not suck in this regard. it's nice to see 'the system' getting it right, ya know?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. icon
    Jay (profile), 23 Sep 2010 @ 9:25pm

    Re: Well it makes sense

    ...

    Can we get less anecdotal evidence and more fact here?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. icon
    The eejit (profile), 24 Sep 2010 @ 3:13am

    Re: Well it makes sense

    It would be smart, if those same lawyers weren't acting completely incompetently.

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.