UK Decides Hollywood, US Gov't's Interests More Important Than Own Citizens; Extradites Student For Linking
from the sad dept
In January, a judge said that the UK could extradite student Richard O'Dwyer to the US to face criminal copyright infringement charges for the "crime" of linking to streaming videos hosted elsewhere -- something that had already been found legal in the UK multiple times. This is pretty important, because for it to be criminal infringement, it has to be willful, and if sites that were nearly identical to O'Dwyer's TVShack.net were found legal in his home country, where he lived and where he operated the site, it's difficult to see how there's anything willful at all.Furthermore, since he's only linking there isn't direct infringement, only the possibility of secondary infringement. Now, there are aiding and abetting laws, but it would have to be aiding and abetting of criminal copyright infringement and that would require the users of TVShack to be guilty of criminal infringement -- meaning that they were profiting from willful infringement. And that doesn't seem likely either. There are so many holes in the case it's difficult to understand why ICE and DHS are ruining the life of a UK student with no clear legal basis.
Either way, as the UK government continues to kowtow to the US entertainment industry, the Secretary of State has taken the court's initial okay and approved the extradition. This is really damning for the UK government. Given the growing concerns about the overreach of the entertainment industry to take away basic freedoms, sending Richard O'Dwyer across the Atlantic on bogus charges just so the MPAA can stick his head on a pike somewhere isn't going to go over very well.
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Filed Under: copyright, doj, extradition, ice, jurisdiction, richard o'dwyer
Companies: tv-links, tvshack
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If you are easily disturbed do not read this comment.
In this case there is a possibility that he will die in custody. Him getting raped and murdered would be a diplomatic nightmare for the US. All because he had links to other sites.
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Re: If you are easily disturbed do not read this comment.
I don't want him to die either, but if it does happen, I see another public outbreak. The US government's not making any new friends this year...
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Re: Re: If you are easily disturbed do not read this comment.
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Re: Re: Re: If you are easily disturbed do not read this comment.
But i'm sure the media would divert the blame if they covered it at all.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: If you are easily disturbed do not read this comment.
I like it that we're all part of a revolution right now, but how much more collateral damage will be created before the governments finally get it?
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: If you are easily disturbed do not read this comment.
Fuck the UK government. They are minions. The problem is in the US.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: If you are easily disturbed do not read this comment.
Okay, bad choice of words. I should've said that we're in the middle of seeing yet another example of how the US is losing its credibility as a world power. Shooting itself again and again, there will eventually be another turning point.
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Re: Re: If you are easily disturbed do not read this comment.
The problem isn't big media not paying attention or down playing anything that may happen to him. The issue is that people are paying attention online and spreading the word. Right now the US and EU are at a crossroads where people have gotten fed up with business as usual. Every event like this is fanning the flames of discontent. This frightens me more than any words can express.
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Re: Re: Re: If you are easily disturbed do not read this comment.
I agree, but other than keeping a close eye on the injustice system, what else can we do before the governments (and the ones who support dastardly acts like this) finally understand? Or are we doomed to keep playing defensive forever?
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Re: Re: Re: Re: If you are easily disturbed do not read this comment.
It is the nature of our style of government. Until such a time that we hold our politicians to a higher standard than we do ourselves, we are doomed to repeat this 200 year cycle of birthing nations and having them fail. Either that or we need immortality to happen to humanity so people actually remember history and so "No not again".
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: If you are easily disturbed do not read this comment.
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Re: Re: Re: If you are easily disturbed do not read this comment.
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Re: Re: If you are easily disturbed do not read this comment.
As an American, I'd like to make it clear that I believe what my government is doing is wrong. Please don't hold my governemnt's actions against me personally. I'm bitching as loud as I can.
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Re: Re: Re: If you are easily disturbed do not read this comment.
Who do we contact about this to tell them that they're complete morons and should leave this kid alone?
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Re: Re: Re: Re: If you are easily disturbed do not read this comment.
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It's not about winning the criminal case
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Re: It's not about winning the criminal case
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Re: If you are easily disturbed do not read this comment.
MAFIAA must be stopped.
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Re: Re: Re: If you are easily disturbed do not read this comment.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: If you are easily disturbed do not read this comment.
Allow me to clarify : I already did some searches. I found a list of companies who supported SOPA and... not much else.
I'm trying to figure out where to aim a boycott to actually hurt the MPAA or RIAA. Is there anything, other than just not seeing any movies or not buying any music? Not everything is MAFIAA, and there's not a lot of point in a shotgun-style boycott.
If I knew who to boycott, I'd be pushing it to friends and strangers every single dang day.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: If you are easily disturbed do not read this comment.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: If you are easily disturbed do not read this comment.
Unfortunately, the **AAs aren't really directly consumer connected, so it's hard to know easily enough what to protest. The SOPA protest worked because there were some people who put together some tools that made it possible to protest with near-zero effort. I think if we can do that for other issues, then we can win more of these fights.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: If you are easily disturbed do not read this comment.
Obvious names like Disney, Warner, SONY, EMI, Universal, Paramount, etc. are all members of either the MPAA or the RIAA.
A more detailed list of RIAA members:
http://www.riaa.com/aboutus.php?content_selector=aboutus_members
And Wikipedia holds a small list of MPAA members:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Picture_Association_of_America#Members
Avoid these companies.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: If you are easily disturbed do not read this comment.
You want to really boycott them, start a workshop or creative space where only free and open content can be posted.
Anything that has a standard copyright and not a copyleft license is the enemy and anyone who uses those standard licenses is the enemy.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: If you are easily disturbed do not read this comment.
There used to be a site called RIAA Radar, but unfortunately it's been down for a while. I haven't found a replacement.
Personally, I mostly buy records from artists who I meet face-to-face. That way, I know exactly who I'm supporting. Probably not the best option for most people, though, especially if you don't live on one of the American coasts.
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Well it was about time
Can you imagine, he was actually linking to videos on the Internet. VIDEOS! AT WHO KNOWS HOW MANY FRAMES PER-SECOND!
Sends shivers down your spine, doesn't it.
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Re: Well it was about time
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"England ain't nuthin but the 51st state!"
Apparently, that's true.
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Re: UK Decides Hollywood
But even as a loyal American, I must say the extradition treaty seems awfully one-sided.
Or could UK authorities enforce these same Draconian clauses against Uncle Sam one day?
Seems to me the time to worry about such things is now, while it still makes a difference to worry...
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This is more scary than SOPA
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Re: This is more scary than SOPA
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Re: This is more scary than SOPA
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Re: This is more scary than SOPA
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USA = School yard bully pushing everyone around, stealing their lunch money and making everyone else do their homework for them.
Then they can't understand how they can be so hated by the rest of the world. The word 'stupidity' doesn't cover it.
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Re:
As a U.S. citizen, I resent the assertion that I don't hate a lot of things about my own country as well as the rest of the world.
This is what drives me so bonkers when individuals in another country are complaining about another country's laws.
Let me remind you that if you're buying movies and watching U.S. television shows, you're supporting the very same entities that lobbied for these laws with money you gave them.
And furthermore, it seems the UK government is just as guilty here - allowing one of their own citizens to be extradited as such.
There's a lot more to this than simply: "USA vs. the world"... and when you're ready to wake up and take notice, you can also start doing something about it no matter where you live. Stop playing the victim.
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You missed the point of my post - how douchey of you.
People seeking to blame everyone else for what's wrong in this world are becoming the problem. The constant "us vs. them" rhetoric gets obnoxious. When you sit back and claim that it's U.S.' fault that O'Dwyer is being extradited, you are demonstrating a very narrow-minded view of the real problem.
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"I'm so tired of people blaming us good U.S. folks. It's so unfair. Woe is me."
It comes out as rather whiny considering it is but a drop in the sea of complete injustice of what is happening to this guy right now. So spare us the tears and say something relevant to the problem, instead of "it's not our fault!"
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Im going to have to agree with this. Why blame the US for this? The blame rests heavily on the shoulders of the UK. The UK is allowing this to happen.
This kid is a law abiding citizen of the UK and the UK is not fighting for the rights of its own citizen. That is hardly the fault of the US. The US simply charged him with a crime under US law and requested extradition. The correct, intelligent, and decent thing for the UK to do is to simply say NO!
Maybe GB is just the newest state in the US.
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How long before someone gets extradited for going to the bookie? Or running a download site...
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Slap leather... head for that line of trees...
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Re: Slap leather... head for that line of trees...
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Response to: Zakida Paul on Mar 13th, 2012 @ 11:27am
...oh, snap: I think the thought police--I mean, the IP police--I MEAN, DHS--are breaking down the door!! This is my last po--.....
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I so love quotes like this.
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Re:
Oh what they hell, STOP LINKING.
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And your predictable response will be something either involving Google, Masnick or flying monkeys. Geez, I'm a "noob" who's been here for a couple months now and even I can identify who you are.
I can't believe you can call yourself human.
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linking is stealing too now?
what ISN'T stealing these days?
tell you what... DON'T MAKE POSTS, you're stealing my fuckin' braincells
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Shoplifting a CD is *barely* stealing these days. The penalties are not in the same ballpark (or even in the same city) as copyright infringement.
In Michigan shoplifting a item worth less than $200 is a misdemeanor charge with penalties of up to 93 days in jail and fines of up to $500 or 3 times the value of the stolen property (whichever is more).
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Hey, guess what?
Your mind has been blown.
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You know what would be tragically hilarious?
It's idiots like that who believe that LINKING is a crime who should go through a one-sided justice system and see how they like it when their lives are completely destroyed by wasting years to clear their name.
Go ahead, you piracy-screaming ACs. Justify how ruining an individual's life for linking benefits your cause.
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Re: You know what would be tragically hilarious?
Also, don't expect to see any IP maximalists or their idols going through a railroaded justice system anytime soon. Not unless the present biases and influences are somehow magically stacked on the opposite side of the balance.
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Well...
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Re: Re: You know what would be tragically hilarious?
Citations == Links
Our reality may not administer poetic justice, but I hope that karma payback still works.
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All because...
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites
Presumably this prevents the BBC or any of its employees form being extradited. Richards crime is that he omitted that disclaimer.
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Let's Just Be Grateful
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Re: Let's Just Be Grateful
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Plebs
1. It is very unclear if Richard O'Dwyer has ever committed a crime in the UK. Based on previous cases this would be a "no" and where differences to past cases are so minor that they would need testing in a trial first to clarify if or if not they are a problem.
2. Since we cannot prove if Richard O'Dwyer has broken the law here then we cannot proceed with extradition. To extradite him now only to find out in a later related case that what he did was lawful would mean that the UK Government would have broken the law to have extradited him.
3. It then becomes clear that this extradition request needs to be suspended or rejected and to instead invite the US prosecution to hold a trial in England to clarify the law.
Should this not be done then the only conclusion is that UK law is no longer important and all of us in the UK should then start to obey US law.
What I mean how can people follow the OiNK and FileSoup case rulings to make their own site if the US then extradites them anyway just because their site was a little different to those previous sites.
I will be very annoyed indeed if Richard O'Dwyer is extradited in total violation of the law and sovereignty of the United Kingdom.
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Re: Plebs
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Re: Plebs
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Re: Plebs
What would be amusing is if the British government would extradite random Americans to the UK and prosecute them for owning a firearm. Unfortunately the treaty is not reciprocal.
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So I feel outrage but I'm not surprised.
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Sleazy British Politics
Even if a British business were to try to GeoIP-block American users, it’s not clear that it would protect that business. I don’t think the current extradition procedure allows such a detailed argument over jurisdiction; America only has to say that it has a case it wants to put before a US court and the British courts have to agree to the extradition.
The question is who does one vote for to express unhappiness at the current British government? The UK Independence Party? The Pirate Party UK? The British National Party?! If the only way to get the government to revise the extradition procedure is to vote for the BNP, then yes, I would vote for the BNP.
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Re: Sleazy British Politics
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a fitting death
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UK Lapdogs
I wonder after the UK Labour party was in government and the Witchfinder General spent some time 'holidaying' on a record company reps yacht then suddenly we got the Digital Economy Act shoved through, I shudder what Cameron is giving up for his wee hurl in Obama's plane...
Another reason for us Scots to vote for independence as our leader doesn't give a feck about the US of Arrogance.
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Just like everything else, the US Government is not here for the people but here for the corporations. Until this system collapses, nothing is going to change.
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Re:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/stop-extradition-fair-uk-trial-for-richard-o-dwyer.html
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/sarc
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All I can see is an accurate description of current events.
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Will some country from the EU get you all together to invade us or something?
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Legal defence
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Re: Legal defence
i.e. they get added to the celeb gossip grinder that is our news.
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Come on Greece
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You Are Misinformed
- Can you afford the initial trial?
- Can you afford the inevitable appeal, on appeal, on appeal?
- How far can you go before you are bankrupt?
If you are a normal person, the answers are: Barely, no and not far. An appeal against a court verdict should be a very, very serious move, not a business as usual step. If you appeal you are questioning the judge, jury and entire legal process, serious penalties should be levied against both the client and lawyer for a failed appeal where the law was correctly applied.
Until such a time, when appeals are serious, you will end up with the rich and powerful making endless appeals until their opponents cannot afford to continue.
At its root, privilege means private law
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What disturbs me the most...
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Re: What disturbs me the most...
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Land of the politically incorrect.
What If some dictator from a third world country, like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, made it illegal to read USA Today online? According to the UK and US, Iran would have every right to insist that US citizens get extradited to Iran immediately for committing such crimes.
Forget about arguing law here for second. Let’s look at the principle. How can you ask young people to fight and die for your country when you throw them under the buss for the sake of copyright infringement laws of a foreign land? Wow, what a terrible choice. I certainly can understand the expectation to follow laws of your own country.. But this!!
This situation would just require the Kony effect to reverse. Once a large amount of people became aware of the situation, they would not be supportive of the UK’s decision or United State’s choice to become an accomplice to it. But, until that happens… Welcome to America Richard!! Home of the Brave and land of people who come here because they ticked off Hollywood.
BTW TECH DIRT: I KEEP CLICKING SAVE ME A COOKIE AND HAVE NOT GOT ONE COOKIE YET!!! I WILL TAKE CHOCOLATE CHIP PLEASE!! THANK YOU!!
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