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Copyright Holders Still Sending DMCA Takedowns On Content That's Been Gone For Months

from the dmca-failures dept

Fri, Sep 7th 2012 5:29pm — Mike Masnick

We keep seeing various DMCA takedown failures, and the folks over at TorrentFreak have discovered another common error while going through Google's Copyright Transparency Report and found that big copyright holders are still filing DMCA takedown notices on content hosted on sites like Megaupload and BTJunkie, despite the former being shut down in January and the latter shutting itself down in February.

If you look, you can see a bunch of takedown requests for Megaupload links in the past month.

Some of these are by smaller players, whom you might expect to be confused, but there are some big guys as well. In the screenshot above you can see both BPI and the IFPI (on behalf of Sony Music). There are also DMCA requests from Universal Music, EMI, the Publishers Association and others. All for content that clearly doesn't exist and hasn't existed in months. Kinda makes you wonder if they even check this stuff. Considering that all of these copyright holders seem to think that Google and others can just magically "know" when there's infringing content around, it's pretty telling that even they don't seem to know how to tell if content exists, let alone if it's infringing.

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Filed Under: content, dmca, takedowns
Companies: bpi, btjunkie, emi, google, ifpi, megaupload, sony music, universal music

60 Comments

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Alana (profile), 7 Sep 2012 @ 5:35pm

...Is this an apt metaphor for how they continue to live in the past?
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Sep 2012 @ 5:37pm

Lol megaupload I'd have figured they realized its gone by now. Anyways I think they are just throwing out DMCA notices like crazy hoping to hit as many targets as possible whether they infringe or not since there's no penalty.
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Chilly8, 7 Sep 2012 @ 5:39pm

It can take some time for content to filter out of google. When I briefly shut down my web site last year to get one troublesome user off my tail, it took some time for Google to catch up.

If you run a web site, and want to get rid of a troublesome user, just point your domain to the server the government uses when seizing a domain, and your troublesome users will never return, because it will appear that your site was seized. However, it took Google some months for the content to filter out of Google's search engine
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Sep 2012 @ 5:42pm

So what happened to this little phrase to be contained in all DMCA takedown requests?

I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Isn't it about time that internet hosters such as Goggle and youtube as well as a host of others start filing perjury charges against false claims? Be willing to bet one guilty conviction will put them on notice it's time to police up the wild west method of application.

The demonstration of the cut off of the Hugo Awards as well as the DNC is proof positive no one is actually checking.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Sep 2012 @ 5:47pm

Re:
But some of these are Megaupload which had huge headlines and were taken down my these copyright holders. I honestly think they file these silly notices just hoping to hit anything and they don't care since they aren't getting perjury charges. Honestly they should be getting perjury charges for these clearly false claims.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Sep 2012 @ 6:03pm

Re: Re:
Honestly they should be getting perjury charges for these clearly false claims.

Do you think Wells Fargo bank will ever get burglary charges?

�Owners Lose Possessions After Home Near Twentynine Palms Is Mistakenly Foreclosed�, CBS Los Angeles, September 5, 2012:

A crew broke into Alvin and Pat Tjosaas� desert home and took everything after being directed by Wells Fargo to secure the structure.

The couple, however, didn�t have a mortgage on the home.

If banks are too big to get burglary charges, then why shouldn't record companies be too big to get perjury charges?

Aren't records companies entitled to equal protection of the law�just like banks?
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Sep 2012 @ 6:14pm

Bots.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Sep 2012 @ 6:21pm

Re: Re: Re:
Banks should get burglary charges also.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Sep 2012 @ 6:26pm

In the US, the powerful are not accountable. The federal government cannot be held accountable for illegal electronic spying. The CIA will not be held accountable for torturing prisoners. Big banks are not be held accountable for big losses. And big content will never be held accountable for ignoring DMCA/takedown perjury declarations. Accountability is for the little people, not for the powerful.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Sep 2012 @ 6:36pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Banks should get burglary charges also.

�If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride.�

Look. Wells Fargo bank is not going to be charged with burglary. It is not going to happen. Not going to happen.

So if the banks can get away with burglary, then isn't it just fair to let the record companies get away with a little perjury?

C'mon, which is worse? Burglary or small-time perjury? If you're going to let corporations get away with stuff because they're too big too charge, then it's just fair to apply the law to 'em all equally. They all get free passes.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Sep 2012 @ 6:40pm

At this point, there are still many, many entries for Megaupload on Google. Most of them are being converted over and getting knocked off, but I was easily able to find right now today listings like:

"George Orwell's "1984" - Audio Book Download - Digg - Megaupload"

Not that the list you pointed to includes "others" for each - which means some of those sites who may have includes mega upload links and such, and the mega link is just being included in case it still works.

Mike, really - can't you take 5 minutes and do a little reserch? Or is this one of those moments when you choose not to be a journalist again, even though you claimed to be one about a week ago?
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Nigel (profile), 7 Sep 2012 @ 6:44pm

Re:
Sock puppets have sounder logic than you do. That sites in question have been down for verging on a year now.

What about that do you find confusing?

Explain the logic in sending DMCA complaints to sites that don't even exist, please. At least try to back up your bullshit.

N.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Sep 2012 @ 7:07pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
So its okay because banks didn't get charged with burglary like they should have? This is what is wrong with the country the government protects terrible companies even as they trample their consumers.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Sep 2012 @ 7:14pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
In this sense its not consumers which yeah the banks are worse. My point is the government needs to hold companies accountable for their actions. They shouldn't get a free pass because they make alot of money. By that token celebrities should never go to jail.
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Arioch (profile), 7 Sep 2012 @ 7:29pm

If we all have to pay and play by the rules, a common sense thing would be to charge a fee for a DMCA complaint.

Run it this way
A DMCA complaint carries a $500 fee, which results in a 30 day investigation of the alleged infringement (leaving the content up until proven one way or the other), this being refundable if it is proved to be a genuine complaint.

On the other hand, if it proved to be bogus, the $500 would be forfeit and an extra charge of $1000 would be imposed to cover the cost of the investigation
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RD, 7 Sep 2012 @ 7:39pm

Re: Re: Re:
"A crew broke into Alvin and Pat Tjosaas� desert home and took everything after being directed by Wells Fargo to secure the structure.

The couple, however, didn�t have a mortgage on the home."

That "crew" had better be police/sheriff and waving a court order high and clear, or if they ever try to pull that shit on me, they are getting carried out in body bags. And yes, thats a threat to anyone who thinks they can take what is not theirs from me. Thats home invasion and burglary.
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RD, 7 Sep 2012 @ 7:40pm

Re:
"Or is this one of those moments when you choose not to be a journalist again, even though you claimed to be one about a week ago?"

Lets have a citation on that, or STFU.
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Artie Mecha, 7 Sep 2012 @ 7:42pm

People for the Ethical Treatment of Robots (PETR)
Where are Haley Joel Osment and Jude Law now that we need them?
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Sep 2012 @ 7:46pm

Re: Re:
"What about that do you find confusing? "

I don't find it confusing at all. However, I can understand the scope of the problem of copyright violation, and that companies are forced to deal with it using technology and automation, in an attempt to keep up with the flood.

I can understand also that there are many chat board, blogs, and phpBB installs that have links that still point to sites like megaupload, even if they content has been removed. It should be pointed out that the method used by the US govenrment in "hosting" mega means that every page returns a 200 OK result code rather than a 301, 302, or 404, which means it is more difficult for automated tools to know if the page truly does exist or not.

"At least try to back up your bullshit."

I operate in the real world and understand what they are doing. It's not bullshit. You however may want to deal with your anger issues.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Sep 2012 @ 8:08pm

Re:
Ironic that you're complaining about a lack of "5 minutes of research" while simultaneously defending the refusal of your friends to do 5 seconds of research.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Sep 2012 @ 8:10pm

Re: Re:
I don't think it's ironic. Mike can do 5 minutes of research on each story each day without wiping out his day. If you have 10,000 offending links to check every day, that would be (even at your 5 seconds) 50,000 seconds a day, or 833 man hours, or work for about 105 people each day working full shifts.

Perhaps when you consider the scale of the issue, you won't rush to judgement or to try to find an easy way to dismiss my point.
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RD, 7 Sep 2012 @ 8:17pm

Re: Re: Re:
"I don't think it's ironic. Mike can do 5 minutes of research on each story each day without wiping out his day. If you have 10,000 offending links to check every day, that would be (even at your 5 seconds) 50,000 seconds a day, or 833 man hours, or work for about 105 people each day working full shifts."

So the solution is to allow automatic bots to blast links from the internet without any consideration as to the validity of the accusation? If mistakes are made (and there are a LOT of them) and legit or non-infringing content and protected speech is taken down then...what? Too bad? Tough? They shouldn't let themselves get accused then or something? Screw them, Big Media is always right?
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G Thompson (profile), 7 Sep 2012 @ 8:55pm

Re: Re: Re:
Wrong!

They are not performing basic reasonable checks to see if what they are sending in fact exists or is what a reasonable person would expect to be infringing and is accurate.

In legal terms this is called due diligence.

From the actual notice:
I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Whether they have committed perjury or not is up to a court to decide yes, though they also have entered into a civil contractual situation (estoppel if you prefer) in that they could face civil actions (any immunity by the sender under the DMCA is voidable in this situation) since a fair amount of wrongs could be shown to be committed dependant on what the actual receiver of the DMCA (respondent if you wish) does.

Tortuous Interference is first one that springs to mind.
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G Thompson (profile), 7 Sep 2012 @ 9:01pm

Re: Re: Re:
Also "the scale of the issue" is yet to be proved, in fact in a lot of courts worldwide the scale has been disproved. Which is why the USA has never awarded damages based on ACTUAL loss.

If the scale was an issue, actual loss would be immediately recoverable and provable.

Or are you stating instead based on this so called ambiguous scale of yours that this sending of wrongful and unlawful notices is de minimus instead? In that regard you might be correct but this also means that an equitable response is needed on the other way and that courts would need to allow de minimus in any and all infringement cases too. Oops.. let me guess, equity isn't your strong suit!
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Sep 2012 @ 9:04pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Perhaps when you consider the scale of the issue, you won't rush to judgement or to try to find an easy way to dismiss my point.

I wonder if there's any connection to the scale of the issue with how little the public actually cares about copyright.
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G Thompson (profile), 7 Sep 2012 @ 9:07pm

Re: Re: Re:
means that every page returns a 200 OK result code rather than a 301, 302, or 404, which means it is more difficult for automated tools to know if the page truly does exist or not.

No it doesn't, all they need to do is create an IF scenario within the tools (which are mostly based on scripting languages anyway though even if c++ its easy to recompile) that if the site sends a 200 response then "DONT SEND NOTICE" or in the event of weird 200 sites log them into a file which then needs to be checked by human eyeball mark 1.0. Due Diligence.. it might cost a bit more but it is minimum that is required
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Chronno S. Trigger (profile), 7 Sep 2012 @ 9:19pm

Re:
How can they legally file claims if they don't actually check and see if the content is there? Links are legal, the content isn't.

But from what you're saying, if I do this

George Orwell's "1984" - Audio Book Download - Digg - Megaupload

I have now broken copyright law and will get sued by whomever owns 1984 just because there is a blue "1984" up there.

Please don't teach your willful ignorance to your children. They will not survive the future if you do.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2012 @ 12:37am

"90% of all DMCA notices are not sent in error", claims the copytard ACs. Yeah, psssht.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2012 @ 2:27am

none of these 'players' bothered to look at anything before. they just automatically assumed that everything was theirs so shouldn't appear anywhere except where they wanted it to appear. the ridiculousness of this situation is that these 'players' were the ones that had these and just about every other site that's gone shut down anyway. if they aren't bothering to look after the sites have been shut, they sure as hell weren't looking before they were shut
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2012 @ 2:38am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
You make one mistake.

You assume they're smart.
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 8 Sep 2012 @ 3:24am

**AA's Budgets slashed!
These were the headlines real recently.

It is possible that the cartel membership is starting to understand that their insane fight against "piracy" is costing them way more than "piracy". They spend more and more money in their war, and get less and less in return other than consumers who are moving well away from them.

Your a spiffy DMCA notice takedown company with a lucrative contract with a label or 5.
You use code that a 16 yr old banged out in a weekend that does the most basic keyword matching, and spits out a notice.
You send a report to your employer saying you sent out 30,000 takedowns last month.
If you don't keep your numbers inflated you will be replaced or make less money.
You know the cartel members you work for don't understand anything technical, so you keep churning along even when the target doesn't exist.
You show your boss your 30,000 takedowns and get your paycheck, and no one is the wiser that you were sending fraudulent notices, because there is no penalty for lying in these documents.

And this could explain the irrational bubble we see around the cartels, they are surrounded by people who only make money if there is a war on piracy going full blast. If you don't distort the picture you might get fired

It would be nice if the cartel membership actually had to bother to look outside the imaginary reports from the cartels to see that they are wasting money that should have been spent to meet consumer demand and embrace new technology.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2012 @ 3:43am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Ummm, the 200 response code would normally mean the page is there and valid. Is it really the responsibility of the rights holder to know which one of the illegal file hosts is up or down on a given day?

Further, since the phantom pages continue to haunt us on Google, it seems only normal to DMCA them out of existence. Further, Google has some of the best bots in the business, and they keep listing the pages anyway.

Are you suggesting that the rights holders should each be required to write bots that are better than Google's? Really?
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2012 @ 3:47am

Re:
No actual penalty. Technically they're committing countless acts of perjury. But when the police and judges work for you, you don't have to obey the law.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2012 @ 3:52am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
"If the scale was an issue, actual loss would be immediately recoverable and provable. "

So you have the gall to claim that there is no offending material on the net, and that the tens of thousands of links to offending material reported every day to Google are all made up?

What color is the sky in your world? Rose?
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PaulT (profile), 8 Sep 2012 @ 4:02am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
"Are you suggesting that the rights holders should each be required to write bots that are better than Google's? Really?"

If they're sending out DMCA notices, which are legal notices that are supposedly issued under penalty of perjury if they contain false information - yes! If that's too hard, use some frigging human interaction at some point to filter out the lying false claims that some other company is going to have to hire someone to filter when they file them. Not that hard.

Google search results = suggested information to help people find what they might be looking for. DMCA claims = legal documents accusing another of committing a crime. Damn right there should be different standards.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2012 @ 4:58am

Re:
apt-get install mataphor
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2012 @ 6:33am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
... they are getting carried out in body bags. And yes, thats a threat...

Calm down, ya hothead.

KABC-TV News includes some more details that the CBS story didn't cover.

�Bank's foreclosure mistake leaves couple's retirement home in ruins� (Sept 5, 2012):

�.�.�.�.

The Tjosaas say they've tried to reach out to Wells Fargo for answers, but to no avail.

"The way it's been going, I don't think they really care. That's the way it's been for the three months. Now, all of a sudden, it's you guys. Now, all of sudden, they call me," said Tjosaas.

After repeated calls from Eyewitness News, Wells Fargo released a statement, saying, "We are deeply sorry for the very personal losses the Tjosaas family suffered as a result of their home being mistakenly secured and entered by an outside party hired to address a different nearby property. We are moving quickly to reach out to the Tjosaas family to resolve this unfortunate situation in an attempt to right this wrong."

Tjosaas says because of the media calls, a Wells Fargo representative asked to meet with him in person on Thursday to apologize. He hired a lawyer, who will be at that meeting. They hope they can reach an agreement and avoid legal action.

The couple and their attorney met with the bank Thursday. The bank offered the couple $260,000.�.�.�.

So you can talk real big about shooting up the bank's crew and putting them into the ground. But that's just talk. Blow-hard talk.

The bank will not be charged.

Oh sure, they'll pay out a little bit of cash to make the problem go away. But that'll be that.

So the point remains: If the banks get away with burglary, then it's just fair to let the record companies get away with some minor mis-statements.

Filing a false DMCA notice is nowhere near as bad as breaking into someone's house, stealing their stuff, and wrecking the place.

Remember that America stands for �liberty and justice for all�? That �for all� should mean something. It should mean everyone. All the honest businesses �not just the big banks� but the record companies too.

The record companies are good folks�good citizens. They're not really criminals. Not bad people. They deserve to be treated equally. With justice for all.
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RonKaminsky (profile), 8 Sep 2012 @ 6:34am

Re:
> there are still many, many entries for Megaupload on Google
> ... Mike, really - can't you take 5 minutes and
> do a little reserch?

You should take 5 minutes (or maybe 5 hours, or whatever you require) to actually read and understand the content of the posts, before posing idiocy. In this case, Mike's whole point was that the fact that Google has entries for content which doesn't exist doesn't make it sensible for rightsholders to file DMCA takedowns concerning that content.

I suppose, if I were to put up a parody page parodying Megaupload, you would think it perfectly OK that it gets DMCA-ed out of existence, because it appears to provide links to files which are (erroneously) claimed to be infringing content? You do realize that that more or less means closing down any site which enables user-provided content, like this post --- example:

*** Download the latest blockbuster movie here at URL http://this.link.goesnowhere.com/Harry_Potter_vs._Bambi ***

Ooops, I guess there goes this whole discussion, down the DMCA-hole?
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2012 @ 8:04am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Sounds legit.
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Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 8 Sep 2012 @ 8:29am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Are you suggesting that the rights holders should each be required to write bots that are better than Google's?
Technically, unless they want to be served for perjury, the US government requires them to have a better bot than Google if they want to use one.

That they don't makes them at least as big a lawbreaker as the people they target (Hmm more techically since AFAIK perjury is a criminal offence and copyright infringement by and large civil). That they don't need a better bot than Google is little short of criminal on the part of the government. Last time I looked the law was supposed to apply equally to everyone.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2012 @ 8:47am

Re: Re:
You actually have a good point, and I wonder if Ira Rothken could start filling a bunch of perjury lawsuits against people. If you have enough proof that copyright holders are acting in bad faith, shouldn't that demonstrate his safe harbors protection.
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btrussell (profile), 8 Sep 2012 @ 12:36pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Then they shouldn't be foreclosing on anyone as we are all "too big to fail.
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btrussell (profile), 8 Sep 2012 @ 12:43pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
"
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Atkray (profile), 8 Sep 2012 @ 3:42pm

Re: Re: Re:
Unemployment being what it is sounds like you have a solution that might help. If your program sucks and fails you are responsible. Either fix your code or do it manually.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2012 @ 3:45pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Perhaps you've mis-read just a bit. He suggested that the "actual loss would be immediately recoverable and provable," not that there is no infringement. As we've discussed many times before, the mere availability of a potentially infringing work does not, in itself, constitute damage, or proof thereof.
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Any Mouse (profile), 8 Sep 2012 @ 5:48pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
So what you are saying is that it is okay for them to break the law because due diligence is too hard. Gotcha.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2012 @ 6:37pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
" Is it really the responsibility of the rights holder to know which one of the illegal file hosts is up or down on a given day?"

This is an interesting point you semi-make. You are saying that the rights holders shouldn't need to know what file host (because fyi, being a file host in and of itself is NOT illegal nor make them illegal, regardless of how you may feel) is up or down at any given moment.

To that end, I think in that case, that it should NOT be the responsibility of anyone else to know what is or isn't infringing.

You see, people like you don't think before you write and hit submit. You want one set of standards for everyone else, and another for copyright holders. Your hypocrisy knows no bounds.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2012 @ 7:50pm

Re:
"It is possible that the cartel membership is starting to understand that their insane fight against "piracy" is costing them way more than "piracy"."

That's one of those "cause and effect" things that isn't supported by the evidence.

The real evidence is that (a) there are fewer large record labels, and (b) their income is off a staggering amount. It's not unusual to think that they would reduce fees paid to associatiosn.

The rest of the post therefore is supposition not supported by basic facts, just wishful thinking.

Also, remember this: At the point they no longer care about piract, it's the point where they are no longer in business - and the content rights itself gets handed over to some "copyright troll" who will chase you to the end of the earth for infringing. Careful what you wish for, you might just get it.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2012 @ 10:21pm

Re: Re:
At which point a judge realises that there is something extremely wrong - in that rights are being held for the express purpose of recklessly suing people - and angrily nixes the troll's efforts. It's already happening - lawyers overstepping their boundaries and the boundaries of the law are getting smacked down by judges not named Beryl Howell.

Your point is as silly as the AC's point which claimed that SOPA would have been better for all.
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JMT (profile), 8 Sep 2012 @ 10:40pm

Re:
"Or is this one of those moments when you choose not to be a journalist again, even though you claimed to be one about a week ago?"

Wow, reading comprehension fail again? Or just one of those troll-lies where you read something and then claim the writer said the opposite?
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2012 @ 11:04pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
I sincerely hope that you're being sarcastic and not actually defending the perversions of justice you're calling for.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Sep 2012 @ 6:34am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
I sincerely hope that you're being sarcastic

Did you understand the robo-signing mess? Did you understand that Wells Fargo was part of that?

Here's a description from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General, Audit Memorandum No. 2012-AT-1801: Wells Fargo Bank, Foreclosure and Claims Process Review, Fort Mill, SC, March 12, 2012:

Questionable Affidavit and Foreclosure Document Processes

�.�.�.�.

Affiants Robosigned Foreclosure Documents

We interviewed a total of 22 affidavit signers and reviewed a sample of 14 loan foreclosure files with FHA-paid claims and titles conveyed to HUD. In all 14 cases, the affidavits were robosigned. Overall, the interviews indicated that the affidavit signers signed the great majority of the judgment affidavits without personal knowledge of or otherwise verifying the data and information contained in the affidavits they signed. Affidavit signers signed hundreds of foreclosure affidavits per day, and most only verified that their name was properly typed on the document as the signer of the affidavit. Many said that they did not read the affidavits. Many told us that a notary was not present when they signed the affidavits. These persons did the vast majority of the affidavit signing. A few affidavit signers who told us that they did verify the data in the affidavits did not routinely sign affidavits and reported signing very few affidavits during our scope.

We also reviewed personnel files and questioned whether these individuals possessed the qualifications (education, work experience, or training) and expertise typically required to verify the content of the affidavits before signing them.�.�.�.

. . . .

Notaries Did Not Witness Signatures

Wells Fargo did not establish a control environment which ensured that its notaries met their responsibilities under State laws that required them to witness affiants� signatures of documents they notarized. We also interviewed 11 notaries, and they reported notarizing documents without seeing the person sign the affidavit. Some notaries told us that they let others use their notary stamp to notarize affidavits. Some notaries also told us that they notarized documents that were unsigned.�.�.�.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Sep 2012 @ 8:18am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
"Technically, unless they want to be served for perjury, the US government requires them to have a better bot than Google if they want to use one."

I would say that would be incorrect. The standard is good faith, not perfection. They could, acting in good faith, claim to have been mislead by the government take over of the domain that does not generate 404 errors on pages that have been taken down (intentional, I think, to make it harder for link checkers to work).

So the standard you are trying to apply (perfection) isn't possible here.

Remember too: This is DMCAs to Google, not to the sites in question. The links still exist in Google, and the DMCA notice is factual that those links did in fact at some point link to infringing material. There is nothing in the law that suggests that they have to be prompt in reporting.

So your arguments pretty much don't make sense at all.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Sep 2012 @ 8:42am

Re: Re: Re:
"At which point a judge realises that there is something extremely wrong - in that rights are being held for the express purpose of recklessly suing people - and angrily nixes the troll's efforts."

Bad news for you: The judges cannot re-write the laws. If the trolls have the rights in all good form, there is nothing stopping them from going forward. It would require a change of the law to get there, and that isn't likely to happen.

FAIL.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Sep 2012 @ 9:26am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
So if judges are, as of speaking, nipping "copyright trolls" and their cases in the bud, are they rewriting the laws? Copyright trolls can have all the rights in good form - but if they operate as they do now for pornography producers, i.e. threaten to sue people with flimsy evidence and investigative methodologies, have no regard for collateral damage and have no clear intent of going to trial, judges will realise this and be as displeased with these attempts as they are now. There's no change in law there.

Your point about nothing stopping them from going forward only makes sense if a majority of these cases went forward in the first place. The one who fails is you.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Sep 2012 @ 6:27pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
"To that end, I think in that case, that it should NOT be the responsibility of anyone else to know what is or isn't infringing."

Doesn't not equate. You are making a many to one translation that doesn't work.

There is only one movie called Avatar. There are thousands of file hosts. One doesn't need much intelligence to know that Avatar is copyright. One requires omnipotent power to know know which file host is up and has your file at a given second.

"You see, people like you don't think before you write and hit submit."

Yes we do. I am sure you will do it next time!
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PaulT (profile), 10 Sep 2012 @ 12:22am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
"There is only one movie called Avatar."

Liar. 5 seconds of research would prove this wrong, even if you weren't aware that there was an anime series of the same name (and so could have files named Avatar). IMDB lists 11 films with that title, of which the earliest is clearly public domain, and many films containing that word. Assuming that your bot isn't programmed to reject extra characters following the word "Avatar", that's a lot of content - much of it potentially legitimate content - that might be wrongly targeted.

Would it honestly kill you to research your false claims before basing your entire argument on them?

"One doesn't need much intelligence to know that Avatar is copyright."

See, now we've established that it isn't so easy. That's even disregarding the many other factors involved in determining infringement - for example, the copyright status changes depending on who uploaded the film and the rights they hold, how it's used, etc. There's even the sillier assumptions you're making yourself - such as the idea that any file called "Avatar" must be Cameron's film, and not another film - or that any copy of Avatar would be named "Avatar"! By your logic, any legal file named Avatar must be taken down for infringement, yet if someone named their copy of Avatar "Pandora's Box", they must be in the clear since the most famous film with that title is public domain!

"One requires omnipotent power to know know which file host is up and has your file at a given second."

Wait, i thought that your entire defence of broken links being targeted with DMCA notices is that they have to depend on Google's listing? What is it - is it impossible to know, or is it possible if you have access to certain technology - which is publicly available for nothing? Pick one argument, please.

"Yes we do. I am sure you will do it next time!"

Considering the contents of your post, I'd think carefully yourself, lest you look like a lying moron again.
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Lennart Regebro, 10 Sep 2012 @ 2:52am

"Makes you wonder"? No it doesn't, of course they don't check it. Those takedown notices are for links found via search engines. The search for some content, and issue takedown notices for everything, without checking.

There is no checking. Not even if you contest the notice will they check it. The only way of contesting this is to go to court.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Sep 2012 @ 4:36am

Re:
Good faith. Look it up.
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Scott, 10 Sep 2012 @ 9:34pm

IMHO,I think this is a desperate act by a desperate big companies that are slowly losing the war on their competing business models.
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