YouTube Ordered By German Court To Restrict Videos That Might Violate Copyright

BERLIN -- A German court has ruled that online video platform YouTube must install filters to prevent users from uploading some music videos whose rights are held by a music-royalties collecting body.

German news agency dapd reported that the Hamburg state court on Friday mostly sided with Germany's GEMA, which represents about 60,000 German writers and musicians.

GEMA took Google Inc.'s YouTube unit to court over 12 temporarily uploaded music videos for which no royalties were paid.

YouTube has maintained that it bears no legal responsibility for the uploaded content – saying it checks and sometimes blocks content when users alert the firm about alleged violations of laws.

It was not immediately clear whether the ruling will be appealed.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

BERLIN (AP) – A German court is set to rule on whether the online video platform YouTube is responsible for the content of videos uploaded by its users.

GEMA, a German music royalties collecting body, took Google Inc.'s YouTube unit to the Hamburg state court over 12 uploaded music videos for which no royalties were paid.

YouTube maintains that it bears no legal responsibility for the uploaded content – saying that it checks and sometimes blocks content when users alert the firm about alleged violations of laws.

A ruling Friday in favor of GEMA could be a major blow for YouTube because experts say that millions of videos on its platform could be affected.

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Comments

[lthrpuphlfx]

12:24 AM on 04/23/2012

6 Things the Film Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know About
http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/features/6-things-the-film-industry-doesnt-want-you-to-know-about.php

[lthrpuphlfx]

11:31 PM on 04/22/2012

Step 1. Block all german users
Step 2. Block all "AA" related content including trailers.
Step 3. Wait for the outcry

[Chris Yoder]

01:32 AM on 04/22/2012

This is off topic but relevant:

There is a bill in the House of Representatives called Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA). The bill in its current form is extremely broad and vague. The full text of the bill can be found at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr3523/text

[ResearchtheFacts]

12:09 AM on 04/22/2012

Everything is on google including ripped tv shows that don't even have an intro. Some look like they were recorded with camcorders.

[viciousvirago]

11:49 PM on 04/21/2012

I know I'm guilty of watching rock videos on YouTube all the time and I can understand that the people/groups should be paid for playtime. After all, it is their livlihood and if it happened to me a million or more times, I'd be pissed as hell.

Problem is: the internet is so huge, it is impossible to sue every downloader or user/viewer. Welcome to the brave new world.

[Mikdow]

11:47 AM on 04/22/2012

Music videos have become promotional tools. My band makes one every few months. We don't charge people to watch them. We encourage you to watch them, download them, share them with friends, and then come see a show and buy a CD. This business model actually works (for us, anyway). www.beltainband.com.

[Ginzu Mawa]

11:12 AM on 04/21/2012

essentially this bill REQUIRES a telcom service (communication infrastructure) to monitor all customer traffic. The latest 1984 totalitarian survaillence state model is for the private industry to be encouraged (and now required) to monitor all citizens and then share the info with the gov.

[haleron]

06:52 PM on 04/20/2012

One closes another opens, so goes the internet. For example Thaddle Social Network opened their File Sharing Network last month after the MegaUpload mess. Two Days ago the opened they Radio Network for music listening, and today they opened their Thaddle Cine, full length movies. All services are free, like Youtube! Are they next?

[ResearchtheFacts]

12:08 AM on 04/22/2012

Hardly took a look at the site looks low budget.

[haleron]

02:18 PM on 04/22/2012

Yes, Thaddle social is both Low budget as it is free, and offshore! Out of U.S. jurisdiction, more or less. but we all know when the U.S. Becons, the world governments bow. . Only 25 servers but very scalable. Never invest more than you are willing to lose.

[Snowleopardxman]

06:38 PM on 04/20/2012

WHAT A BUNCH OF LAZY'S!

[Steve Lane]

06:17 PM on 04/20/2012

Music videos act as advertisements for the bands that make them.
If the courts restrict YouTubes ability to broadcast them those bands will be the losers in the end.

[Justtheobvious]

05:52 PM on 04/20/2012

And exaclty how do they intend to enforce it? Youtube isn't a german company.

[olafTheAwesome]

06:48 PM on 04/20/2012

YouTube is already using its own system called ContentID to block music videos, for which which GEMA claims the rights, for IP addresses coming from Germany. But this is even not a foolproof system. Most people in the know simply use proxy services which obfuscate their German IP addresses and show YouTube IP addresses from other countries. A German programmer also programmed an extension for Firefox and Chrome which seraches for the proxies for you. Now the court is saying, YouTube has to install a keyword-based filter to block GEMA songs from being uploaded. The court is simply clueless. Keywords not only also block legitimate content, savvy users can get round them in no time.

[TomasB]

09:17 PM on 04/20/2012

Your video is blocked in these locations:
Germany, Japan, Montenegro, Serbia

This is for one of my vids that contains all of my own photos and music that I bought and paid for. Apparently that doesn't matter either. It's like the DMCA in the US. If you make a copy of a DVD for Aunt Jane and the intent is to not even make any money you are liable for prosecution to the tune of a $250,000 fine or five years in prison.

[Bucqui]

05:51 PM on 04/20/2012

I have a couple videos featuring songs my husband wrote that GEMA is arguing violate copyright, which is insane. I agree that Google ought to drop Germany altogether and wait until they squeal.

[mangez merde]

05:50 PM on 04/20/2012

Does a German Court have any legal authority over a corporation headquartered in the USA ????

What if an American Court ordered Mercedes to cut the price of their cars sold in America by half ????

[Darreltheman]

07:58 PM on 04/20/2012

We could afford more of them, Good idea.

[mangez merde]

08:08 PM on 04/20/2012

I want a SLK, but for $100.

[p mersault]

05:41 PM on 04/20/2012

Google should just block Germany and then sit back and watch how mad the German population gets.

[NastyBrit]

01:08 AM on 04/21/2012

Blimey! We already saw how mad the German population got in the 1940s... do we really want to go through that again?! (tee-hee-hee!)

[barbra1971]

05:35 PM on 04/20/2012

Just might? Is that all what it takes?

[Druuna]

05:31 PM on 04/20/2012

Sorry guys, I understand that copyrighted material ought to be protected. But if haven't lived in Germany, you don't understand how far GEMA's power goes. That is an insane institution. They will even charge you fees if you play music that is not copyrighted and intended for free distribution. They do not understand what fair use means.

[Snowleopardxman]

06:40 PM on 04/20/2012

I have a song that is blocked in Germany

[TomasB]

09:06 PM on 04/20/2012

Here's what it says about my restricted video of my photos with music that I BOUGHT:

Your video is blocked in these locations:
Germany, Japan, Montenegro, Serbia