mirthen
01-25-2005, 04:40 PM
hello.
after getting into a rather lenghty debat with a few people, i decided to take this to a larger audiance.
here is the main question posed... are websites such as newzbin.com and binnews.com breaking DMCA or other copyright laws.
some points brought up about this...
these sites do not provide 100% direct links to copyright protected material.
the material would be hosted on completly seperate usenet providers, either paid for, or provided by a users ISP.
the search sites provide a xml file with a listing of "Message-ID"'s which when used in conjuction with a usenet/news client and a usenet provider, downloads those message-id's. i turn you then have the files you want.
now this is where the debate really begins. being the search sites do not contain the material, and also dont really provide direct links, how illegal or legal are these sites.
i understand that by providing direct links to pages containing copyright infringment, you can be held liable, which is why web search sites remove said links when proper steps are taken by the copyright holder.
so if a copyright holder contacts newzbin or binnews, are they legaly obligated to remove all references to the material on their website?
some people say the usenet search sites are not breaking any laws, because they feel these message id xml files are still not directly linking to the copyrighted materials on usenet, since the user still needs to have a usenet client in whatever form, and also need access to a usenet server.
now, from what i understand, usenet providers have been found not liable for their content in US courts, but in accordance to the DMCA must remove said materials upon the copyright holders request.
so any further thoughts on this? are these search engines completly illegal, or are they simply indexing the public news server known as Usenet.
....
after getting into a rather lenghty debat with a few people, i decided to take this to a larger audiance.
here is the main question posed... are websites such as newzbin.com and binnews.com breaking DMCA or other copyright laws.
some points brought up about this...
these sites do not provide 100% direct links to copyright protected material.
the material would be hosted on completly seperate usenet providers, either paid for, or provided by a users ISP.
the search sites provide a xml file with a listing of "Message-ID"'s which when used in conjuction with a usenet/news client and a usenet provider, downloads those message-id's. i turn you then have the files you want.
now this is where the debate really begins. being the search sites do not contain the material, and also dont really provide direct links, how illegal or legal are these sites.
i understand that by providing direct links to pages containing copyright infringment, you can be held liable, which is why web search sites remove said links when proper steps are taken by the copyright holder.
so if a copyright holder contacts newzbin or binnews, are they legaly obligated to remove all references to the material on their website?
some people say the usenet search sites are not breaking any laws, because they feel these message id xml files are still not directly linking to the copyrighted materials on usenet, since the user still needs to have a usenet client in whatever form, and also need access to a usenet server.
now, from what i understand, usenet providers have been found not liable for their content in US courts, but in accordance to the DMCA must remove said materials upon the copyright holders request.
so any further thoughts on this? are these search engines completly illegal, or are they simply indexing the public news server known as Usenet.
....