File hosting service Hotfile has sued Warner Bros. for abusing its anti-piracy tool. TorrentFreak reports that Warner Bros. apparently removed "hundreds of titles" from Hotfile, even if they did not hold the copyrights to them.
The deleted files include game demos and open source software, the file host said.
Hotfile, which was sued for copyright infringement by five members of the MPAA earlier this year, alleges that Warner Bros. has violated the DMCA and lists intentional interference with a contractual or business relationship and negligence as second and third counts in its suit.
“The single file deleted by Warner that had been most frequently downloaded by Hotfile users—five times more frequently than any other file—was a freeware software title wrongfully deleted by Warner," the suit states. "The software publisher that uploaded the file used Hotfile.com as a means for distribution of its open source software. Warner was not authorized by the software publisher to delete the file.”
Hotfile speculates that the takedowns had an economic motive as an agreement between Warner Bros. and Hotfile allows the movie studio to replace content that was taken down with a link to Warner Bros. content that can be purchased. The more content Warner removed, the more links it was able to place.
Warner Bros has not commented on the new suit.
If they are doing this in environment where they can get caught, imagine what they might be doing elsewhere on the web.
If they are doing this in environment where they can get caught, imagine what they might be doing elsewhere on the web.
They are the greediest among all media. I have not one trace of doubt that they abused their powers.
I say send some bastard/s to jail that will hit much harder than a lawsuit and will make them think twice. If it happened to be one of their lawyers he will even get disbarred. This will dramatically change how big business files false DMCA's on those smaller than them.
Do this, and all of a sudden that job as a telescammer / used-car-fraudman / insurance claims processor / etc. starts to look a lot less enticing.
Lord wouldn't that be nice.. I specifically hate when they hide behind the curtain of the coporation after they committed something bad, possibly illegal, and make a public statement saying "I take full responsiblity for my *blah blah blah*", and yet then resign, with pay/bonuses, and still don't take a hit, as the company still has to take the burden as it was performed "on shift". Screw that. Stop looking at companies, and the like, as completely autonomous legal entities as a broad rule. Their should be a procedure for taking that blanket protection away from some people, and then making their life hell for what their selfish, illegal, or dubious actions of self-interest have inflicted upon the innocent, and the masses.
Also, plain and simple... Screw the DMCA.