Feb 19, 2014, 12:56 pm
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a friend in the copyright discussion in Perfect 10. In case you're not familiar with it, Perfect 10 is a company that at one time produced wanking material before turning to the far more noble endeavor of entertaining the hell out of us by suing everyone on the planet for copyright infringement. I say they're a friend, because they appear to be going to some length to establish good caselaw by losing suit after suit after suit. Their work is exemplary, really, in terms of their inability to win anything at all.
And they're at it again. This time, they have decided to sue LeaseWeb, most notable as the hosting provider for Megaupload.
But the problems don't end there. To start, Megaupload is arguing that they regularly comply with DMCA notices sent its way.
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And they're at it again. This time, they have decided to sue LeaseWeb, most notable as the hosting provider for Megaupload.
Quote:In their complaint, Perfect 10 accuses LeaseWeb of providing hosting services to several websites that host pirated copies of their images.Well, hey, Perfect 10, thanks for letting all of us know exactly where we can find your smut for free, I guess. We have a couple of problems, of course. First, they're suing the hosting provider, indicating that LeaseWeb is "directly responsible" for the infringement done on the aforementioned sites. Then, probably because they realize what a problematic argument that is to make, they mention that LeaseWeb hosted for Megaupload, as though just mentioning the infamous website was some kind of legal trump card. It isn't.
“Defendants host and provide Internet connectivity and other essential services to websites, including infringing websites operated in California that have infringed tens of thousands of Perfect 10 Copyrighted Works,” the complaint states.
According to Perfect 10, LeaseWeb currently hosts at least eight websites in the U.S. which store their work without permission; Imgchili.net, imgchili.com, imgtiger.com, imgserve.net, Poringa.net, ultraforos.com, ultraforos.net and Galleryworld.info.
But the problems don't end there. To start, Megaupload is arguing that they regularly comply with DMCA notices sent its way.
Quote:“All infringing files Perfect 10 has ever reported to Mega have been removed within hours. We keep track of all DMCA notices and could identify all notifications from Perfect 10 and we have verified that all reported links were disabled within hours."Some may find that claim dubious, but it doesn't even matter. The point is that hosts typically forward DMCA notices sent their way to the sites in question, who are responsible for taking the content down. LeaseWeb is a hosting service provider. One, by the way, that is hosting sites that aren't even located in the United States.
Quote:Leaseweb told Tf that the company hasn’t been served yet, and points out that most of the sites mentioned are hosted by the Dutch LeaseWeb Netherlands BV.So, while Perfect 10 is humbly asking for a mere $188 million in damages, they're likely doing so in the wrong country, against the wrong party, and throwing around an infamous website name like some kind of bower card. That isn't how the law works, but I encourage them to keep at it, since their track record suggests every lawsuit they file results in a winning token for our side.
“We use the Dutch Notice and Takedown procedure for LeaseWeb Netherlands BV customers which gives an equivalent protection as the DMCA, we therefor do not see why the US would be the correct forum,” the company states.
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