(Sorry if this gets sent out twice, having some mailinglist issues.) I wouldn't call it a double standard. Google provides a service that aims much higher than simply enabling copyright infringement. However you feel about copyright law, I don't think you can deny that TPB induced copyright infringement (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MGM_Studios,_Inc._v._Grokster,_Ltd. [although the grokster case was over software and not an online service]) and would probably would have been liable in the U.S. for the infringement of its users.
On the other hand, Google indexes the web regardless of content. Their search function has been found by the courts to be transformative (for example see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_10_v._Google and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformativeness) and aimed at providing a kind of (clearly beneficial) public service. I agree that we should advocate for greater protection for fair and transformative uses of copyrighted material and that we ought to defend new innovative and beneficial technologies, but it does Free Culture more harm than good when you try to collapse the function of a service within a limited domain and its overall societal impact. Google is much more than a torrent search site, and just because it could be used as one in some limited domain doesn't mean that TPB ought to have any less liability for inducing infringement within the scope of their service. Questions of scope are legally important, and appropriately so IMHO. - Alex Kozak On Thu, Apr 23, 2009 at 11:11 AM, Conor Schaefer <[email protected]>wrote: > Well isn't this grand! Thanks for the heads up, I hadn't see this yet. =) > > > On Thu, Apr 23, 2009 at 11:39 AM, Seth Johnson < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> >> (And Vint Cerf works for them, too. -- Seth) >> >> >> > http://www.thepirategoogle.com/ >> >> >> Bit Torrent Search >> >> Please Note: This site is not affiliated with Google, >> it simply makes use of Google Custom Search to >> restrict your searches to Torrent files. You can do >> this with any regular Google search by appending your >> query with filetype:torrent. This technique can be >> used for any type of file supported by Google >> (http://www.google.com/). >> >> The intention of this site is to demonstrate the >> double standard that was exemplified in the recent >> Pirate Bay Trial. Sites such as Google offer much the >> same functionality as The Pirate Bay and other Bit >> Torrent sites but are not targeted by media >> conglomerates such as the IFPI as they have the >> political and legal clout to defend themselves unlike >> these small independent sites. >> >> This site is created in support of an open, neutral >> internet accessible and equitable to all regardless >> of political or financial standing. >> >> Cheers! (Contact: [email protected]) >> >> --- >> >> (Also see my comments to the FTC's Workshop on "P2P Risks" -- Seth) >> >> > http://www.ftc.gov/os/comments/p2pfileshare/OL-100037.pdf >> >> "The description of "P2P filesharing applications" presented in this >> workshop's call for participation offers nothing to distinguish KaZaA, >> Grokster or Gnutella from the basic functions of the Internet and >> ordinary, generally used operating systems. It also makes no mention >> of he core functionality that these applications actually do provide: >> search and discovery of the locations of files. Sharing files among a >> group of users is a basic network capability that operating systems >> and networks already provide." >> >> Workshop: >> http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/workshops/filesharing/index.htm >> >> Public Comments: >> http://www.ftc.gov/os/comments/p2pfileshare/index.shtm >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Discuss mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://freeculture.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss >> > > > _______________________________________________ > Discuss mailing list > [email protected] > http://freeculture.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss > > -- Alex Kozak [email protected] 916.225.2718
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