Music Web Sites Dispute Legality of Their Closing
Last month, federal authorities shut down five websites on possible copyright infringement with no warning and no details of the investigation. The operators of some of the sites have said in interviews that they were innocent of copyright infringement. The investigation stated that the sites were used to “commit or facilitate criminal copyright infringement.” The music and movies on the sites were said to have not been released with the authorization required. However, an operator of one of the sites stated that the songs were for promotional purposes and that someone from the record label provided the songs to the site.
The investigation has been on going since Thanksgiving weekend when the sites were shut down during a crackdown on 82 different domains suspected of copyright infringement and selling counterfeit goods.
The crackdown was a part of a broader U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement initiative called "Operation In Our Sites" which targets internet counterfeiting and piracy. However, this enforcement did not sit well with Peter Eckersley of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties group who stated, “It’s a troubling situation where basically any Web site that the Department of Homeland Security doesn’t like and is convinced has too much infringing material on it can just disappear overnight.”
To read more on this article, visit Music Web Sites Dispute Legality of Their Closing, also visit "Operation In Our Sites."
If you have any questions, please contact Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A., a Jacksonville, Florida law firm.
