Video-sharing platform Vimeo has won the latest skirmish in a 16-year legal battle with divisions of Universal Music Group.
It is reported Reuters The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in favor of Vimeo on Monday (January 13), rejecting copyright infringement claims brought by major record labels, including Universal Music Group. capitol records and several electromagnetic interference subsidiaries.
The lawsuit was filed in 2009 and the main content of the lawsuit is vimeo“Lip Dub Stars” channel, where users post videos containing copyrighted music. The record label argued that Vimeo ignored obvious signs of copyright infringement when Vimeo employees encountered identifiable recordings on the platform.
Other brands named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit include Caroline Records, Virgin Records America, and Stone Diamond Music Company.
Appeals court upholds lower court’s ruling that Vimeo is protected by law Digital Millennium Copyright Act(DMCA) “safe harbor” provisions. The terms, which were enacted during the Clinton administration, generally protect Internet providers and intermediaries from liability for content posted by users when responding to takedown notices.
“The district court rejected plaintiffs’ argument that Vimeo had actual or red flag knowledge of the infringing activity or had the right and ability to control the infringing activity and therefore lost its right to safe harbor.”
Judge Pierre N. Leval of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
“The district court rejected plaintiffs’ argument that Vimeo had actual or red flag knowledge of the infringing activity or had the right and ability to control the infringing activity and therefore lost its right to safe harbor,” the ruling said.
The court ruled that “Vimeo is entitled to a safe harbor under the DMCA because: while there was evidence that Vimeo employees had interacted with videos containing infringing content, there was insufficient evidence that those employees had obvious knowledge of the content of the videos and that the videos were neither There is no fair use as authorized by the rights holder.
The labels also failed to show that “Vimeo had sufficient legal ‘rights and control’ to lose its right to safe harbor,” the U.S. circuit judge said. Pierre N. Leval stated in the ruling. United States Circuit Judge Barrington D. Parker and Sarah El Merriam Comments added.
Writing for the group, LeVar stressed that even if unauthorized use of music seems possible to the average person, “it is not a clear indication that a particular video lacks authorization to use the music.”
The ruling also responds to the record companies’ claims that Vimeo exercises substantial control over user content through its ability to promote or demote posts. The court rejected that argument, saying Vimeo’s content moderation affected only a tiny percentage of user uploads.
“For example, in 2012, 43,000 More than every year new videos are posted on Vimeo every day 15 million New videos. That year, Vimeo only 74 employee. In addition to how minimally disruptive it was for staff to select films for approval instructions, the number of films that 74 staff members could evaluate and highlight was a negligible proportion of the films released.
The judges added: “Drawing attention to selected videos by giving them an approval badge or displaying them on the Staff Picks channel (or conversely, by demoting them) does not restrict users from posting what they want. Free to post any videos.
Additionally, the court ruled that refusing to protect Vimeo under the DMCA would impose “unsustainable costs” on the company.
Vimeo welcomed the decision, a spokesperson said Reuters The decision “ensures that Vimeo can continue to drive innovation and artistic expression while respecting intellectual property.”
The decision also confirms that DMCA protections apply to recordings made before and after 1972, building on a previous ruling by the Second Circuit that overturned a state court ruling in the case involved slot shark and universal music group.
Grooveshark, once known as the world’s most notorious copyright-infringing audio streaming site, agreed to shut down its operations in 2015 after losing a lawsuit against Universal Music.
global music business
