Frustrated by uploads to YouTube of episodes of two of its most popular shows, News Corp.’s 20th Century Fox has turned to subpoenas. Steve Bryant reports that the studio is seeking the indentity of the users who uploaded four episodes of 24 — before their broadcast premiere — and 12 episodes of The Simpsons, claiming that the episodes were pirated and then distributed illegally. Fox also sent YouTube a letter dated Jan. 8, when it realized the episodes had been uploaded. Bryant got a “no comment” from YouTube and no response from Fox.
The Hollywood Reporter uncovered more info about the subpoena, granted in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Fox is looking for ECOtotal. No word on whether YouTube has complied. Fox also had LiveDigital served; the company told HR it will comply immediately. As HR notes, though, YouTube parent Google has a history of refusing to comply with demands for user identities.
Fox Subpoenas YouTube, LiveDigital For Identity Of Users Posting Episodes Of '24' & 'Simpsons'
Summary:
Frustrated by uploads to YouTube of episodes of two of its most popular shows, News Corp.’s 20th Century Fox has turned to subpoenas. Steve…
The reasons why Fox would subpoena YouTube are unclear. Despite the two companies contentious history, their corporate parents are buddy buddy. Could be YouTube just didn't respond adequately to the letter (unlikely), or that YouTube didn't want to reveal another user's identity without a court order (more likely). That latter scenario would absolve YouTube of blame and paint Fox as the unclued-in bad guy, but also sends the message to YouTubers and the tech community that full episode uploads are out of bounds. In that situation, both parties win.
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