Hottwire Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Alki David, the wealthy film producer and entrepreneur behind sites like FilmOn, announced last year in a YouTube video that he intended to sue CNET and its owner, CBS, for providing hundreds of millions of downloads of LimeWire P2P software over the last decade. Today, he made good on his threat, rounding up some rap and R&B musicians to join his case. The plaintiffs argue that CNET had "direct participation in massive copyright infringement on peer-to-peer systems, such as LimeWire, that are used to copy and distribute songs, films and other artistic works," and that CNET's Download.com was the "main distributor" of the software. P2P software isn't illegal, though companies that use it to induce or encourage copyright infringement can be held liable. The principle, most famously articulated by the US Supreme Court in the Grokster shutdown, was extended to LimeWire last year when a federal judge shut down most of the company's activity."CNET provided the guns" The plaintiffs contend that CNET encouraged people to use LimeWire to violate copyright. One of the plaintiffs, Mike Mozart, has spent the last year collecting alleged examples of this; it's an odd mix of material that spans a decade and multiple sites from ZDNET to CNET. He complains, for instance, that in 2007 CNET editors printed a "spyware horror story" from a woman who had downloaded a cracked copy of Dreamweaver using P2P software. The woman ends her note by explaining that she has now turned to legal software, and the editorial response says, "We're glad you've gone legit, Emily. Many freeware alternatives are available to satisfy the software sweet tooth, and they are almost all a safer bet than poached serial codes and keygens." Other comments, especially those from a decade ago, more clearly imply that the P2P software being recommended is used largely to share copyrighted music.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1onY5-NvGf0&feature=player_embeddedAlki David in a 2010 video rant against CBS and CNET "ANY Criticism of my research by CNET must answer this following question: Did CNET earn ANY income from any of these sales of P2P File Sharing Software Downloads?" asks Mozart, who has an affinity for capital letters and exclamation points that might well need treatment. "My Conclusion? The Internet Piracy Phenomenon was fueled in large part, by the distribution of the P2P software by CNET." He continues: Would gun sellers enjoy "Freedom of Press" protections if they offered catalogs demonstrating the ease of use of the Handguns being Sold for engaging in criminal activities such as robbing stores or banks. Then offering Solutions to specifically cover up your crime. CNET provided the "Guns", the P2P Software, and the encouragement to commit "Robbery", here, the online file sharing of known copyrighted works. As for Alki David, he's just as agitated. Last year, when he announced his CBSYouSuck campaign, he said that the "duplicity of CBS beggars belief." CBS, as a major media company, "finds itself publicly exposed as an irresponsible hypocrite, that has ruined the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in the creative community and created copyright infringement damages into the trillions of dollars." Today, David announced that he would seek more artists for his lawsuit, pledging that "it will become the most significant copyright infringement lawsuit in history." The entire case is bizarre mishmash of conflicting loyalties. David, for instance, is outraged at the rampant copyright infringement over P2P software—even as he started FilmOn, which rebroadcast over-the-air TV signals on the Internet and was shut down by a federal judge's injunction. And CBS, the alleged home of P2P piracy, is one of the world's great media companies, producing TV shows, books, and more. As for LimeWire, a judge ordered its website shut down last year and the company will soon face a trial on damages for copyright infringement. LimeWire is also a defendant in the case along with CBS/CNET. LimeWire is no longer available from Download.com, and an editor's note says, "Using P2P and file-sharing software to distribute copyrighted material without authorization is illegal in the United States and many other countries. CBS Interactive does not encourage or condone the illegal duplication or distribution of copyrighted content."Original Article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator DKT27 Posted May 4, 2011 Administrator Share Posted May 4, 2011 I've edited to first post to post the whole article, if you don't mind. :)This is going to be fun, CBS is not a small company, and I've seen Limewire being downloaded like hell on download.com. The reason I'm liking this is it shows how these copyright lawsuits are as worth as useless piece of trash. Copyright lawsuits will only get negative attention. ^_^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shought Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 This is the biggest piece of crap I've ever heard. CNET is probably one of the most legit software sites... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator DKT27 Posted May 4, 2011 Administrator Share Posted May 4, 2011 CNET’s Download.com and parent company CBS are being sued for several copyright infringement related offenses for their role in distributing LimeWire and other P2P software. The massive lawsuit is being brought by eccentric billionaire and FilmOn founder Alki David, who’s backed by a collection of rappers and R&B groups.<br><br><br><br>CNET’s Download.com and parent company CBS are being sued for several copyright infringement related offenses for their role in distributing LimeWire and other P2P software. The massive lawsuit is being brought by eccentric billionaire and FilmOn founder Alki David, who’s backed by a collection of rappers and R&B groups.<br><br> After his own company was sued for copyright infringement by several television networks including CBS, FilmOn’s Alki David has now turned the tables. For months the billionaire has been hinting that he might sue CBS for their role in distributing P2P software, and yesterday he filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court of California.<br><br> In the lawsuit against CBS Interactive, CNET Networks and LimeWire, David is joined by a collection of rappers and R&B groups including 2 Live Crew, Crucial Conflict and Pretty Ricky. They accuse CNET’s Download.com and the other defendants of several copyright infringement related offenses and are demanding compensation for damages suffered..<br><br> “The CBS Defendants have been the main distributor of LimeWire software and have promoted this and other P2P systems in order to directly profit from wide-scale copyright infringement. Internet users have downloaded more then [sic] 220 million copies from Defendants’ website, found at Download.com, since 2008,” the complaint starts.<br><br> In addition to LimeWire, the complaint notes that Download.com is still promoting various other P2P-applications which the majority of people use to infringe copyrights. By promoting this software in return for money and by showing users how to download, the CBS defendants are willingly contributing to copyright infringement, the plaintiffs claim.<br><br> “The CBS Defendants received massive amounts of revenue from P2P providers on a ‘pay per download’ basis and also from advertising revenues generated by advertisements placed on the download screen for P2P software,” the complaint argues. <br><br> “The CBS Defendants’ business model has been so dependent upon P2P and file-sharing that entire pages of Download.com are designed to specifically list and categorize these software offerings.” <br><br> “In fact, the CBS Defendants were well aware that these software applications were used overwhelmingly to infringe when they first partnered with LimeWire and other P2P providers, but ignored it in exchange for a steady stream of income.”<br><br> The complaint goes on to explain how CNET’s paid editors promoted various P2P-applications, and how they alerted the readers to tools that could circumvent DRM. According to the complaint the entire Download.com system was used to maximize the downloads of various P2P applications, and thus potential copyright infringements.<br><br> The above leads the plaintiffs to conclude that CBS and CNET are guilty of inducing copyright infringement, contributory copyright infringement and vicarious copyright infringement. In addition to receiving compensation they want the defendants to stop promoting P2P software.<br><br> “Defendants must compensate Plaintiffs for the damages they caused and be ordered to cease future infringement,” Alki David and his crew demand.<br><br> Without commenting on the claims in detail, it has to be noted that the Plaintiffs take a huge leap of faith with their allegations. The P2P software (e.g. FrostWire) they want Download.com and others to stop distributing is by no means illegal. LimeWire was found guilty last year not because of the technology it developed, but because it explicitly encouraged infringements. <br><br> That said, it seems that the parties in this case are hardly saints when it comes to honoring copyrights. Aside from the FilmOn founder who’s been sued for copyright infringement, several of the artists among the plaintiffs have also been involved in copyright infringement lawsuits, up to the Supreme Court in the case of 2 Live Crew.<br><br> In a comment to THR, CBS characterized the lawsuit as a “desperate attempt to distract copyright holders like us from continuing our rightful claims.”<br><br> “CBS and a host of other media companies were awarded a court ordered injunction against one of Alki David’s companies last year with respect to that company’s improper use of copyrighted content. His lawsuit against CBS affiliates is riddled with inaccuracies, and we are confident that we will prevail, just as we did in the injunction hearing involving his company,” the company added.<br><br> Time will tell who’s right and who’s wrong.<br><br> The complaint:<br><br><a title="View CNET Limewire Torrent Freak Report on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/54640970" style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">CNET Limewire Torrent Freak Report</a><iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" src="http://www.scribd.com/embeds/54640970/content?start_page=1&view_mode=list" data-auto-height="true" data-aspect-ratio="" scrolling="no" id="doc_81330" width="100%" height="600" frameborder="0"></iframe><br><br> View: Original Article<br> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majithia23 Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 lol.... :lol:how ridiculously funny and stupid .... ! :doh: :lmao:thats the limit of moronness ....!if Cnet is to be blamed , then every damn Software tracker ( Major geeks , File Hippo , Softpedia , Brothersoft and etc , etc ,,,,..... ) all , will be clubbed together to a one mighty big alliance and it would be fun to see , when they will kick some whole shi! load of dirt in the Copyright activists faces ...!!! 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hottwire Posted May 5, 2011 Author Share Posted May 5, 2011 I've edited to first post to post the whole article, if you don't mind. :)This is going to be fun, CBS is not a small company, and I've seen Limewire being downloaded like hell on download.com. The reason I'm liking this is it shows how these copyright lawsuits are as worth as useless piece of trash. Copyright lawsuits will only get negative attention. ^_^Absolutely no problem DKT mate This is the biggest piece of crap I've ever heard. CNET is probably one of the most legit software sites...Yeah I agree with that :) hence why I posted this as soon as I read it as I knew it would be a hot topic here.lol.... :lol:how ridiculously funny and stupid .... ! :doh: :lmao:thats the limit of moronness ....!if Cnet is to be blamed , then every damn Software tracker ( Major geeks , File Hippo , Softpedia , Brothersoft and etc , etc ,,,,..... ) all , will be clubbed together to a one mighty big alliance and it would be fun to see , when they will kick some whole shi! load of dirt in the Copyright activists faces ...!!! 8) Yeah thats quite true actually, wonder how long it will be until that happens!But this is just mega funny to read over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atasas Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 :pope:madness taking world over... if you can take it seriously :tooth: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niharjhatn Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 This is BS.Furthermore, am really pissed off at musicians who get pissed off regarding illegal downloads.Why do they charge $20 for a CD then? If they made the price less, people might consider buying it instead of pirating it.Instead, despite already having millions, get pissed off at people who can't afford to buy their shit and download it.Look at activision and the Call of duty franchise - complain about being the most pirated game one year and yet they crack $1bn in sales... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myidisbb Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 This is the biggest piece of crap I've ever heard. CNET is probably one of the most legit software sites...they might as well us microsoft. for their OS software was the key to running most of the comptuers in the world. therefor they are jsut as guilty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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