How the Legal System Works

Step One: MySpace partners with Gracenote to identify and elim­inate copy­righted music on their network. (October 30th)

Step Two: MySpace announces steps to identify and elim­inate copy­righted video on their network. (Nov 17th)

Step Three: Universal Music Group sues MySpace for copy­right infringe­ment. (Nov 17th)

It will be inter­esting to see how this pans out. Techcrunch points out Craigslist escaped pro­sec­u­tion this week over dis­crim­in­atory housing postings on its site on the basis that it is a conduit, not a pub­lisher. The gist of UMG’s case is that MySpace provides tools for transcoding media — making it easier to dis­tribute illeg­ally, they claim. For this reason, UMG argues, MySpace has become com­plicit in the dis­tri­bu­tion of files, thus losing the pro­tec­tion it is allowed as a service provider.

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Possibly related:

• MySpace: The Beast of Santa Monica
• Battle of the Bandwaves
• MySpace Doooomed. Allegedly.