Mininova Must Purge Copyrighted Torrent Links
Mininova Must Purge Copyrighted Torrent Links
By Kevin Parrish, published on August 26, 2009 at 6:51 PM
" Mininova is now under the BREIN microscope, with a Dutch judge ordering its operators to remove torrent links containing copyrighted material.
Although perhaps not as widely known as the Pirate Bay, BitTorrent search engine website Mininova is now facing troubled waters as well, as a Dutch judge has ordered the site to remove all links to copyrighted content within three months. If Mininova does not comply, the site will be ordered to pay up to €5 million in penalties.
As pointed out by Ars Technica, Mininova's operators weren't charged with copyright infringement because the files transferred actually reside on millions of computers worldwide. Instead, the Netherlands uses a different tactic and recognizes "contributory copyright infringement." As with The Pirate Bay, the Mininova operators face such a charge even though Mininova has made it a "policy" to remove copyright-infringing links prior to the order.
The Utrecht court found Mininova guilty of "inciting copyright infringement in others"; Mininova was also making a profit off the BitTorrent links, racking in more than €1 million in 2007. An investigation of the site conducted back in June revealed that 80 to 90-percent of the BitTorrent links provided copyrighted material.
The judge also told the Mininova operators that they should assume that all commercial produced content is copyrighted unless Mininova knows otherwise. Of course, with links plastered on the front page leading to Fallout 3, District 9, and the Sugababes' "Get Sexy" album, the operators should already know what's commercial and what's not. "
:source: Source: http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Mininova...news-4508.html
