Re: Entercom demands shutdown of Howie fan site

[Garrett Wollman <wollman>]

<<On Fri, 15 Dec 2000 00:17:08 -0800 (PST), "Bob Nelson...WMWM" <bobonradio@yahoo.com> said:

> Not the first time a network or station has demanded
> a fan site be shut down. Many dedicated fans of
> Fox shows like "the Simpsons" and "The X-Files" put
> up well-done fan sites only to be threatened with
> legal action, etc. If the sites clearly say
> "unofficial", what is the harm?

Unfortunately, in this brave new world of unprecedented expansion of
intellectual-property rights, Web sites have substantially less
protection than other forms of expression.  (Hopefully this will be
litigated some day, but it's hard to see who could be the test case.)

The biggest culprit is the so-called ``safe harbor'' provision of the
``Digital Millennium Copyright Act'', which provides that ISPs cannot
be held liable for infringement if they immediately shut down any Web
site which is accused.  (This is really the fault of the ISP industry:
if ISPs were common carriers there would never be any liability, but
ISPs don't want to be common carriers because that would require them
to accept all comers on equitable terms.)

As always, IANAL, TINTBCALA.

-GAWollman

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Garrett A. Wollman   | O Siem / We are all family / O Siem / We're all the same
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