Court Says RapidShare Not Required to Filter Uploads

CHAM — RapidShare AG has announced that it has won its appeal against Capelight Pictures in the Court of Appeals in Düsseldorf, Germany.

According to RapidShare, Capelight had previously obtained a preliminary injunction against the file hosting company in Düsseldorf's district court, preventing RapidShare from hosting certain movies its clients had uploaded and raising the specter of invasive content screening and approval methods.

The Appellate Court this week reversed the lower court's order, signaling a victory for the file hosting service, which some critics point to as a major contributor to Internet piracy, due to its allowance of easy, anonymous file uploading and sharing without any review of the material's content or copyright status.

"We are very happy about the judgment," RapidShare founder Christian Schmid stated. "The court has confirmed that RapidShare is not responsible for the contents of files uploaded by its users."

The Court of Appeals determined that since RapidShare does not control access to the files (which the user uploading the file can keep private or share at will), it is not liable for the distribution of those files.

The court also criticized proposed piracy mitigation mechanisms as being ineffective, further bolstering its reversal decision. For example, filename filters create excessive false positives, particularly since those who are uploading them often rename these files. Filtering based on file type is not effectively usable since the file type does not reflect the content's ownership; while proxy servers and shared IP addresses make such discrimination attempts over-broad.

For its part, RapidShare sees the move as a vindication of its operations and an acknowledgement of the service's legitimate uses, such as creating online data backups.

"The judgment shows that attempts to denounce our business model as illegal will not be successful in the long run," Schmid added. "With its [one]-click-filehosting model, RapidShare responds to legitimate interests of its users and will continue to do so in the future."

Related:  

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Braindance Unveils '6DOF' VR Tech

Interactive virtual reality platform Braindance has debuted its new Six Degrees of Freedom (6DOF) VR technology.

Kiiroo, Pineapple Support Launch 'Empower Hour' Series on FeelHubX YouTube Channel

Kiiroo and Pineapple Support have teamed up to launch the “Empower Hour” series on the FeelHubX YouTube channel.

Kansas Law Firm Deploys Religion, Bunk Science While Recruiting Plaintiffs Under AV Law

Kansas-based personal injury law firm Mann Wyatt Tanksley is promoting debunked scientific theories and leveraging religious affiliation against the industry while it seeks potential plaintiffs for lawsuits against adult companies under the state’s age verification law.

UK Tech Secretary Lists Age Verification Among OSA Priorities

Peter Kyle, the U.K.’s Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, on Wednesday made public a draft version of his priorities for implementing the Online Safety Act (OSA), including age verification.

AEBN Publishes Popular Seraches by Country for September, October

AEBN has released its list of popular searches from its straight and gay theaters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Avery Jane Featured on 'Adult Time Podcast'

Avery Jane is the latest guest on the “Adult Time Podcast,” hosted by studio CCO Bree Mills.

FSC: Kansas Law Firm Threatens Adult Site Over Age Verification

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has been notified that Kansas law firm Mann Wyatt Tanksley has sent a letter threatening an adult website with a lawsuit for breaking the state's age verification law.

10th Circuit Rejects Final FSC Appeal in Utah AV Case

The United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit on Monday rejected a motion by Free Speech Coalition (FSC) requesting that the full court rehear its appeal in Free Speech Coalition v. Anderson, the industry trade association’s challenge to Utah’s age verification law.

Trump Nominates Project 2025 Contributor, Section 230 Foe to Chair FCC

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated, as his pick to head the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr — an author of Project 2025 who has called for gutting Section 230 protections.

Streamate's Elevate Partners With Miss Mei on Decriminalization Initiative

Streamate’s Elevate initiative is debuting a November collaboration with creator and community advocate Miss Mei that will highlight the modern criminalization of sex work.

Show More