Two YouTube Copyright Cases Come to Conclusion

[Mandolin Picker]

Seems yesterday was a day for YouTube to be back in the news concerning music and copyright. Here are the two stories that we saw:

 

Tentative Settlement Reached In Video Of Baby Grooving To Prince Song

It has taken 11 years, but there appears to be a settlement between the parties concerning a toddler dancing to a Prince song playing in the background. The Supreme Court rejected hearing the case back in 2015. Now it appears both parties have settled with no final court opinion concerning the case.

 

More at NPR: https://www.npr.org/2018/06/08/618162981/tentative-settlement-reached-in-video-of-baby-grooving-to-prince-song

 

YouTube Liable for Copyright Infringement, Austrian Court Finds in Preliminary Ruling

In an Austrian Court, YouTube has been found to be partially liable for copyrighted music that has been uploaded to its service. YouTube had claimed 'safe harbour' exemption, as they stated they are only a hosting provider. However, the court looked at how YouTube sorts and promotes copyrighted music and determined that they bear some responsibility.

 

"The court, in its initial ruling, disagreed, finding that YouTube's activity in “sorting, filtering and linking” content on its platform, “in particular by creating tables of contents according to predefined categories” helps determine the surfing behavior of its users. Thus, according to the court, Youtube cannot be considered a neutral platform."

 

YouTube has stated it will consider appealing the ruling. If the ruling were to stand, it could have far reaching effects on sites that host user uploaded content. This would affect not just YouTube, but sites such as FaceBook and others

 

More at Hollywood Reporter: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/youtube-liable-copyright-infringement-austrian-court-finds-1117828

and at The Local: https://www.thelocal.at/20180607/austrian-court-says-youtube-is-partly-liable-for-copyright-breaches