The scales are tipping once again in the debate between movie distributors and file sharing services. A German court has overturned a ruling that had determined file host RapidShare did not take proper measures to prevent sharing of films by Capelight pictures.
This is the second appeal victory for Rapidshare over Capelight in recent months.
In 2009, Capelight went to the German court alleging that RapidShare should’ve been utilizing filters that would have prevented users of the file sharing service from saving copies of the film distributor’s title Inside a Skinhead. While the court originally issued an injunction in favor of the movie studio, RapidShare won their appeal this week because the court agreed with the company’s argument that the filter could prevent users from saving private copies of files as allowed by German law. The court also stated that it was not the responsibility of RapidShare to prevent the spread of download links.
As part of a separate case in April, RapidShare appealed a decision in support of Capelight’s claim that word filters should be used on file-sharing search tools to make it more difficult for users to find copies of shared films, including titles like Insomnia and The Fall. RapidShare prevailed by pointing out that words like "insomnia" and "fall” are far too common to effectively filter, and that attempting to filter such terms would cause too many issues with other search results.
RapidShare lawyer Daniel Raimer was pleased with the court’s decision to support his client and believes that such rulings may be sending studios and distributors a message that blaming file sharing services for the actions of their users. "The previously common practice of copyright holders to sue RapidShare on the off-chance there might be something to be gained from it, misunderstanding the realities it is operating within and showing contempt for its business model, will no longer bear fruit,” said Raimer in a statement issued after the most recent ruling.
Raimer’s comment is ringing true in many copyright infringement suits lately, especially considering the revelation of the stark contrast between the RIAA’s legal fees and proceeds from settlements. Maybe someday there will be a better solution to combat illegal file sharing than suing services and their users. Corporations forming alliances to create more sensible DRM like UltraViolet could be one way to improve the situation. It’s time companies begin thinking of more creative ways to combat the issue than spending ridiculous amounts of time and money in court, over and over again.
