A German
court has ruled that YouTube must erase seven contested videos over copyright
issues. However, the decision has failed to settle the protracted copyright row
raging on the Internet.
Hamburg's
State Court ruled on Friday that YouTube will have to take seven videos
offline, including "Rivers of Babylon" by Boney M.
The verdict
strengthens the position of Germany's royalty collections body GEMA which has
been battling Google-owned YouTube over copyright issues for years.
The last
agreement expired in 2009 and the conflicting parties have since been at
loggerheads over the proper method to collect copyright fees.
However,
Friday's verdict is not the landmark ruling which some had hoped would once and
for all settle the contentious issue of copyright protection in the Internet.
Limited
culpability
 |
| From Germany, many Youtube searches will lead you to this page rather than the music video |
The Hamburg
court decided that Internet platforms like YouTube are not directly liable for
the breach of copyrights committed by users uploading protected material.
However, the platform is now obliged to "deactivate immediately any
illegal videos" once alerted by those holding the copyright.
Notably,
the ruling does not oblige YouTube to check all content that has already been
uploaded to its site – a key GEMA demand.
The judges
said YouTube was not the main culprit because it does not upload or steal any
content. Rather it facilitated the copyright breaches by offering and operating
the online platform.
In order to
prevent further copyright breaches, the judges called on YouTube to employ
specific software capable of detecting songs in videos.
Mixed
reactions
GEMA lawyer
Kerstin Bäcker described the verdict as a "great success" because
YouTube could now be held liable for its online content. GEMA spokesman Peter
Hempel said the decision had created a firm legal basis for further
negotiations with YouTube.
Kay Overbeck,
spokesperson for Google Germany also viewed the ruling as a partial success.
"The court has confirmed that YouTube is a hosting platform which cannot
be forced to monitor all the uploaded video."
 |
| YouTube owner Google claims the ruling is in fact victory for them |
The
high-tech industry federation Bitkom took a similar view, describing the
verdict by and large as a "good signal for the Internet community."
The judges had clarified that YouTube was merely providing a platform for users
and in legal terms was not the supplier of the uploaded data, said Bitkom chief
executive Bernhard Rohleder.
Initially
most German media viewed the outcome as an important victory for GEMA. But
lawyer and copyright expert Till Kreutzer dissented in an interview with DW, describing
the verdict as a victory for YouTube. "What really matters is which legal
status YouTube has," said Kreutzer, adding that the row over 12 videos
clips was superficial and negligible. "Does it provide content or is it
just an online platform facilitating the publication of videos? The former is
liable, the latter is not."
If anything
the decision has shifted liability away from YouTube to the users who upload
the respective videos, according to Kreutzer. Now there are legal requirements
for operating the platform, but there is no liability to charges, which means
GEMA has failed to achieve its main goal of collecting fees for YouTube
content. GEMA failed to convince the judges with its argument that YouTube was
using the content for advertizing purposes which rendered it more than just a
"service provider."
However,
the Hamburg ruling is not set in stone yet. Should either party decide to
appeal, a higher court could overturn the verdict. The struggle to find a
copyright legislation that is accepted both by internet users as well as
artists, musicians and publishers is far from over.
Author: Günter Birkenstock / nk
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