Skip to main content

Does CBS promote Internet piracy?

Despite being part of numerous lawsuits against infringement of its own copyright and intellectual property rights, is CBS actually supporting Internet piracy through the promotion of filesharing networks?

The charge has been facing the multi-million dollar corporation for more than a year, as Alki David, the founder and CEO of FilmOn.com reacted to his company’s losing a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by broadcast networks seeking to force it to stop streaming their content online by bringing a suit of his own against CBS Corporation. The crux of his complaint was that CNET and download.com, both websites owned by CBS Corp. subsidiary CBS Internative, distributed illegal file sharing software and DRM-cracking software, therefore actively promoting (and enabling) Internet piracy. At the time the lawsuit was launched, CBS described it as “a desperate attempt to distract copyright holders like us from continuing our rightful claims.”

Not so, says US District Judge Dale Fischer.

While Judge Fischer threw out some of the more extreme allegations against CBS last week, he stopped short of tossing the entire case altogether, leaving the possibility that lawyers for CBS Interactive and CBS Corp. will have to convince a jury that it has not promoted copyright theft with articles and downloads offered on its properties.

In his written ruling on an CBS’ attempt to have the suit dismissed in its entirety, Judge Fischer wrote that “Allegations that Defendants had knowledge that the overarching purpose of the P2P software was piracy are not enough to satisfy the knowledge standard laid out by the Ninth Circuit in Napster,” but added that CNET – and, by extension, CBS – aren’t exactly out of the woods in terms of what it has done. “Defendants here are alleged to have distributed specific P2P software, while simultaneously providing explicit commentary on that software’s effectiveness in infringing copyright,” he summarized before declaring that “such behavior moves beyond opinion into the realm of conduct and does not directly implicate any First Amendment issues. Defendants’ argument that a finding of inducement in this case would make it difficult to counsel future parties on the proper boundaries of editorial content is greatly overstated.” In other words, you can’t necessarily use the defense of free speech if you’re educating people on how to break the law.

David, unsurprisingly, called the decision a “victory for artists,” but there’s a lot at stake from this lawsuit should it come to trial. Are journalists going to be held responsible for reporting stories that could potentially influence readers/viewers into illegal activities? Or is the key going to come to the fact that the reporting at one site was compounded with downloads available at a sibling site? This may end up being a trial to watch, should it make it to court.

Graeme McMillan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
A transplant from the west coast of Scotland to the west coast of America, Graeme is a freelance writer with a taste for pop…
How to change your language in Google Chrome on desktop
Chrome OS

Google Chrome supports a wide range of languages. While it'll default to English in most cases, there's nothing stopping you from changing its settings and displaying pages in Spanish, French, or dozens of other languages.

Changing your default language in Chrome takes only a few seconds, and the technique used is the same across Windows and Mac. Aside from changing your language, note that Chrome now gives you the option to automatically translate pages written in another language – making it easy to read content from around the globe.

Read more
23 of the best Netflix hacks, tips, and tricks
The Netflix home screen.

Netflix is one of the most popular streaming platforms for all things movies and TV shows. Home to an immense library of titles, the Netflix archive is constantly changing and evolving, and so are the many ways you can use your Netflix account. 

For instance, did you know you can access region-locked Netflix shows and flicks by using a VPN? Or that you can disable that pesky Autoplay feature? There are tons of Netflix hacks, tips, and tricks out there, so we’ve gone ahead and rounded up all of our favorites! 
Expand your streaming with a VPN

Read more
How to make a GIF from a YouTube video
woman sitting and using laptop

Sometimes, whether you're chatting with friends or posting on social media, words just aren't enough -- you need a GIF to fully convey your feelings. If there's a moment from a YouTube video that you want to snip into a GIF, the good news is that you don't need complex software to so it. There are now a bunch of ways to make a GIF from a YouTube video right in your browser.

If you want to use desktop software like Photoshop to make a GIF, then you'll need to download the YouTube video first before you can start making a GIF. However, if you don't want to go through that bother then there are several ways you can make a GIF right in your browser, without the need to download anything. That's ideal if you're working with a low-specced laptop or on a phone, as all the processing to make the GIF is done in the cloud rather than on your machine. With these options you can make quick and fun GIFs from YouTube videos in just a few minutes.
Use GIFs.com for great customization
Step 1: Find the YouTube video that you want to turn into a GIF (perhaps a NASA archive?) and copy its URL.

Read more