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[FYI] Scour.net to Debut 'Son of Napster'
- To: debate@fitug.de
- Subject: [FYI] Scour.net to Debut 'Son of Napster'
- From: "Axel H Horns" <horns@t-online.de>
- Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2000 10:33:26 +0100
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- Organization: PA Axel H Horns
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http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,13672,00.html
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April 03, 2000, 06:47 PM PST
Scour.net to Debut 'Son of Napster'
The creators of Scour Exchange, a new file-sharing utility, may soon
face the wrath of the recording industry.
By Michael Learmonth
Napster, as it turns out, was just the beginning.
The infamous file-sharing program, which exploded on college campuses
late last year, is spawning a host of imitators and making it even
more difficult to stop the widespread swapping of copyrighted music.
Engineers at Santa Monica, Calif.-based Scour.net developed the
latest entrant to the fray, Scour Exchange, and made it available for
download over the weekend. Like Napster, Scour Exchange allows its
users to exchange MP3 files for free. Unlike Napster, Scour Exchange
doesn't necessarily search for the .MP3 file extension. Users may
swap any file, whether it's a photograph, a video clip or an audio
file.
"It's like Napster, in that it's building a sharing community," says
Travis Kalanick, VP for strategy at Scour.net. "We do file sharing in
a similar way, but we have all media types."
[...]
Kalanick says his program has several features that would insulate it
from Napster's legal concerns. Unlike Napster, he argues, Scour
Exchange has "many non-infringing uses. With the launch of this
product, we have done licensing and syndication deals with content
providers to distribute legitimate content."
Also distancing the service from Napster, Kalanick argues that Scour
Exchange simply adds functionality to the Scour.net search engine and
says search engines are protected by a "safe-harbor provision" in the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
"We are simply a search engine," Kalanick says. "We have built an
application that enhances that search."
In addition, Scour has set up a procedure for dealing with copyright
complaints that they believe to be compliant with the DMCA. Copyright
holders must notify Scour in writing with a letter that contains the
copyright-holder's "pen-on-paper" signature. Then Scour will take the
infringing link out of the database.
Scour is also setting its own "three strikes" policy. If a copyright
holder notifies Scour about a particular user three times, Scour will
kick the user off its system.
"What they are trying to avoid is being held liable for direct
infringement," says Neil Rosini, a copyright attorney who represents
MyPlay.com. Rosini says Scour will have to demonstrate that its new
service is "principally for trading copyrighted works that are owned
by the people doing the trading."
"No one goes into this business prudently who has a desire to tick
off the recording industry unnecessarily," says attorney Andrew
Bridges, who defended Diamond Multimedia in its Rio case. "On the
other hand, the recording industry doesn't play fair, and no one can
wait for the RIAA's consent or approval in order to develop a
business plan."
[...]
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