TKO now, no redress later?

["Hamaker, Chuck" <cahamake@email.uncc.edu>]

MPAA copyright victory is 'website killer': Motion Picture Association of
America DMCA ruling opens Pandora's box 

By Robert Jaques, vnunet.com
03 May 2005 http://www.vnunet.com/news/1162803

"The US Supreme Court has declined to hear the case of InternetMovies.com
(Rossi) vs. Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), a move which
InternetMovies.com warns will set the stage for a continued subjective
interpretation of the 'good faith' provision in the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act (DMCA).

The MPAA issued a cease-and-desist letter to the site's host service
claiming that Lord of the Rings: Return of the King was available for
download. The host was forced to shut down InternetMovies.com under the
provisions of the DMCA.

The MPAA claimed that it had behaved in good faith and swore under oath
that the 2003 release of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King was made
available for download in 2001. Rossi denied that the film had been
available on the site.

"All I was doing was reporting news about movies online. This now proves
that there are no freedom of speech or due process rights on the internet
for the common person," said Rossi.

"The MPAA did not dispute that it had made an error in judging the site's
content. The District Court, Ninth Circuit Court and Supreme Court have
all sided with the subjective interpretation of the DMCA and ruled in
favour of the MPAA."

Chuck Hamaker
Associate University Librarian Collections and Technical Services
Atkins Library
University of North Carolina Charlotte
Charlotte, NC 28223
phone 704 687-2825