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LastsummerGoogletargetedawebsitecalledYouTube-MP3thatLast summer Google targeted a website called YouTube-MP3 that allowed users to put in any YouTube URL and convert the audio to MP3. The website essentially allowed users to strip the audio out of music videos the music industry placed on YouTube and the MP3s treated are also archived by the website for future downloading. Google said that the audio converting website violated the terms of service for the YouTube API.
A legal battle ensued and the music industry also began a legal campaign against the website. Recently a trio of music companies operating in the industry group called BVMI challenged YouTube-MP3 and its claim that it operates legally suing the website and its owners in a German court. This music industry group said that technical issues behind the scenes at the MP3 conversion website placed the website in breach of copyright law.
The music industry claims that once the video had been converted to MP3, the audio was being stored on YouTube-MP3 servers and the next time that same URL was entered, users were given the stored MP3 file rather than converting the same URL again.
BVMI said in a statement:
Contrary to the common assumption that YouTubeMP3 is a streamripper that allows users to record songs from the Internet (much as cassette recorders were used to record music from the radio back in the day), in fact the online converter often simply made the pieces available for download without a license.
YouTube-MP3 had already signed cease-and-desist declarations and agreed to stop reproducing and distributing copyrighted content. That allowed the website to remain online despite having lost a court case. The website was also ordered by the judge in the case to pay legal costs for the parties involved.
BVMI said:
The current case provides deep insights into the workings of so-called ‘recording services’ and exposes a trick that not only hoodwinks the rights owners but also misleads the users of these services.
Source from: slashgear.com
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