Ever wondered how channelsurfing.net gets around copyright for all of those FCS games (and other stuff) that it streams? Well, channelsurfing.net isn't the source of the streams. They come from individual users and are aggregated through justin.tv.
And the answer to the question about how they get around copyright is: they don't. Obviously those individuals don't own the rights to rebroadcast copyrighted content. The people behind justin.tv are testifying before Congress this week.
Here's a short story explaining the situation:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/12/15/justin-tv-piracy/
The bottom line is, I suspect this: They're violating copyright, but good luck trying to stop those streams from being rebroadcast. Shut one site down, and another aggregator will step up. Want to stop them at the source (individual users) good luck with that, too. The Internet is... well it's very large and unwieldy if you want to control it.
Interesting intersection here between what technology enables and what copyright law allows. In the end, technology is likely to win by staying one step ahead of those trying to enforce the law.
And the answer to the question about how they get around copyright is: they don't. Obviously those individuals don't own the rights to rebroadcast copyrighted content. The people behind justin.tv are testifying before Congress this week.
Here's a short story explaining the situation:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/12/15/justin-tv-piracy/
The bottom line is, I suspect this: They're violating copyright, but good luck trying to stop those streams from being rebroadcast. Shut one site down, and another aggregator will step up. Want to stop them at the source (individual users) good luck with that, too. The Internet is... well it's very large and unwieldy if you want to control it.
Interesting intersection here between what technology enables and what copyright law allows. In the end, technology is likely to win by staying one step ahead of those trying to enforce the law.
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