Idolator

As they say on The Wire: "Sheeeeeeiiiiittt." Late yesterday, Universal Music Group filed lawsuits against video-sharing websites Grouper and Bolt (the latter of which, judging by accompanying photo, is staffed by the doorman at Delta Phi):

[The suits] mark the first time a major media company has tried to use the courts to narrowly interpret "safe harbor" protections provided by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 so it would exclude video-sharing sites. The DMCA provides protection from liability for copyright infringement to Internet companies if they meet certain criteria and follow so-called takedown procedures. Under the procedures outlined in the DMCA, sites have to remove any infringing copyright when notified specifically by the copyright holder.

So maybe this is an extremely ill-informed view, but it seems like Universal wants to bust people who are breakin' the rules...by kinda sorta pretending that other rules don't exist. These guys are brilliant! Imagine what would have happened if they had put even half of this kind of effort behind that last Hoobastank album.

Vivendi's Universal Sues Two Web Sites Over Video Sharing [WSJ]