Editor’s Note: Guest Author Pratibha is a technology enthusiast interested in analysing and reporting about different technologies.
A German court had reportedly ordered file-sharing site RapidShare to proactively filer thousands of files uploaded by its users. The decision comes after the three different verdicts led by lower court, which ruled that the site had not take enough steps to prevent piracy going on its server. The initial judgment reports states that the site need to be monitor in order that the user files for copyright infringement before they are made available on the site for downloads. The German court has resolute that RapidShare manages legally in the country, and that it has no obligation to observe consumer uploads, reports TorrentFreak .
“For the first time the Hamburg Higher Regional Court has followed our line of argument on key points and has conferred legal legitimacy on our service, just as other courts have done over a considerable period of time. This is a significant result for us,” said RapidShare CEO Alexandra Zwingli.
“That is exactly what RapidShare has already been doing for many years. If the Anti-Abuse Team identifies a download link on such pages which results in a file that has clearly been published illegally being on the company’s servers, the file in question is immediately blocked.”
“We are doing this of our own accord because we have a strong interest in ensuring that our service remains clean. We believe that being obliged to carry out such actions is questionable from a legal perspective. For this reason we will appeal the verdict to clarify the issue of proactive monitoring of external websites at the highest judicial level,” Zwingli said.
