Whiterabbit-uk
Games Guru
I agree Hotdog, what happenened to freedom over the net. If he was employed by the developer then maybe he would require some sort of fine, but not to the extent that he's having to beg for support. This is a crazy world we live in.
this is how the corporations start taking the single equation(person) out of the web, so they can control everything.
when a person can lose a court case over potential loss of profit because of a posting a free software link. It makes me think. Bad things are store for the web.
ChrisS
Administrator
A better title for the post is "Man sued for facilitating copyright infringement". The link in question wasn't just to "freeware", it was to freeware that RealNetworks claims violates their trademarks and copyrights.
And the man wasn't sued for posting the link, he was sued for allegedly not immediately removing the link when advised that the software was the result of the theft of intellectual property. Would you continue to recommend that your friends and neighbors shop a "Bob's Used Goods" once the police told you that Bob was a fence and that all of the goods in his store were stolen?
Legitimate freeware is the result of your ideas and your work, it's not the result of stolen goods. We should support legitimate freeware and scorn theftware.
Whiterabbit-uk
Games Guru
Ah! Right Chris, thanks for clarifying. That's a whole different kettle of fish if the link he'd provided was in fact ripped off software. Then I don't have any sympathy.
Whenever I read posts on forums that talk about downloading the latest games for free it infuriates me (especially when I've just purchased the game). If I'm able I'll always post a reply saying that it's illegal and that such practices are taking away money from the developer which could have been invested into creating more and better games. Software piracy seems rife these days even with DRM protected software’s, some are still getting to play these games for free. Ultimately those that rip off games are IMO taking away from those of us that are pay for our games.
Thankfully I don't know anyone that condones such practices.
Real Alternative is reverse engineered software for playing Real Media files. I've used Real Player in the past and if RealNetworks didn't have such questionable business practices (it was basically adware, at best) there wouldn't have been a need for an alternative.
Seeing he hosted a codecs website it's not surprising he would be asked for other ways to play RM files without surrendering one's computer to Real Networks.
Here is another article on the lawsuit. Both he and his ISP confirm that the offending link was immediately removed but Real still saw the link at a later date due to some DNS caching.
Makes me wonder: is Nintendo likely to sue over this post? I'm not saying it's the exact same situation, but it is the first thing that came to mind.
Incedentally, the software is still hosted (not just linked) on Cnet's Download.com and FileHippo.
mikiem2
Moderator
Until or unless they get around to tort reform in the US, you can sue anyone over just about anything -- it's up to the judge or jury to determine if you have just cause. Lawyers are expensive [that's how they can afford to spend so much donating to political campaigns], so it takes a lot of cash to defend against law suits -- something at the heart of many [most?] lawyer's [& the parties they represent] strategy... it's most often cheaper & more practical to settle. A lawyer working for themself doesn't have that high cost, so they work for a slice of the pie if they win or settle. Large companies like Real have lawyers they pay whether they go to court or not, so again it's not a huge *extra* expense.
Real Alternative is reverse engineered software for playing Real Media files.
The laws as they are now make it illegal to reverse engineer something to figure out how it works, even if you don't use what you learn to infringe on their (C) anywhere -- this is a lessen Real should know Very well, because if I'm not mistaken that's why they lost a lawsuit for a DVD transcoding app that Real had to pull from the market almost immediately after it was released.
Anonymous
Unregistered
Be that as it may, this is a case in the Netherlands and not the US. The laws are not the same there. In the link supplied in the post above yours( third paragraph, "another article"), there is a followup comment from just 10 days ago. I am not sure if it a real update or just someone's view as I could not find an updated article on a quick Google search. It does offer some interesting info though. I would hope the Dutch court not only exonerates him of the charge, but forces Realnetworks to pay not only his legal fees but an award for malicious prosecution, or whatever they call it over there, as well.
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