In a complaint filed with the US Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday, civil liberties group, the Center for Democracy and Technology called for a probe of websites which claim to offer legal music downloads, when in actuality they are selling illegal software used to share copyrighted material.
“We want to see the marketplace for content flourish online,” CDT president Jerry Berman explained in a statement, continuing:
“In order to sustain businesses offering legal downloads, protect the free flow of information online, and avoid broader anti-piracy measures that could harm the Internet itself, we have to go after bad behavior like these deceptive offers.”
According to the complaint filed by the CDT, users of the services in question are led to believe that they are purchasing a license to download and use songs and movies — much like they would on a licensed subscription service like Rhapsody or the new Napster. However, they are provided no such license, and may find themselves facing severe legal liability if they choose to download copyrighted content in this way.
The Center's Associate Director, Alan Davidson observed that:
“Many consumers cannot reasonably distinguish between a monthly subscription to Napster.com, where they can download top songs legally, and one of these sites, which give every appearance of being licensed until you get to the fine print," and explained that:
"The sites we targeted today prey on honest consumers trying to navigate the confusing new market for legal digital downloads. Their promotions are clearly deceptive, and we hope the FTC takes strong action.”
CDT’s complaint also sought to draw the FTC's attention to the fact that many websites make claims to legality similar to those found on those specifically mentioned in the complaint, and revealed that these sites often appear to be related to each other or affiliates of one another.
It called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the affiliate relationships among such websites, to enjoin the three websites named in the complaint (and any affiliates and other responsible parties) from further deceptive advertising, and to seek damages and other relief as appropriate.
.
Network Tweets
Network BlogsContent
provided by
|
Archive | Resources | Partners | Site Map | Links | Newsletter Archive | Contact | RSS Feeds | About | Syndication | Advertising & Marketing | Recruitment | Terms & Conditions | Privacy & Cookies
Copyright © 2012 - All Rights Reserved - Tax-News.com
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Tax-News.com has taken reasonable care in sourcing and presenting the information contained on this site, but accepts no responsibility for any financial or other loss or damage that may result from its use. In particular, users of the site are advised to take appropriate professional advice before committing themselves to involvement in offshore jurisdictions, offshore trusts or offshore investments.
Write a comment