Just a reminder, boys & girls, that on the internet, "Nothing is hidden that shall not be revealed."
YouTube shared user data with studio lawyers
Video site helped Paramount Pictures track down and sue filmmaker.
YouTube's action is in response to a subpoena it received in May show that it has been keeping tabs on users who post copyrighted material to its site -- and in one case shared the name of a user with lawyers from a Hollywood film studio.
On May 24, lawyers for Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures convinced a federal judge in San Francisco to issue a subpoena requiring YouTube to turn over details about a user who uploaded dialog from the movie studio's "Twin Towers," according to a copy of the document.
YouTube promptly handed over the data to Paramount, which on June 16 sued the creator of the 12-minute clip, New York City-based filmmaker Chris Moukarbel, for copyright infringement, in federal court in Washington.
When asked about YouTube, a spokeswoman for the Motion Picture Industry Association said "we continue to pursue those who violate copyright laws on all levels, and we will continue to monitor YouTube for copyrighted material."
That means YouTube users who post such material could face legal problems similar to Moukarbel's.
This fine print warning is brought to you by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998 and youtube's TOS.
So, CYA.
