Usenet provider ordered to remove all infringing material

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Sadly, Usenet has degenerated from a set of useful technical discussion groups to nothing more than a distribution system for pirated material.

The discussion groups are all still there and just as active, but you do need to use a program with good filters to sift through the advertising crap and drive-by trolls.

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The interesting point is, of course, that whereas "traditional" pirate sites such as TPB can only be accused of facilitating copyright infringement, Usenet providers are committing copyright infringement, since the pirated material is hosted on their servers. I'm a little surprised that they haven't been targetted before: they look like a pretty "soft target" for lawsuits.

Not only do they host the material, they also actively distribute it to other usenet providers and swap content with each other

Usenet companies in Europe seem to be at risk, but American ones have the DMCA to protect them.