Student faces US copyright extradition

By Liam Tung on Jun 20, 2011 6:49 AM
Filed under Software

Granted bail, banned from web.

A 23-year old British university student is facing extradition to the US for allegedly running website that pointed users to other sites that hosted copyright infringing material.

Richard O’Dwyer, a computer science student, was granted bail in a British court last week at a hearing that formed part of the extradition process.

His lawyers had argued that he should be tried in the UK and that his website had not actually hosted any infringing material, according to the BBC.

If he is extradited he will face up to five years imprisonment on one count of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement and another of criminal copyright infringement.

O’Dwyer’s website, TVShack, had been taken down with around 80 other sites last year under US authorities’ “Operation In Our Sites”, according to TorrentFreak.

The operation, led by the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division of the US Department of Homeland Security, specifically targeted websites that linked to other sites that re-broadcasted TV programs and movies, according to Electronic Frontiers Foundation.

Staff attorney Abigail Phillips criticised the operation for blurring the distinction between criminal and civil remedies.

Turning a civil matter into a criminal one is the reason the US is attempting to have O'Dwyer extradited, according to solicitor advocate David Cook.

A UK ruling in 2010 involving the prosecution of a similar website, TV-Links, suggested that O’Dwyer would not face criminal charges if prosecuted in the UK.

“By moving O’Dwyer to the US, he is subject to its harsher copyright legislation, lack of public funding and is removed from a jurisdiction in which he may have been covered by an absolute defence,” wrote Cook in The Telegraph (UK).

O’Dwyer’s bail conditions included that he could not access the internet or register a new domain, according to the BBC. He is set to face court again on 12 September.

4 comments in this discussion

"No wonder so many people hate the US. This is more of law by corporations than any civil and criminal law. The American companies are trying to ride roughshod over everyone else's jurisdictions. ..."

By Pilotyoda

Tags

piracy, links, tvshack, ice, dhs, operation, extradition, us, copyright

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Comments: 4

Res Jun 20, 2011 9:53 AM	The bully boys of the U.S at it again I see, no wonder they are the most targeted when they act like this. Is the U.K the 54th state? They already think Aus is the 53rd. Bout time they cleaned up their own backyard before worrying about others.
pameacs Jun 20, 2011 10:30 AM	What will be more interesting is if the UK rolls over or declares that the person will be unfairly treated in the US and will declare that they cannot be tried in the US. Law is so grey and it will be rather interesting to see how it goes. Did he have any monetary gain? Did he get anything other than notoriety from his idea of running the site? These will all alter how he is seen in the eyes of various courts. Its funny as to how little success the Copyright industry has with prosecuting in the US of US citizens. I wonder if due to the compliance of OS governments that they are getting better traction pursuing those people that cannot defend themselves fairly in the US. Does my government protect me fairly?
frogg11 Jun 20, 2011 1:46 PM	I doubt this person has even committed an offence. Yet the US wants to turn this flaky civil matter into a criminal persecution. With behaviour like this it is no wonder organisations like Lulsec target these arrogant thugs.
Pilotyoda Jun 20, 2011 7:13 PM	No wonder so many people hate the US. This is more of law by corporations than any civil and criminal law. The American companies are trying to ride roughshod over everyone else's jurisdictions. This gives rise to the "no respect" situation in which they find themselves. I feel there will be a challenge among the down-loaders to ensure the files that are so coveted by the US entertainment giants are distributed so widely that all hope of them managing their IP will vanish. I note that when any tourist can buy hundreds of pirated DVDs and CDs in so many countries, why haven't these media corporations issued arrest warrants for business people in China or Indonesia or other haven. (Answer: because it easier to pick on individuals - in this case, one with no illegal content of his own - than take on China, Hong Kong, Singapore or Indonesia) Certainly it is not illegal (or should not be) to say or publish where something is occurring, even if that something is illegal. Would we arrest the reporter that told all Victorians which corner in Richmond had all the drug dealers?