P2Pnet Wins Landmark ‘Hyperlinking” Case
Written by Ernesto on October 29, 2008The file-sharing oriented news website, P2Pnet, has won its case against the Canadian businessman Wayne Crookes. The Supreme Court ruled that linking to defamatory material doesn’t constitute as publishing. Since the case is about linking, the outcome will have implications for all websites on the Internet, including BitTorrent sites.
Wayne Crookes, a former Green Party organizer, had sued p2pnet claiming that the news site defamed him by merely linking to articles he didn’t agree with. With the freedom of online speech at stake, the case was heard by the British Columbia Supreme Court.
In the decision, Judge Stephen Kelleher disagreed with Crookes, as he ruled that linking to other websites does not amount to publication. Since ‘publication’ is needed to prove defamation, Crookes simply has no case. Judge Kelleher writes in the decision: “Although a hyperlink provides immediate access to material published on another website, this does not amount to republication of the content on the originating site. This is especially so as a reader may or may not follow the hyperlinks provided.”
This is a landmark decision for freedom of speech on the Internet. It goes even further though, since it is not limited to blogs and news outlets. The judge made it very clear that a hyperlink does not equal publication. This means that the current ruling might be relevant to copyright cases involving BitTorrent sites as well, since they merely link to files and do not host any copyrighted content themselves.
P2Pnet owner Jon Newton told TorrentFreak that he is delighted with the decision. “This is a significant victory for all Canadians, and for freedom of speech online. Because if Crookes had triumphed, the ‘net in Canada would to all intents and purposes have been killed stone dead,” he said, while showing appreciation for the quality of his legal representation. “My Lawyer, Dan Burnett, did a great job. He’s extremely smart and genuinely committed and I was extremely lucky to have him acting for me.”
Crookes has clearly lost this battle, but he is not done yet, as he is still involved in lawsuits with Google, Yahoo! and several weblogs including Michal Geist’s. For now things are looking good for our freedom of speech online, let’s hope it stays that way.
Previously: Tribler Set to Make BitTorrent Sites Obsolete
Next: Use BitTorrent to Upgrade to Ubuntu ‘Intrepid Ibex’
24 Responses
yay p2p!!
Hellz to the Yeahz!
I hope so as well, although I say that there would be a better hope if there were public opinion on its side, and I see no evidence of public opinion on its side. Surely the courts matter, but I think that there is little safety in courts if it does not also have the backing of the legislative body.
Roze
http://10ch.org
Who? Wayne Crooked?
well great for the 30 million canadians ;)
but surely a great set up for isohunt’s upcoming lawsuit against the canadian RIAA
“Wayne Crookes, a former Green Party organizer, had sued p2pnet claiming that the news site defamed him by merely linking to articles he didn’t agree with.”
i LOLed
Well, thank you Mr.Crookes, or shall I say crook?
:)
http://Www.eZee.se
It’s still possible for them to say that since Bittorrent Trackers link to files on their own servers, even though both you and I know they aren’t infringing anything, it can be counted as publication…
Aww, poor wittle Crooked Wayne. His bid to subjugate the entire Internet because BAD PPL SED MEEN THINGZ ABOOT HIM, BAAAW has ended in predictable failure.
Hear that, Wayne? It’s me playing the world’s tiniest violin.
Also, since “defamation” obviously makes you ball up your fists and go cry-cry, let me just say this:
FACT. Wayne Crookes fucks chickens.
Now lets hope isoHunt win their lawsuit against the CRIA in the Canadian courts, hopefully this case will go some way towards that.
Lol, “crook” Good for P2Pnet. Never heard of them, but still a big step forward.
Luckily, not all judges are crooks like Wayne Crookes or whatever his fu*kin’ name is.
I think this is a good idea.
pjstewart@ualberta.ca
pjstewart at ualberta.ca
pjstewart[at]ualberta.ca
What a crook.
wtf does this have to do with bittorrent sites? bittorrent sites in the US are liable under contributory copyright infringement. there is no contributory defamation under US law.
@ shmo
The world is ROUND not flat..
Figure that one out yourself..
@#8
the files do NOT link to files on there own servers but link up other people to files and chunks a files elsewhere, that’s how this benefits torrent sites
NOW in a defense one can say the supreme court said that a torrent file is effectively a link to something NOT on its own server and YOU or someone ELSE is the originator and thus it is no longer illegal for a torrent site in canada.
@#16
this is canada its talking about btw
NOT THE USA.
@9 you suck my chicken
seems the CRIA is around being sore little losers today
way to go wayne
This is good news.
I think, however, if the courts educated themselves a little bit concerning the nature of Bittorrent we wouldn’t have Tracker issues and lawsuits in the first place since there aren’t any illegal files on their servers. It’s like getting arrested for merely posting pictures of marijuana on a personal website, it doesn’t make sense and it doesn’t happen.
@16 America does not own the Internet, and is not the only country in the world, as your mum always said think before opening your mouth
Or your asshole, which is what you were talking out of.
This won’t change anything for BitTorrent sites. A torrent file is not a hyperlink and they must be hosted somewhere even if it means pushing them all into the DHT.
That can be argued. After all, the principle stays the same and BT does use HTTP, so one could say that a .torrent is an advanced form of hyperlink (with the advantage that it does not even specify the location of the material, only what server *might* know that location, ie it links to a link).
Wether anyone would go to court to get this view officially approved is another matter.
4 references to this post
Responses are closed
All remaining responses will continue to be archived. Use the TorrentFreak forums if you want to discuss something.