To assuage copyright concerns, Google-owned YouTube has engineered a filtering system enabling rights holders to upload music and videos they own to a “fingerprinting” database.

Universal said Google’s private system doesn’t count as an official takedown notice under the DMCA and thus it was immune from legal liability.

“What they are basically arguing," said Ira Rothken, Megaupload’s attorney, "they can go ahead and suppress any speech they want without any consequences. That’s not a workable paradigm.”

I also learned from this article that Universal previously argued that people can file DMCA takedown notifications without incurring liability even if they know that the target is making a fair use of the material. That case isn't resolved yet (and has been slogging its way through the court system for many years) but fortunately it looks like Universal is going to be rebuked.

I'm going to start referring to these people as "The Copyright Power." I think its an apt analogy. They think they are above the law. They don't believe that due process applies to them. They have Congress so deep in their pockets that SOPA may pass in spite of universal condemnation. They are an anti-democratic force in this country. They should be seen as such.

Regarding Google, they are now in a very difficult position. As a Youtube user, I don't want Universal to have access to a takedown mechanism wherein they will not accept consequences for malicious misuse. They could kick Universal out. Perhaps they should, but the argument that Universal has made here applies to everyone who uses this system, so Google may have no choice but to shut the whole thing down, which probably has a lot of negative consequences for Google as well.

Its the kind of situation that you'd really want to go to Congress with - get them to clarify that the DMCA's rules apply to systems like this. But Congress is bought and sold by The Copyright Power, so you can't get a fair law out of them.

How does this end? How do we get The Copyright Power to acknowledge that they are also subject to the rule of law?

The Megaupload Case just got interesting