US Seeks Extradition For UK Student's Copyright Violation

[John the Gamer]

My mind somehow made a link between this and Rapture-Bioshock-Columbia. Now where's my dad's golf clubs?... We have some preparations to make if we're going to surviv.... Oh wait. I don't live in the US. Anybody wants to borrow my clubs for smashing faces... in... with? Or something?

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

That's actually a bit harder to enforce for the soul reason that the person in question is not a US citizen.

That's not going to be the issue at all.

The issue, at least as far as the British courts are concerned, is going to be whether O'Dwyer committed a crime within the US' jurisdiction.

 

[Karma168]

by that logic you have to then arrest Google as they also list illegal torrent sites and make (a hell of a lot more) money from advertisements while doing it.

One thing i don't get, why did he pay £3000 for bail? As far as i know the UK does not have the same 'pay for freedom' thing that the US does, at least not where i live.

 

[trooper6]

One of the things that concerns me about this is that it may set a disturbing precedent that could carry over to the public domain issue.

To whit: in the UK, music goes into the public domain 50 years after publication. Which means Elvis Presley recordings are public domain in the UK. However, in the US everything from 1923 onwards remains in copyright (it is 95 years from publication...and will probably be extended longer in 2018 so that Mickey Mouse never goes into the public domain).

So if someone in the UK has a torrent site full of Elvis they aren't breaking UK copyright law, but they are breaking US copyright law...will the US ask to extradite that person--who hasn't done anything wrong in their country?

 

[ExodusFlame]

UK and US laws are rather different being he lives in the UK it seems as a ploy just to try put someone in jail in America for no reason i bet in our courts here in the UK this matter is very different and i may have misunderstood but the fine they are trying to levy who is that going to? UK or US government? cause if it is its about the money and trying to milk UK citizens for money that America doesn't have in my books that is stealing itself and victimizing someone pointlessly.

 

[Scikosomatic]

Forget the morality:

According to the law, he has done nothing wrong since his site directs you to other sites....it DOESN'T reproduce those works. Read the warning on his website, he did violate any of that

 

[Cipher1]

I doubt he will get put on trial in the US not after the huge hassle it took to get the guy who hacked his way into the pentagon (or was it nasa?) to America.

 

[Distorted Stu]

Ouch thats a bit harsh. I agree with Geek.com! I also think he should spend the jailtime in the UK but i guess it sup to the judges.

On a brighter note, Ive stayed over night at Shefield hallem uni... nice place.. great women (if you get what im saying *wink wink nudge nudge*)


...

I'll stop posting now

 

[Canid117]

Come on ICE there are much better ways to be using your budget. Fucking music lobbies...

 

[FogHornG36]

This is quite harsh, and its wrong that he is getting charged for having links to torrents.

But anyone that says that the US shouldn't waist its money protecting copy right has no understanding that THE US PRODUCES ALL, ALL! TV and Movies of value.

Thus they are trying to protect the income of a lot of its people, so they can continue to tax them.

 

[superstringz]

Are our prisons not full enough? Do we not have enough problems as it is? Why the taintchafing fuck are we wasting red tape on this? I mean jegus, have you ever seen an American prison? They're all full. This is such a waste.

I suspect whoever's in charge of this CF is either new, and marking his territory in the woods, or corrupt, and in the pocket of those who'd profit from the mans downfall.

 

[SomeBrianDude]

If O'Dwyer has charges to answer, it should be the Crown Prosecution Service that holds him to account, not the US authorities. The idea of American law being enforced by British authorities is not one that sits well with me.

 

[Tib088]

It's so easy for the US to do this. But when we try the same thing, it's a different story!

 

[Outlaw Torn]

Someone had better lock up everyone at Google for all of the illegal websites they link to as well. This happened before to a site call tv-links, it got shut down but obviously nothing came of suing the evil-doer responsible because it was back online soon after. It's still around now as a matter of fact.

If the US want to crack down on copyright infringement then go after the hosting websites for not being as strict in taking illegal content down.

 

[Outlaw Torn]

Double post =(

Moderators, please strike down this abomination of duplication!

 

[Stabby Joe]

Anyone else think they wouldn't have even raised an eyebrow if he didn't get revenue?

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

And the UK, being the arse-kissing little toady its become, will probably send the poor bastard off to a US prison to keep Bubba warm just in time for winter.

Nah, a half competent lawyer could tie an extradition hearing (or an injuction hearing against an extradition) up for years on this. Hell, get it up before the Law Lords and they'll tie it up themselves without prompting. A case involving jurisdictional sovereignty? They'll all want to have their incredibly lengthy say on something like that.

I won't pretend to be an expert on the law, but I do have some questions about this, if anyone can answer them?

Obviously the US is trying to charge this guy with something, but is what he did illegal in the UK? What are the factors that could result in an extradition? And if it is illegal in the UK, wouldn't that mean he should be tried in the UK courts?

Okay, I'm not a lawyer but I do play one on the Internets.

Basically the UK Courts are not going to inclined towards granting extradition. There are going to be a lot of questions the US Govt (or the UK govt on the US govt's behalf) have to answer and they'll have to prove that not only did a crime occur within their jurisdiction but also, in regards to the crime in question, that their jurisdiction has primacy over UK jurisdiction.

First thing I'd do is apply for a court injunction against the govt taking executive action to do an end-run around the judicial process.