The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) did some more surfing on Google Video and found 300 films readily available to visitors.
Google Video Crocked For Film Piracy, Again
It never rains but it pours, the old saying goes, and that’s true enough for Google today. Google has a high-profile hearing with a Senate Judiciary subcommittee about its DoubleClick merger today.
Leading into that fun event, a study of Google’s plans has been released, suggesting the deal could bring higher prices to DoubleClick customers along with limiting competition.
The NLPC piled on with its letter to Congress about film piracy on Google Video. That group looked at Google Video from September 10-18 and found 300 films available on the site.
“Since [we originally identified evidence of copyright infringement], the number of apparently copyrighted movies being hosted by Google Video appears to have grown substantially,” the letter to Senator Patrick Leahy signed by NLPC Chairman Ken Boehm, said.
NLPC found movies posted before their official release dates, and plenty of recent summer releases. They claimed Google Video has become so popular that what appear to be “video pirate websites” have been posting their URLs and lists of other available videos alongside the films they post.
Despite terms of service at Google Video that state copyright offenders will have their accounts deactivated, NLPC said multiple uploads by a couple of accounts indicated “the policy is not being actively enforced.”
NLPC had performed a similar review of Google Video in July. They published a Top 50 of films found at that time, but the number seems to have grown substantially since then.
