Vimeo is a video sharing website similar to Youtube. However, Vimeo’s unique selling point is that nearly all of its videos are available in a very high quality. Vimeo is in some very hot water after a US district judge ruled that Vimeo may not be able to rely on the “safe harbor” rule to shield itself from litigation.
The safe harbor rule has been developed by US common law, and it was set in precedent primarily in Viacom v Youtube. The safe harbor rule simply states that a music label may not bring an action against an internet website which hosts media content- part of the reasoning behind this rule is that the websites are not providing the public with the videos but merely a service.
The reasoning behind the district judge’s decision to disallow vimeo from using this shield is largely due to the unsettling remarks made by some of the Vimeo employees. These remarks were made in the comment sections of the videos and in private messages, and while they are not enough to prove that Vimeo purposefully promoted infringement, which would have effectively shattered their safe harbor shield, the remarks were enough to raise some concern. There will be further investigation as to the matter.
It should be mentioned that the decision is only in relation to fifty five instances of copyright infringement (each videos is its own separate instance) out of a total of hundred and forty four allegations. The other allegations made by music labels were dismissed on the Safe harbor ruling.
Sources:
http://gigaom.com/2013/09/20/music-labels-can-press-vimeo-on-copyright-claims-judge-denies-safe-harbor/
