emeraldimp wrote:No, UE didn't close down the site. UE made demands - not requests - that IMSLP remove scores that are in the public domain in Canada. Additionally, UE demanded that IP filtering be installed
Eh, actually, no:
Ken Clark wrote:"We further demand that you institute a filtering system to the IMSLP that would prevent any further uploading of the UE Artists's scores until after the expiry of European and Canadian copyright in those works."
They did not demand IP filters, they demanded filters that prevent further uploading of the "UE Artists's" scores, until they are PD in both Canada and Europe.
The only time the C&D letter mentions any violation of any law is here:
Ken Clark wrote:As a result of the lack of safeguards on the IMSLP from infringing Canadian and European copyright law, you and your organization are involved in a collective effort to breach copyright.
This is a violation of both European and Canadian copyright law.
They could not demand you to both remove the scores AND install IP filtering, because according to them, if the safeguards were in place, no law would be broken. The offer was to remove the scores and prevent further uploads OR install IP filtering.
The demand about installing the filters, you could most certainly have told them to shove up their bum. Even if a supposed court had found it illegal to host material copyrighted in Europe on a Canadian site (which I doubt), you already had a perfectly working system to deal with illegal material, the same as any other wiki community. An administrator of a public internet service can not be expected to prevent illegal material from being uploaded by filters, as long as any illegal material is removed as soon as it is noticed.
Another interesting observation in the letter: Who are "the UE Artists's" that should be blocked by filters? The word "the" clearly refers to a limited group of people, as opposed to "any", and the upper case "A" in "Artists's" also implies that the word doesn't mean "artists" in it's general sence. There is a list of names that is named and later refered to as "UE Authors", but no mention of any "Artists". How is poor Feldmahler supposed to know what to do when the demands are this vague?? Perhaps UE couldn't find a decent lawyer, who is capable of getting the words right in his demands, willing to enforce Austrian law in Canada.