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Lawsuit: Copyright Filtering Technology Infringes

David Kravets

Copyright filtering technology is a form of copyright infringement, according to a lawsuit against document service Scribd.

The lawsuit, lodged in a Texas federal court Friday, broaches a novel legal theory in which the U.S. courts have never squarely decided.

The suit maintains that the copying and insertion of a copyrighted work into a filtering system without compensating the copyright holder, or obtaining their consent, is a violation of the Copyright Act. The case comes as copyright filtering technology is quickly becoming a behind-the-scenes feature on university sites, user-generated content sites and online social networking venues.

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