DivX today filed suit against Universal Music Group, following Veoh’s lead and becoming the latest company to preemptively sue to protect their rights as set forth by the DMCA. The weight these cases will play in the future of media cannot be understated.

DivX has quickly become one of the most widely respected companies in online video, a result of the strength of their codec and their online video site Stage6, which has become of the top 200 sites in the world.

The argument put forth by DivX mirrors that of Google and Veoh: UMG is unfairly targeting DivX. Stage6 is in complete compliance with current laws, and entitled to safe harbor under the DMCA.

Said David Richter, EVP, Corporate Development and Legal:

“We are taking this legal step to protect Stage6 from groundless claims and unreasonable threats brought by UMG. UMG’s pattern of attacking innovative online service providers is discouraging and will ultimately hinder innovation and the development of new technologies”

There is a fundamental transformation that has taken place as a result of the development of digital media and the lower cost of distribution that has resulted. Mainstream media is aggressively defending their cause in this disrupted environment.

The entertainment industry has rallied together, filing briefs in support of lawsuits against Veoh and YouTube. If more new media companies stand up to them, we may well see a turning of the tide in control of media.

While current intellectual property law should not be thrown out, there is a strong case to be made for re-evaluating a segment of the law now filled with gray areas.

The more companies assert their rights in this new media environment, the more visible this debate will become, and the more likely the law will be adjusted to reflect the current state of media and American society.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 7th, 2007 at 12:32 am and is filed under DMCA, Legal, News, Video Portals, technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.