January 29, 2007
Fox subpoenas YouTube over 'Simpsons,' '24'
subpoenaed Google's YouTube video service to learn who uploaded pirated copies of episodes of television shows 24 and The Simpsons, reports USA Today, picking up on a Friday story published in the WSJ.
"The subpoena, filed Jan. 18, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, asks YouTube to hand over information to identify the subscriber so Fox can stop the infringement, the Journal reported.
The four-episode season premiere of thriller show 24, starring Kiefer Sutherland, appeared on the site ahead of its TV broadcast, and 12 episodes of The Simpsons were being distributed on YouTube by a subscriber called "ECOtotal," the subpoena's declaration said, according to the paper.
... According to the WSJ, this isn't the first time the Twentieth Century Fox has had a piracy issue involving YouTube; a young user was identified in a case in which a Family Guy episode was posted on YouTube ahead of its premiere. However, in this recent case, Fox noted in the subpoena it has been unable to discover through its own investigation the identity of the subscriber,"
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