Student to face US trial over TVShack website - Crime - UK - The Independent

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A student who created a website which helped people watch films and TV shows for free today vowed to fight a court ruling which found he can be extradited to the US to face copyright infringement allegations. Sheffield Hallam University undergraduate Richard O'Dwyer, 23, allegedly earned thousands of pounds through advertising on the TVShack website before it was closed down by the US authorities. He faces jail if convicted of the allegations, which were brought following a crackdown by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. His lawyer Ben Cooper has argued that the site did not store copyright material itself and merely pointed users to other sites, in the same way that Google and Yahoo operate. Mr Cooper also said his client would be the first British citizen to be extradited for such an offence and would effectively become a "guinea pig" for copyright law in the US. His mother Julia O'Dwyer, from Chesterfield, said she was "disgusted" by the decision and claimed the UK's extradition treaty with the US "needs fixing fast". District Judge Quentin Purdy said in his ruling at Westminster Magistrates' Court: "There are said to be direct consequences of criminal activity by Richard O'Dwyer in the USA albeit by him never leaving the north of England. "Such a state of affairs does not demand a trial here if the competent UK authorities decline to act and does, in my judgment, permit one in the USA." Mr O'Dwyer, who was bailed, said outside court: "I am obviously disappointed with the judge's decision today. I think I have got faith in the High Court for making the right decision." He said the website had "helped me no end with my studies" and said when he first set it up he "didn't even think it would get that popular to be honest". The US authorities allege that he had received more than 230,000 US dollars (around £147,000) in advertising revenue since January 2008, until the site was shut down in 2010. District Judge Purdy said in his ruling that when O'Dwyer was arrested by City of London Police in November 2010 he accepted earning approximately £15,000 per month from online advertisements. His mother, who broke down in tears towards the end of her time speaking to waiting journalists, said she was "very disappointed, in fact disgusted". "I had hoped for better from the judge in view of his previous comments. "So disappointed that the man can't think outside of the extradition box. "Disappointed with this Government for signing us up to this treaty which has opened the floodgates to America to come and seize British citizens without even having set foot out of this country and that extradition law needs fixing fast."

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Duchess of York evades extradition over TV row - Telegraph

Of course, when it's a Duchess being extradited on a ridiculous charge to a country reknowned for its fucked up judicial system, then it's different.

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Mouais. I mean, the difference in treatment is obvious and the first case does open the IP can of worms. But IP laws, for all their faults and issues and stuff cannot exactly be considered 'ridiculous'. The laws might be stupid but the problem is real... Of course, the UK law could say it has jurisdiction - After all, the 'crimes' (if any) were committed on its territories.

If you murder a US tourist in the UK, do you get extradited too?

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I think that the charge is pretty stupid in itself (the guy's lawyer's basically right - if we sue this guy we should sue all the search engines too), but what really pushes it over the edge is the existence of the extradition treaty. How did that thing even get signed? It's like the UK is a drunk who's just woken up after a two week bender to find a loanshark contract in his wallet and someone banging on the door yelling something about kneecaps.

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If you murder a US tourist in the UK, do you get extradited too?

Nope since murder is illegal in the UK too you get charged and tried there, the nationality of the victim does not matter. That is what is so stupid here as the crime(?) was not committed in the US.

A typical extradition treaty says if someone commits a crime and then comes to your country from the place the crime was committed he can be returned to face trial in that country. This one seems to have the odd twist that if the other country says you committed a crime you get sent over regardless of where the crime occurred.

F

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