Newzbin is one of the original Usenet indexing sites and creators of the .NZB
format. In a very general way, .NZB files might be considered Usenet’s
equivalent of .torrent files. They make the otherwise-complicated
Usenet a breeze to use. Downloading from Usenet with Newzbin is easy,
and together with a good news provider, very quick.
The increased popularity of services such as Newzbin didn’t go
unnoticed with the MPAA. On 22nd May 2008, administrator ‘Caesium’ made
an announcement:
"Newzbin has today received a letter from the Motion Picture Association (MPA). In the letter, they claim that some editors may be reporting material from Usenet that is infringing the copyright of their members.
While these claims have not been substantiated, it should be noted
that Newzbin does not condone the distribution or indexing of such
materials. We will immediately act to remove any items that are found
to be infringing copyright.
Please take a moment to refer to our Terms and Conditions, in particular sections 4 and 4.2.
Please note that we may revoke privileges, or ban accounts, of users found to be violating these Terms and Conditions."
Since this announcement, worried Newzbin users have contacted
TorrentFreak to see if we could find out exactly what had been going
on. Understandably, Newzbin didn’t want to tell us much.
However, if one looks closely at the announcement, it doesn’t tell
us anything that we didn’t already know. The terms and conditions have
been in place since 2007, there doesn’t appear to be anything new in
those.
Of course Newzbin doesn’t condone the indexing of copyright
works. How can it? It is a proper company that charges users for
access, not an underground operation hiding in the shadows. It appears
to comply fully with the laws in the UK, where the service is based.
Newzbin also say they will remove anything that infringes copyright.
NZB files do not, so at that point they probably believed they would
have little work to do.
But the MPAA isn’t known for letting the law stand in the way of a
good threat, threats which have closed several US-based NZB sites in
the past such as NZB-Zone and forced others
to adjust the way they operate. Newzbin has not been sued, we can
confirm that, but it will have to change the way it operates too, if it
is to comply with the movie industry demands.
Caesium is hinting at possible changes to the site in the future.
It’s a possibility that all .NZB related reports will have to be
removed. An alternative to appease the MPAA would be to remove only the
posts related to movies and TV shows, an arrangement favored by
BinNews.com when faced with the same legal threats.
At this point it is far from clear what measures Newzbin will be
finally forced to take to stop the threat of legal action turning into
an actual lawsuit. Newzbin appear to be being as upfront as they can at
this point and are suggesting that if users only use the site for .NZB
files, then they should consider not renewing their subscription. For
those who aren’t scared of making their own .NZBs ‘BinSearch’-style,
the site will still be of great use, even if the most draconian
measures are taken.
BinSearch provides Usenet
indexing with a do-it-yourself .NZB creator. Anyone who knows the full
scene release name of the material they seek will adjust to it in a few
minutes, but it’s no Newzbin. For the uninformed, the learning curve is
steep.
Newzbin has a secret weapon which has made it so attractive. ‘Editors‘
are essentially human beings who make reports which link to specific
content on Usenet. Newzbin can then generate a .NZB file, based on the
report. Anyone with an NZB capable news reader, like Grabit, can use them. It seems that it’s this human intervention with the creation of reports which poses the legal headache.
Newzbin is considering that it may have to fully automate its
operations in order to be totally sure of staying the friendly side of
the law - no more human intervention, no more ‘editor’ named reports.
No more easily browsable pre-determined categories. A simple Usenet
search engine would likely attract little attention and would be
entirely legal, as confirmed by Caesium: “…we’re pretty sure nobody is
going to tell us that having an automated searchable index of the
entire contents of Usenet is going to cause any problems.”
But why would anyone bother using a degraded Newzbin over, say, the
very useful (but limited) ‘BinSearch’? After all, there would be
presumably little to separate them, feature-wise.
The plan is to introduce a feature where Newzbin users can
tag. This way the site can provide an entirely legal automated index -
no Newzbin staff involved - with only the users adding the tags. It
sounds like a great solution and may even prove just as workable longer
term.
They say every cloud has a silver lining and for Newzbin, that might
come in the form of a greatly increased userbase. Newzbin is currently
a subscription service but the changes may well turn it into a free
site, which effectively opens it up to everyone rather than just its
current paying userbase. That’s a hell of a lot of tags. Thankfully
there will likely be a ratings system, to ensure quality tagging.
