UK student faces copyright case

Standard People
LONDON — A British student could be extradited to the United States for breaching US copyright law by running a website that allowed users to access films and TV programmes illegally, in the first case of its kind. Richard O’Dwyer´s website, TV Shack, provided links to other websites where users could access content but did […]

LONDON — A British student could be extradited to the United States for breaching US copyright law by running a website that allowed users to access films and TV programmes illegally, in the first case of its kind.

Richard O’Dwyer´s website, TV Shack, provided links to other websites where users could access content but did not host any of the content itself.The 23-year-old, who says he started the project to improve his computer programming skills and help him get a work placement, did not charge users but sold

US$230 000 worth of advertising on the site, according to the US authorities.

“I was forced to set up advertising because of the massive server fees,” O’Dwyer told BBC radio ahead of the ruling in a London court.“When you’ve got a website with over

300 000 people a month visiting, there’s a need for infrastructure to support that. There’s no other way to do it, unless you had the money yourself,” he said.— Reuters