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British student Richard O’Dwyer has been entangled in a copyright battle since 2010.
Now, new support may help his case. RT explains.
“A UK Student faces extradition to the U.S. for setting up a website giving people free
access to movies online. It’s not a crime in Britain, but in America he could get up
to 10 years in prison.”
This case has garnered worldwide attention, including some from Wikipedia founder, Jimmy
Wales. Wales says on his petition the alleged crime happened on — and should be tried
on — UK soil.
“Copyright is an important institution, serving a beneficial moral and economic purpose.
But that does not mean that copyright can or should be unlimited.”
The Extradition Act of 2003 makes it possible for the US government to charge British citizens
with crimes and try them in the States, where the punishment for copyright crimes is much
more severe. The BBC reports — many feel the act creates a lopsided relationship between
the two countries.
“If we want someone from there, we have to show what they call probable cause, we
have to show evidence. If they want someone from here, they have to show reasonable suspicion.”
O’Dwyer’s mother has also been working hard to help her son. Along with a blog, Julia
O’Dwyer has maintained a Twitter presence and started the hashtag “saverichard.”
The Guardian says she wanted to help him maintain a normal life.
“Without my mom’s pretty much constant help, I’d probably be in America already.”
Supporters of O’Dwyer defend him by saying because the site provided links instead of
hosting the material, saying TVshack was legal just like Google or any other search engine.